Be Total – In Gita Verse 1.46 Sañjaya said: Arjuna, having thus spoken on the battlefield, cast aside his bow and arrows and sat down on the chariot, his mind overwhelmed with grief.
The path to self-realisation often unfurls amidst the profound strife of our inner battles, reminiscent of the spiritual awakening that dawned upon Arjuna in the throes of Kurukshetra. In a moment of profound clarity amid chaos, Arjuna laid down his weapons, symbolising his refusal to act from a place of internal conflict. This gesture was not one of surrender but an emblem of profound self-awareness – knowing that actions birthed from confusion can only lead to destruction.
Embracing totality means to submerge ourselves within the present moment fully, so that the weight of the past and the anxiety for the future dissolve into the clarity of now. In this state of totality, we become pure vessels for action, liberated from the unattainable illusion of perfection that the mind obsessively chases.
The myth of perfection is an endless mirage – the mind’s pursuit of an ideal state where outcomes are flawlessly in line with its expectations. But totality is the immediate, raw experience of life; it is engaging fully with life’s unfolding, free from the fetters of resistance and the compulsion of effort.
Our actions transform into a form of meditation when we invest ourselves in them totally. The distinction between the doer and the deed fades away, and we are left with a serene harmony that enlivens our very being. This is the transformative power of meditation at work, turning our ordinary engagements into fulcrums for spiritual enlightenment.
Arjuna, by addressing his grief, bequeaths us a profound insight into the art of total living. It is a reminder to face our deepest fears and accept our entire range of emotions. This wholeness is where we discover the clear stream of purposeful and authentic action.
As we proceed, I encourage you to weave this essence of totality into the tapestry of your daily life. Allow your every action, no matter how mundane, to be an expression of your presence. Look for meditation not just in stillness but in the zest of your endeavours, for therein lies the opportunity to unearth the extraordinary within the ordinary, the sacred amidst the mundane, and wisdom woven into the tapestry of everyday life.
The Bhagavad Gita illuminates a profound truth – that karma becomes blissful when performed with an invested heart. In such total involvement, the distinction between action and actor dissolves, paving the way for an experience of oneness with the universe – totality becomes our spiritual reality, perfection just a distant myth.
Live each day with such totality that your life itself becomes an ode to the authenticity of being, a journey propelling you towards your true nature – enlightenment.
The battlefield of life is a constant, but the choice is ours: to act from a place of unconsciousness or to rise to each occasion with conscious totality. In moments when you drop your arms, may you find the courage to grasp the strings of a deeper awareness and orchestrate the symphony of your existence with mastery and grace.
To be total is to understand the seamless nature of action and inaction. Whether at work or in the stillness of meditation, totality becomes the key to unlock the secret of balanced living.
Let us take inspiration from Arjuna, who, throughout his life, has exemplified totality. In a moment of doubt, he chose complete presence, setting aside his arms to recalibrate his consciousness. We too, should endeavour to incorporate such totality in our lives, so that, in the face of unconsciousness, we might also, like Arjuna, recognise the imperative to return to consciousness before embarking upon any significant act.
Embrace totality, make it your practice, and discover how, even in the most turbulent times, it grants clarity and a return to the equilibrium of true consciousness.
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