“Mindfulness is the aware, balanced acceptance of the present experience. It isn’t more complicated that that.
It is opening to or receiving the present moment, pleasant or unpleasant, just as it is, without either clinging to it or rejecting it.”
– Sylvia Boorstein
Kabir – The couplet
????? ???? ?? ???, ???? ?? ?? ???? |
??? ??? ????? ???, ????? ?? ?? ???? ||
transliterated:
Kabira dheeraj ke dhare, haathi man bha khaaye |
Tuk tuk bekar mein, svan ghar ghar jaaye ||
Translation:
Mindful of its needs, an elephant eats well enough to satisfy its hunger|
A dog, however, impatiently wanders everywhere for food, hungry or not||
My thoughts:
We humans tend to be reactive rather than receptive. We react first, and judge afterwards.
If we could instead learn patience, we would slowly but surely learn to be receptive, both to the world outside and the soul and body inside. This would allow us to accept happenings with a calmer approach. This calmer approach will help us satiate the need, rather than attempt to satiate desire. That is the real difference Kabir is talking of between the elephant and the dog. The elephant satiates its hunger with available food and then proceeds to the next moment, while the dog searches to satisfy the demands of its nose, and often stays unsatisfied.
We as humans hunger for love, food, rest, satisfaction, peace and gratification in all we do. However, all of this is desire, especially when combined with the ubiquitous “I” or “me”. When we can still our mind, if only for a moment, and be dispassionate about our surroundings and ourselves, we can differentiate between need and desire.
When we learn this art, we can distinguish effectively between requirement and craving. That will be our first step on the path to eternal bliss!