Seeds of Insight 021 - As your desire is
“You are what your deep, driving desire is.
As your desire is, so is your will.
As your will is, so is your deed.
As your deed is, so is your destiny”
As I opened the Upanishads for the first time a few weeks ago, I couldn’t help the tears - tears of awe, of feeling deeply touched. These ancient Hindu texts predated and clearly inspired all Western religious streams. They already said everything that could be said some 2500-3000 years ago with very few words. One wonders why we bothered to write anything thereafter.
Of course, no author left their names, for the Upanishads clearly speak of something none of us can author, nor can we put it in words. Although some may see them as religious texts, there is nothing religious about them - they speak of Universal Truth.
The Upanishads would say that this desire to know Universal Truth is deeply embedded in our nature and no worldly fulfilment can ever satisfy it. No search in the world of objects can ever touch it, for no limited object can fill in an unlimited whole within. The discovery of who we really are, what the universe is and why we appeared in this drama called life is the ultimate desire. This desire for Self-realisation consolidates and supersedes all worldly desires. It finally and mysteriously turns the attention inward.
And even this one-pointed, self-transcending desire will have to be surrendered in the end - all we can do is to make the choice and take the leap, not knowing what the outcome of this journey would be.
So may we all dare to be free.
“The Self cannot be known through study
Of the scriptures, nor through the intellect,
Nor through hearing discourses about it.
The Self can be attained only by those
Whom the Self chooses. Verily unto them
Does the Self reveal himself.
”
With Love,
Iri
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