DR. SIMMI VALECHA shares her own journey of discovery, and how she found her purposes and joy in life. She also shares her four eternal truths, and how she has realized them in her life.

Beyond every boundary;
beyond every identity;
there is a realm of Pure Consciousness,
eternal and limitless;
where only Love echoes.
Let’s find each of us there.

Once there lived a musk deer in the hilly green region of the Himalayas. The snow-clad peaks, exotic valleys, beautiful meadows, rivers and glaciers; what else one could ask for? But the deer was unhappy, and the fragrance of his own musk, a valuable and extremely fragrant salve found in the navel of the musk deer, was making him excited and restless. The deer went sniffing under the trees, running across the forests searching for the source of the fragrance. His efforts were futile, and one day he died, angry and dissatisfied. His soul left the body, and the fragrant musk remained in his navel.

This is our story. Most of us are unhappy and frustrated. We feel helpless and insecure, always hoping that something magical will occur in the near future that will make us happy and complete. We believe in destiny and fear the unpredictable. This search for “something complete and absolute” initiates our faith in a stone figure (a deity in a temple), and halts at some church or mosque, but never ends. Isn’t it that all this while we’ve been trying to locate the ring in the wrong place, the place where it was never lost?

This is my story, too. I grew up in a Delhi-based middle-class family of staunch believers in the conventional system of education, class and status quo. At 19, I chose to marry against my parents’ wishes. Annoyed and frustrated with my untimely decision, they abandoned me for five years. Much to my own disappointment, I discovered that I’d landed into a difficult relationship, only to realize much later in life that we all create and recreate our own patterns. The year 1997 was one of the most difficult years of my life. My husband met with an accident and was bedridden for a couple of months. I found myself surrounded with challenges on all fronts – physical, mental, emotional and, the gravest of all, financial. I was experiencing depression and suicidal feelings, and on the whole I felt that I shouldn’t live. It was during this time that life unfolded within me in an altogether different way. I started experiencing spiritual mysticism, which today has become an integral part of my existence. With every experience a new arena of knowledge unfolded. My awakening helped me in shaping my new identity that I may define in just one word, “Bliss.” Reality, I discovered, is holographic, where we live in a maze of optical illusion surrounded by our own images.

As meditation became my new way of life, I awakened to the truth that spirituality is not just one of the dimensions of existence; rather, it’s the only paradigm of meaningful existence, and every other phenomenal reality is simply an offshoot of it. Henceforth, I embarked on a beautiful journey of self-discovery. In my book, The Married Monk: From Experience to Beyond, I’ve tried breaking the myth that being a monk is “a trans worldly identity,” as has been normally understood. Rather, being a monk is more about “the connection with your Higher Self.” It’s an experience of ecstasy that transcends any defined or undefined barriers. Being spiritual is not about the renunciation of materialism, comfort and relationships; it’s about the renunciation of anything and everything that is “not-love.”

The solution to every problem or dilemma lies within. It’s only when we’re able to unveil our fake identities and dissolve any distinctions that our hidden potential is unleashed and we become our greatest friend.

Let’s dive a little deeper.

When nothing exists, everything unfolds

It is definitely a myth that we’re just human beings. We are much more than any metaphysical entities. We are simply divine, unique and beautiful in our own ways. It’s the mind or the ego that keeps us disillusioned. When the weather is cold, we keep ourselves wrapped in layers of clothes, but as the sun shines we start feeling suffocated. In our lives too, we’ve wrapped ourselves in so many layered identities of being good versus bad, affluent versus less affluent, belonging to some specific caste, religion, nation – the list is endless. But when the wisdom of the sun shines, these identities make us feel trapped and suffocated; and there’s a need to drop everything. Then nothing exists. All boundaries and limitations dissolve. We become like a child – a baby who’s just filled up with bliss. We then experience happiness, not because we’ve attained something, but because our connection with our own magnificence brings joy. The awareness of being “absolute” descends. The veil that separates us from others no longer exists, and we’re light and liberated.

