In the Upanishads, a student comes to the Teacher and asks, “What am I?” The Teacher replies, “You are not the body.” The student goes away for six months and thinks, “I am not the body.” Then he returns and asks, “What else am I not?” The Teacher replies, “You are not the emotions.” For three years he contemplates this. Then he returns to the Teacher, where he is told that he is not even his thoughts. He asks, “If thought evaporates, how will I exist?” By asking and discovering what he is not – not what he is – he eventually discovers what he is.
The Sanskrit term Upanishad refers to the student sitting down near the teacher while receiving esoteric knowledge. The general area of the composition of the early Upanishads was northern India. The two earliest texts of the Upanishad are pre-Buddhist. It is believed that they may be placed in the 7th to 6th centuries BCE, give or take a century or so. Yet – they are still timeless.
The essential point underlying the student’s questions of the Teacher is to realize that until he, until you, until all of us can sacrifice our little self, we cannot find our greater Self. We also hear other phrases in the Teaching about sacrificing the little self, such as “renunciation,” and to“empty yourself.” Renunciation and emptying oneself means until we can sacrifice our little self we will continue to live in darkness; in illusion; in the “unknown.”
To live in darkness, to live in illusion, to live in the “unknown,” means to live in a world of hindrances which halt our life. To live in darkness, means we are asleep and unconscious.
“There was a Zen master who passed from this world when he was 61 years old. Fulfilling his life’s work, he left a great teaching, far richer than that of most Zen masters. His pupils used to sleep in the daytime during midsummer, and while he overlooked this he himself never wasted a minute.
When he was but 12 years old, he was already studying philosophy. One summer day the air had been so sultry that little Soyen, stretched his legs and went to sleep while his teacher was away.
Three hours passed when, suddenly waking, he heard his master enter, but it was too late. There he lay, sprawled across the doorway.
“I beg your pardon. I beg your pardon,” his teacher whispered, stepping carefully over Soyen’s body as if it were that of some distinguished guest. After this Soyen never slept again in the afternoon.”
The Teaching tells us that “there are three major hindrances that prevent us from becoming greater. By analyzing and working on them, we can eliminate most obstacles on our path that prevent us from progressing.
These three obstacles are:
- Our criticisms of others.
- Our own failures and,
- The image that others build in us.
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2.- We emphasize, think, feel, and write so much about our own failures that we mold ourselves into a concrete “I am bad” image. As you mold yourself, you prevent all kinds of possibilities to grow.
3.-“You are stupid.” You absorb that image and say, “I am stupid. Every one is saying I am stupid, so I must be stupid.” Or, “I am fat, so I must be ugly and sick.” Then you become stupid, ugly and sick. Eventually, you assimilate, digest, and absorb whatever they say about you to such a degree that you play the game of having others direct you by remote control.
A rabbi name Zusha told his students, “When I die, God will not ask me, was I like Moses or was I like Joshua in my life. He will ask me, was I Zusha.”
To see with clarity and to respect what is here, right now in your life, to fulfill and offer your own inner gifts – that is the spiritual path. To let your life be a deep expression of your heartfelt values, of the Higher Self; to know what awakens you and to nurture it – this is your way; our way. This is the real Self; the real you. The real Life.
We must all take a look at our lives and determine what in our life is the most essential and also determine what is preventing us from progressing? What obstacles are hindering and halting us from advancing our consciousness? It is only our inner treasures, our talents and our Soul that can save our life. It is in renouncing ourselves, in emptying ourselves that allows the Higher Self to be at the helm of our ship; the beacon of our life. When our Higher Self leads us, when our Solar Angel guides and directs us, when we hear the Call and respond…we will be able to crush the hindrances that are halting our life and preventing the process of transformation.
With love and compassion,
Joleen
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