The True Path

 

When we are following Our Path, the supreme power is supporting us. “It is called a Benevolent Beginning, – remembered he the words of the old man. – Beginners are lucky. As life wants the man to follow his Path” (“Alchemic” by Paulo Koello). Under the words “One’s Own Path” Koello, according to “Alchemic”, means “one’s own destination in life”.

Perhaps, I love life so much because everything I am doing is a pleasure for me. (Confucius: “Start doing what you like and you will have to work not a day in your life”). And if it so, does not it mean that the path which I am going along is true (for me)? (And, consequently, if there is no joy and content, then, obviously, the true destination is still lying somewhere waiting until it is found). As I see it now, the idea that life should be joy, that one should live but not merely exist settled in my mind already in my teen years. From there, photography, translation, painting, knitting, teaching, etc. have taken their roots… and it seems to be just the beginning :).

Koello continues saying that every person is constantly given signs showing him the true (for him) path (in the same way “luck” in one’s deeds also testifies to the right way), “You will find the way there following the sings which God marks everyone’s path with. You should only be able to read what is written for you”.

I remember when I read “Alchemic” for the first time most part of it was an amazing discovery for me (though only some theory based on somebody else’s life and not mine). And today I can prove the author’s idea of the signs with the examples from my own life (I think because I have become more observant :)).

Some 5 years ago it was very difficult for me to make the choice – the choice of the future path in life (two opposite ways were lying in front of me). I really tried to prolong the situation watching how it was becoming worse. Once in the evening, when I was reading a book (“The Fifth Mountain”, again by Koello) and unexpectedly for myself read in one of its paragraphs of how important it was for the main character to make the choice and of how he finally made it, I found the solution to my problem. And now, after 5 years, I am so happy that I made that very choice.

This autumn, life again put me in front of the necessity to choose my way (one thing is to choose apples at the market and absolutely another one is to choose one’s path in life). I was offered interesting work (for 3-4 months) the interview for which I had passed at the beginning of 2006. The money offered was good but the work was some 1000 km away from the native city and, consequently, from my husband and all the other things I was busy with here. First, like 5 years before, I tried to solve the question logically having drawn a table with two columns: pros and cons. The logical approach led me to a zero result: there were pros and cons in both the opportunities. Then I started to form my judgment according to the vibrations (cold in the answer to my question would be “do it”, warmth – “don’t do it”). But the vibrations said, “It will be as you choose” (there were both cold and warmth in turn). I was not satisfied with such an answer and asked several friends-yogis to do the same for me. And what would you think? Exactly a half of them said that “the vibrations were warm” and the other part said that “they were cold”. Three more days I was constantly summing up and subtracting all the possible variants and ways of development of the two paths. My attention was so deeply in this question that once I even forgot the just-bought chicken at the market (I had to go there again). Seeing the blind alley, I sincerely appealed to the Supreme Power to help me to make the choice. Naturally, the decision did not fall down on me from Heaven. But observing what was going on around (it is quite easy to do if you watch your life and yourself as a very interesting movie, from aside) the decision started to shape. And when I was 99 per cent sure that I did not want to work far-far away, my husband and I watched the movie “Click” by chance (as the other films simply did not want to start on our laptop that evening). It’s a funny movie on how a family-man dives into making money and career as he says for the sake of his wife and kids. And it happens so that, because of it, he spends the greatest part of his life like a robot pilot (it’s a comedy, by the way). He was given a second chance but I… In a word, I stayed in my native city.

And now, when the time when I could potentially work far-far away has passed, I can say for sure: I like my choice (otherwise I would not have won three competitions the prize in one of which was a trip to Lithuania for two people, would not go to that Baltic country together with my husband, would not gone through some hard but useful experience in my life, would not made a big input into Sahaja projects, would not be with my family…). Of course, if I had chosen the other way, there also would be something positive. But what is important is that the choice has been made and made in such a way that I do not regret now and feel that I am going along the right part.

Well, we are helped with the sings “from above”. But why does God need all this (as it is He who helps us, isn’t it?) When we get satisfaction from what we are doing, we get joy and present people around us with the positive making the world better. There is also something else in it: if we do something that brings us true (!) joy (it is a condition like nectar which is spreading all our body) we, in fact, do God’s work.

It is said in the Bible: God has created man in His Own image. Is it said about the appearance? Has anyone ever seen God to compare the appearance of the man with Him? Then isn’t it said that there is a part of God in each of us? According to Sahaja Yoga, our Spirit is this part of God within. The physical location of the Spirit (if it can be said so) is the Heart. And joy is the property of the Spirit. The purer the person’s heart is the more joyful things he/she is capable to see in life. And if what we are doing brings us true joy (for example, this feeling appears when we are making presents from the bottom of our hearts, when we help people, etc.) it means that… I think you can continue yourself :). And if we “do God’s work” (as instruments that He uses), the Supreme Power helps us (including finding the solutions to routine, daily questions). It has been checked in practice 🙂 ! Then, we should just find what brings us real, true, joy…

In the addition to the aforesaid:

1) “God’s work” is not only an art and similar lofty things. It can be even washing of the floors.

2) In my post, I had to put the word “true” everywhere before the word “joy” as very often people confuse some passing joy (that appears just for a second after we have got what we thought would bring us joy) with what is real joy.

3) Sometimes we have to do what we really do not want to do (for example, to clean the apartment) and, naturally, we do not feel joy. It does not say that one should not clean his house. It is important to know how to distinguish “signs” which are given us from the above (preventing us from doing something or vice versa) from, let’s put it so, “negativity” (bad habits, ego, conditionings, etc.). But it is already a topic of another story.

Thought for the day: 

In “Bhagavat Gita” (translation from Sanskrit, without Krishnait’s comments), it is said, “The one who is happy within, who is joyous within, who is being lit within, that Yogi becoming Brahman enters the world of Brahman”.

photo by the author