In our lives too, we’ve wrapped ourselves
in so many layered identities
of being good versus bad,
affluent versus less affluent,
belonging to some specific caste, religion,
nation – the list is endless.
But when the wisdom of the sun shines,
these identities make us feel trapped and suffocated;
and there’s a need to drop everything.
Then nothing exists.
All boundaries and limitations dissolve.

The scientific world makes us acquainted with facts. We have to abide by them unconditionally. For example, the law of gravitation holds good irrespective of our choice. Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius, and I cannot say, “This doesn’t suit me.” Similarly, when the dust of ignorance is brushed aside, the cosmic consciousness familiarizes us with certain undeniable truths that are relevant in both the spiritual as well as the empirical world. Truths are neutral, they are neither good nor bad. It’s our understanding of them that shapes our lives both empirically as well as spiritually.

Here is my own understanding of some profound yet subtle spiritual laws:

The Four Eternal Truths of Bliss and Ecstasy

First Eternal Truth: “What we seek is seeking us.”

This is a very popular quote of 13th century Persian poet, Rumi. It seems too simple, but it took me many years of spiritual insights to be able to decode this. Normally, “seeking” is interpreted as a wish or a desire that a person is having. But seeking here has a deeper meaning: it’s the purpose or a cause that your mind aligns with your higher self. In other words, this is something you tune with so brilliantly (perfectly) that you’re thinking about it, even when you feel you’re not.

The purpose needn’t be necessarily creative or positive, because good or bad, positive or negative, all such distinctions prevail only in the empirical domain of this phenomenal world. In the spiritual domain you’re your own master. Mother Teresa sought love and compassion for the sick and the ailing, and her intention attracted energies across the globe where masses joined her in large numbers in fulfilling her mission. A terrorist may seek destruction for someone and, in the process, lands up destroying himself, his family, his nation. Whatever we fill ourselves with pours outside. In the energy world, “what flows in” is “what flows out.” What we look for comes searching for us.

Second Eternal Truth: What we seek outside is present inside.

Like the musk deer who stays mesmerized with his own fragrance all his life, we too waste our lives searching for what’s already with us. Absolute health, love, harmony in relationships, material abundance everything was, is, and will be always with each one of us. Infinity is our essence. The only problem is our lack of understanding or what we may term as some kind of “misunderstanding.”

The door of eternal happiness and potentiality is labelled “pull,” but we’re busy pushing this outside.

The highest Intelligence, our higher Self, the Ultimate,
the Absolute – whatever name we call it – resides within,
guiding and supporting us.
Therefore, the most important aspect of our outer creation
is the need to be aligned with our inner world.

Most of our lives we’re busy focusing on the scarcity that we see in the outside world. The world is not a game of musical chairs, where someone else has to leave for our accommodation. We focus on the lack, and unconsciously manifest the same. You might be admiring your neighbour’s sophisticated brand new car. Now, if you’ve enough funds, will you buy a second-hand car for yourself and your family, or do you prefer to visit your nearest car showroom and buy a new one for yourself ? A new car would probably give you much more joy than any second-hand piece.

This is exactly how we (mis)behave in the phenomenal world too. In our daily lives we find ourselves surrounded with endless issues – seeking better job opportunities and economic abundance, aspiring for healthy and happy relationships with colleagues, family and friends – but here, too, our mind starts playing the game of musical chairs. For example, “Only two in the company will be promoted and I have to be in the top two.” That’s how our mind traps us, driving us into the zone of fear, competition and eventually unhappiness and depression. We fail to realize that the universe has its own diverse, infinite ways of supplying our demands. Stealing, snatching, or acting smart won’t work in the astral realm. The creator is residing within. Our highest Self is the ultimate software that caters to our each and every wish.

Why are we always seeking outside?

