Kosmic Journey

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Monday, January 02, 2006

Unconditional Love from the Unknown

The start of a new year is a time for self-reflection—thinking of the days gone by and the challenges that lie ahead of us. We all engage in this exercise, almost like a ritual, year after year. But will this ritual make any difference? Maybe it does for some people but for most of us it has only marginal significance in terms of a more stable transformation.

J. Krishnamurti used to say that it is impossible to create anything new, something really creative from the old. If we wish to create something new, we have to get rid of our memory, our thoughts, and our mind, because mind is a container of everything that is “known” but it has no clue about the “unknown.” We can discover the unknown only when we are in a state of complete tranquility, experiencing the moment that is alive, cherishing the feeling that is coming and going. In that tranquility we can discover the purpose of our being, what we need to change, and how to change.

Here is a little transformational experiment for you:

Picture in front of your mind’s eye the flame of a candle that is burning, slowly but steadily. Now let this candle recede as if some invisible hand was taking the candle away from you. As the candle continues to move away, the space becomes darker because of the fading light. The candle soon disappears creating complete darkness. With this disappearing candle let all your personal memories fade away, good as well as bad memories, everything including the usual signs of your identity like your name, position, possessions, rank, awards, et al. As your mind becomes quiet and clear, let this darkness too slowly disappear and in its place let there be brightness, that slowly grows in its intensity until the whole space looks new and very bright. You do not know or try to guess from where this light is coming. In this bright space do not search for any images, but do look for the warmth of this bright light and slowly let this warmth enter your entire being as if someone was injecting this warmth through a mechanical device. As you feel the warmth you feel compassion arising, you feel love arising, and you also feel calmness arising in your whole body. Hold this feeling as long as you can.

The important part of this experiment is that you do not ask for anything specific, yet you get everything. When we become a container of love and compassion, we gain everything that is worth having. And this love and compassion is of the “unknown”, and not of the “known” because things of the known are always part of our conditioning. What comes to us from the unknown is truly unconditional love and compassion.

Copyright © Surinder Deol 2006

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