Difficulties of being Rama

All of us are different forms of the same consciousness and yet we are so different. There are many in this world, who are so obsessed with their self-interest that they go to the extent of killing others for their self-interest. There are many who sacrifice themselves for the interest of others. When all of us are different forms of the same consciousness, how are we so different? Further, how is it so that each one of us is so convinced of the way he or she is living life? Further, why do we find it so difficult to live the way Rama lived despite firmly believing Rama to be an ideal. 

Rama was not attached to anything. Immediately after listening to the directions of his father, he left the kingdom of Ayodhya and proceeded to the forest to stay without any comfort for the next 14 years. Despite Bharata almost begging him, he stayed firm on his decision. He took all the pains and risks to get Sita back and fought the battle of Lanka without asking for any support from Ayodhya. After He got Sita back, he was not hesitant to send her to the forest again to follow his Rajdharma. He was constantly in a state of non-attachment.

All of us believe Rama to be a God. He is the epitome of all the virtues, we want in our lives. Yet, we find it so difficult to live our lives the way Rama lived. Since we believe Rama to be God, there is no doubt about the desirability of living such a life. However, despite appreciation, we somehow are not able to follow the same in our lives. There are certain difficulties of being Rama.

I feel that the biggest difficulty is our ignorance. For example, if a rich person keeps all his assets in a bank vault and forgets that he kept all his assets in the vault, he will live a life of a poor struggling for pennies and at times fighting for pennies till someone reminds him of the wealth he has kept in the vault. We all are the manifestation of the consciousness that is infinite and all-powerful. Somehow, we have lost awareness of the same and therefore running after the petty pleasure and securities. No amount of wealth, connections, power, and position in this world can free us from the fear of death. It is the true knowledge of self that can free us from the fear of death. 

The more we possess the material wealth and positions, the more we become clingy. Fear of losing wealth and positions increases with every accumulation. Every accumulation makes us more dependent on them. It is a vicious cycle. The sooner we get out of this cycle the better it is. It is also true that it may not be possible for an ordinary person to venture out of this cycle. An ordinary person is caught in the orbit just like an electron orbiting around a nucleus. It needs an escape velocity to leave the orbit and one needs to put in efforts to get that escape velocity. The greed and ambition of the materialistic world hardly leave any energy to reach escape velocity. Even if some energy is left after materialistic pursuits driven by greed and ambitions, the same is lost in laziness. If somebody is still able to get some energy to devote to the spiritual path, it is almost impossible to get the right direction. There are so many self-interests of the so-called spiritual gurus. They want bigger ashrams and a fan following. In fact, spirituality has become a tool for them to get a name, fame, and wealth. The disciples are also happy following the short-cuts sold by these gurus and both the gurus and the disciples are happily scratching each other's back reaching nowhere.

It looks very gloomy. So, is there any ray of hope left? I strongly feel that mindfulness is the way out. One will have to learn to be aware of each aspect of life. As one remains aware, one starts diving deep down into the happenings inside the body while acting on the surface. While talking to others, one starts becoming aware of the play of sensations deep inside the body. When one closes his eyes and observes as to what is going inside, one sees very clearly, how different sensations are the root cause of our reactions in the materialistic world. 

Once we become aware of the interplay of these sensations, as a witness, we start becoming their master rather than the slaves. It is a long drawn process and it is not so that observation of a few minutes will free us from these samskaras formed over many lives. However, as we begin the process, we immediately start experiencing the rewards. The first step in the process gives us the motivation to take the second and the third step and so on.  Most people are caught in the shortcuts and start pursuing their dreams of the materialistic world disguised in the name of spiritual pursuit. The most difficult thing in the path is the first step in the right direction which requires an open mind to see the reality as it is.