Create your oasis to escape burnout
THE first bolt of insight struck the seeker when he was struggling to relax into shavasana, or the yogic pose known as the corpse: the first step to be taken towards perfect relaxation was to stop struggling to be still. The second insight was not to be obsessed about the first one.
For, the more one thought about the difficulty of becoming still, the deeper one got into a mental morass, as in the myth of the King of Elephants being dragged down by a crocodile in the story from Vishnu Purana. The pachyderm struggled against the reptile valiantly. But it began to tire after a while. Then it realised that sheer strength wasn’t going to work. Only the Lord could save its soul. That’s when it completely surrendered and sent out a cry from the heart, only to become free!
So if you want to see elephants fly, you have to let go of everything, essentially your thoughts. That’s the third insight. Letting go of thoughts isn’t such a big deal. Your thinking makes it so. It’s not easy. But it could be managed by “accepting reality and staying positive” says the Dalai Lama in his new tome, The Leader’s Way, co-authored with Laurens van den Muyzenberg.
“Buddhism stresses that the three concepts of cause and effect, interdependence, and impermanence must move beyond intellectual understanding,” he writes. “They must become ‘realisations’; they must be experienced at the level of feelings and become an integral part of the mind.
“As long as we live in this world we are bound to encounter problems. If, at such times, we lose hope and feel discouraged, we diminish our ability to face difficulties.”
His Holiness adds: “If, on the other hand, if we remember that it is not just ourselves but everyone who has to undergo suffering, this more realistic perspective will increase our determination and capacity to overcome hurdles. Indeed, with this attitude, each new obstacle can be seen as yet another valuable opportunity to improve the mind.”
Thus, the seeker found that letting go was the ultimate protection against burnout. This does not have to mean ‘giving up’ or ‘quitting’. Instead, it entails acceptance, or what the votaries of Bhakticall surrender, which facilitates a profound sense of inner stillness. This was not a static state. Nor was it dynamic, but something that lay beyond labels and categories.
It meant allowing a ‘space’ to occur within, a space that can become your oasis.
For, the more one thought about the difficulty of becoming still, the deeper one got into a mental morass, as in the myth of the King of Elephants being dragged down by a crocodile in the story from Vishnu Purana. The pachyderm struggled against the reptile valiantly. But it began to tire after a while. Then it realised that sheer strength wasn’t going to work. Only the Lord could save its soul. That’s when it completely surrendered and sent out a cry from the heart, only to become free!
So if you want to see elephants fly, you have to let go of everything, essentially your thoughts. That’s the third insight. Letting go of thoughts isn’t such a big deal. Your thinking makes it so. It’s not easy. But it could be managed by “accepting reality and staying positive” says the Dalai Lama in his new tome, The Leader’s Way, co-authored with Laurens van den Muyzenberg.
“Buddhism stresses that the three concepts of cause and effect, interdependence, and impermanence must move beyond intellectual understanding,” he writes. “They must become ‘realisations’; they must be experienced at the level of feelings and become an integral part of the mind.
“As long as we live in this world we are bound to encounter problems. If, at such times, we lose hope and feel discouraged, we diminish our ability to face difficulties.”
His Holiness adds: “If, on the other hand, if we remember that it is not just ourselves but everyone who has to undergo suffering, this more realistic perspective will increase our determination and capacity to overcome hurdles. Indeed, with this attitude, each new obstacle can be seen as yet another valuable opportunity to improve the mind.”
Thus, the seeker found that letting go was the ultimate protection against burnout. This does not have to mean ‘giving up’ or ‘quitting’. Instead, it entails acceptance, or what the votaries of Bhakticall surrender, which facilitates a profound sense of inner stillness. This was not a static state. Nor was it dynamic, but something that lay beyond labels and categories.
It meant allowing a ‘space’ to occur within, a space that can become your oasis.
• VITHAL C NADKARNI
Source: The economic Times
Iyya Comments:
Only when you have space fr god inside, HE is there, if there is no space, how will god be there? Let Go and Create space for God.