“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”
– Abraham Lincoln
Kabir – The couplet
बहुत दिवस ते हिंदिया, सुनिए समाधि लागै ।
करहा पारा गढ़ में, दुरी पारा पछताए ||
transliterated:
Bahut diwas te hindiya, suniye Samadhi laagai|
Karha paara gadh mein, doori paara pachtaaye||
Translation:
The hatha yogi tries to find bliss in forced silence over long periods of time |
But like the rabbit that falls into a hole, they lay fallen and exhausted and far from their goal ||
My understanding:
We often look to emulate the stated methods of others in the hope of achieving their expected goals.
What we discount in that act is that we have not fully done the required preparation work to get ready to walk the suggested path. Without that preparation, the path, no matter how bountiful, will not reveal its bounty to us – or we are too busy looking elsewhere and miss the offered gifts.
To find bliss, do not pressurize the body, but follow its subtle cues to comfortably allow it to stay calm and allow you to look within and find the real untarnished you.
All other effort will (mostly) result in vain.