Dear Reader,
The Buddha himself used to get impatient. He had this tremendous inner desire to realise Truth, and he would try to meditate deeply and grow frustrated because he was not getting any experiences.
In those days, travel was on foot. There were no trains, planes or cars. So he wandered through forests and countryside, meeting different people and learning different techniques.
One day he was sitting by a river, observing a mother squirrel playing with her two babies. The little ones were jumping on a log when they bumped into each other and lost their balance. They fell in the water and were drowned in the strong current; the mother could only watch on in distress.
The squirrel made angry sounds. She dipped her body cautiously in the water, jumped back onto the bank of the river and shook her fur dry. She did it again. And again. Over and over again. ‘Why does she keep doing this?’ the Buddha wondered, and he meditated on what she could be doing.
He realised that the squirrel was so angry with the river for taking her children from her that she wanted to make the river dry. This was the only way she knew to try. What courage and determination! What exemplary patience!
And the Buddha understood that his efforts up to this point were nowhere near enough. There could be no hurry on this journey. There was no deadline. No point even contemplating when you might reach your goal. There were no experiences on demand. There was no point having expectations.
Courage. Determination. Patience.
Courage. Determination. Patience.
Courage. Determination. Patience.
These qualities were needed. Over and over again. This is the real secret, he realised.
The Buddha had been searching for answers to his questions about the Truth of existence for as long as he could remember – and six years after he left the palace, he finally found enlightenment.
These words are based on a satsang or talk given by Yogiraj Prakash Shankar Vyas, who teaches original Kriya Yoga in the direct lineage of Lahiri Mahasaya as a householder. His Guruji, Satya Charan Lahiri, was the grandson of Lahiri Mahasaya.
With love and smiles,
Heidi 🙏