Maybe we’ve never been told that the power resides within. We’ve been conditioned to place our faith in external factors like availability, scarcity of resources in the external world, and favors from others. Nobody taught us in schools that life is not about winning or losing, rather it’s about creating and experiencing. No one needs to be blamed for not making us aware of our own magnificence because our parents and elders were equally unaware. In fact, today most of humanity does not trust in our innate powers.

Positive thinking helps, but it’s not only what we think that we create; rather, what we gel with in our inner world with absolute authenticity is what is manifested in the outer world as our perceptual reality. Our thoughts need to be solidified into repetitive patterns (beliefs) to be manifested.

Thoughts – beliefs – reality. Brick by brick a wall is built.

With every thought that we think, we strengthen our beliefs, and these in turn create our experiential reality. We, therefore, don’t experience what we desire; rather, we are rewarded with everything that we’re ready for. The universe knows it all. The highest Intelligence, our higher Self, the Ultimate, the Absolute – whatever name we call it – resides within, guiding and supporting us. Therefore, the most important aspect of our outer creation is the need to be aligned with our inner world. What we radiate is what we receive. I cannot expect my universe to bestow me with love and blessings if I’m radiating only shame and guilt. What we create inside, either consciously or unconsciously, is exactly what we’re entitled to experience in the outer world.

Our experience of life is directly proportional to the frequency of our own vibration. In other words, the universe responds according to the electromagnetic fields that we create in and around ourselves by our thoughts and belief patterns. Therefore, the universe responds according to our inner state, whether we’re operating from the lower states of consciousness or connected with our inner Being.

All of us have experienced these subtle connections sometimes or the other. It may come to you as a little subtle voice within, or as soft whispers of your guardian angels, or as a gut feeling when you’re inspired to take some action that transcends any human logic. Even butterflies in the stomach convey messages that otherwise stay untold. Each has their own unique way of connecting with the highest Intelligence. If you want to find yours, just close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Let the magic happen. You may come to know instantly, or it might take a while. Have patience. The treasure belongs to you.

Third Eternal Truth: Existence.
All that we don’t seek is there too, though in a dormant form.

The creator is one and only one. We may or may not choose to seek Him in infinite reflections: the choice is ours. He is there in each and every atom of the universe. In every thought, word and deed, His magnificence prevails. Our planet Earth, for example, has one natural satellite. Our Moon is one, but we can seek its infinite reflections in the vastness of the Indian Ocean and in a tiny glass of water. Reflections vary – some are clear, some vague or dim, depending upon the medium. The moon remains the same, unconditionally. We may choose to stay indoors and still the existence of the moon prevails. Just because the beauty of the moon doesn’t mesmerize someone doesn’t imply its non-existence; similarly, whatever we are not seeking doesn’t imply its non-existence. It’s there in dormant form. This is a world of duality where everything is known to us through opposites. We know that something is blue because it is not red or yellow or green, and so on. So, the existence of something becomes known to us through the absence of the non-existence of its opposites.

We look at a seed and know it’s not a plant or an herb; but they exist in the seed in dormant form.

Every seed has an innate potential to become a plant, and then a tree under favorable conditions. Every situation where you happen to experience pain or suffering or scarcity has the potential to bear its opposites – joy, bliss, harmony and abundance. Either you are not seeking them, or are not seeking them in the right way. But in the matrix of consciousness, infinite possibilities lay hidden in a dormant form.

Where you experience pain, there pleasure too prevails; Where you experience scarcity, there abundance too is hidden;Where you experience disease, health too is there.

Most of us are not able to see it because we believe our perception and ignore our intuition. It’s in the realm of intuition (inner connection) where infinite possibilities exist.

Seek happiness always. Radiate love everywhere. Make it a choice. In whatever situation, pleasant or unpleasant; in whatever profession, whether you like it or don’t; choose happiness over and above everything. Other good things will eventually follow as this is the law of Certainty.

