“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
Abraham Lincoln
Kabir – The couplet
जिन जिन संभल न कियो, अस पुर पतन पाई ।
झाली पड़े दिन अथये, संभल कियो न जाई ||
Transliterated:
Jin Jin Sambhal Na Kiyo, As Pur Patan Paai |
Jhaali Pade Din Athaye, Sambhal Kiyo Na Jaai ||
Translation:
Even if visiting the big city, if one journeys without packing food (without preparation) |
Come night, in a strange place, the unprepared has to suffer from lack of provisions ||
My understanding:
The grand city with all its bright lights, loud noises and grand mysterious attractions is the physical world. The vehicle we have to make this journey is the physical body. Daytime is when we seem to be in control and have comprehension of the world and our environment. Dusk and dawn are those hazy times when, either under the influence of external stimulants or because of the confusion generated by conflicting thoughts and emotions, all our senses are only partially aware of the world and environment, and the brain has to work to fill it the gaps in any way it feels appropriate to create a picture of the world as it perceives it (since the senses at that moment will paint an incomplete picture).
Darkness is when we are completely at a loss to understand either input or emotion – when desire is in conflict with reality, and we have no way to step through or break the impasse in our mind.
Preparedness for this – the food we need to pack – is to learn the art of meditation. When we meditate, truly meditate, the input of the physical senses as well as the cacophony of the confused mind is tuned out almost completely, allowing us to remain calm – and there lies the solution to the presented problem. This is the only way to quieten the crazed motion of the confused self, and arrive at the optimal solution to the situation.
But we cannot learn to be calm while in the middle of a storm – that is what we have to prepare for much ahead of the eventual moment. The learning, in addition to preparing us for then, will also give us insight into the other graces of the world, and perhaps show us paths and methods we were completely unaware of. So even the training is full of great gifts – why not start on the path today?