First a choice, then a habit and eventually a destiny.
This is how you can turn the tables in your favor.

A smile, laughter – all these are contagious and spread with a ripple effect. In scientific terms energy flows. With every smile and joyful existence, we raise our frequency and attract the same high frequency objects, persons and opportunities in our environment too. Isn’t that so simple?

Fourth Eternal Truth: Purpose.
When we stop seeking, we are dead.

Being or Source is one. At the pinnacle of consciousness there is total void or nothingness. As we proceed from subtle to physical, however, from pure consciousness to body consciousness, “becoming” is the unavoidable truth.

At the subtle level, Being (Oneness) is the reality.While at the physical level, becoming (many-ness) is the reality.

If we observe closely, we discover that everything is in the process of becoming. Darwin’s theory of evolution talks about the “becoming process” at the cellular and genetic level. Every individual species is engrossed in this process and is in the process of unfoldment. Becoming is a journey from potentiality to actualization. We germinate the seed in soil, and after a few days we see a seedling and then a bigger plant. But these are only the visible changes. At a subtle level, the change that’s taking place in the seed is an ongoing process. A caterpillar changes into a beautiful butterfly. It’s pleasing to our senses to experience the result – a vibrant, colorful creature. However, what we witness are purely the visible changes; everything that happens at the subtle level stays hidden and is yet there. While for plant and animal species, the purpose that moves them is more about growth and sustenance, for human beings the purpose is more about discovering and aligning with our higher Self.

Purpose means what you identify yourself with,
something that won’t let you sleep … your passion, your engraved potential
for something that gives a momentum to your own existence,
something that makes you feel full and complete.

Purpose gives life a profound meaning. Purpose doesn’t just mean goal setting or New Year’s resolutions. Purpose means what you identify yourself with, something that won’t let you sleep … your passion, your engraved potential for something that gives a momentum to your own existence, something that makes you feel full and complete. This can be as great as the mission Mother Teresa identified herself with or as simple as remaining joyful all the time.

A baby or an infant finds this purpose with anything and everything. He can play with his own body parts. Even the clutter of the house will excite him. Each and every moment of his life is fused with a purposeful existence. As we grow up, our purpose is conditioned with social norms like success in terms of numbers or figures, being superior or inferior, hierarchy, seniority, promotions, and so on. The very concept of “purpose” loses its essence then. It’s no more a dream or a passion; rather, it’s a conditioned rat race where the society tells you where, when, and how to experience happiness. So, something that’s intrinsic and eternal becomes something that is extrinsic, simulative or conducive. Happiness then becomes a task and not an inherent attribute.

Have you ever wondered why a baby derives joy from anything, while grownups feel depressed when they have to wear the same branded clothes or jewelry on two separate occasions? This shows that happiness has nothing to do with the object; instead the locus of happiness is within us, our own state of awareness. The external stimulus stops bothering us and seems insignificant once life is infused with a profound purpose. When purpose enters life, every other agenda loses its momentum. There is no such thing as having a bigger or a smaller purpose. Wherever you are and whatever you may be doing, purpose is more about how you do it.

Purpose acts as a fuel that accelerates our life force. It induces rhythm in our lives, removes inertia and raises our vibrational frequency. Once the purpose is lost, life becomes mechanical, loses grace and becomes meaningless or dead. My life changed the moment I discovered my purpose. Now I fuse this with whatever I do and wherever I am. I found this in the inspiring words of Mother Teresa: “Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.”

Please find yours.

Article by DR. SIMMI VALECHA
Illustrations by ANANYA PATEL

Simmi Valecha

Simmi is a Professor at the Department of Philosophy, Delhi University. Her Ph.D. was in feminism and ethical philosophy, and her M.Phil. in Gandhian philosophy. She is the author of Gandhi’s Law of Conscience (2001) and The Married Monk: From Experience to Beyond, which is soon to be released.

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