Acquisition Of Power & Gaining Of Wisdom
M any today associate spirituality withacquiring extra powers or mobilising a cleansingenergy which could solve our problems. Hence they conclude that a spiritually evolved person will acquire extraordinary powers. But there is a difference between acquiring powers and becoming spiritually evolved. Hindu tradition does recognise that through specific practices one can acquire extraordinary powers. But these may not necessarily be spiritual in nature. Many examples are given to show extra powers can be meaningless, become a curse or be responsible for one's destruction if one abuses them. Thefirst story is about a person who did great penance for 12 years and acquired the power to walk on water. He wanted to show off his power to a boatman crossing the river and told him, asked, "How long did it take for you to acquire this power of walkingon water?" The person proudly said."12 years of hard work". The boatman replied, "Why did you waste 12 years of your life trying to acquire this skill when you can easily cross the river in a boat?" The second story is about a kingwho was greedy for wealth. He managed to acquire the power whereby whatever he touched would become gold. Initially he was thrilled that when he touched his table, chair and other objects, they turned golden. But when he sat down to eat and the food turned to gold, he was in distress. When he embraced his daughter, she became gold. Now the kingbegged for the boon to be reversed. Finally, the story about Hiranyakashyapu. Through penance, he gained a boon that he could not be day or at night. Now he thought he was invincible and so he abused his extraordinary powers. Finally, Lord Vishnu in the form of Narasimha, half-man andhalf-lion, neither man nor animal, atthe threshold of the house that was neither inside nor outside, killed him at dusk, between dayand night. Do these examples mean that acquiringadditional power is necessarily bad? No. One can become more intuitive, one's prayers begin to get answered, and one can actually use it for common benefit. Power has to be put in perspective. The Bhagwad Gita enables you to see that every individual has some sphere of influence, and some can acquire more power than others through practice. However, these powers are nothing in comparison to the generating cycles of creation ardestruction, making everythingway it is. No one who claims to hpowers can stop day, a tsunamicnatural calamities such as cycloand hurricanes, that follow the nature. That means, the objectiposition to have towards power one can have it, use it for comm benefit, but that cannot be the m of one's spiritual progress. Spirituality is not about gainpowers; it is about making a delilattempt to expose oneself to wisdthat enables one to see things in tright perspective. Evolving spiriincludes gaining mastery over o emotions, making appropriate chof action, responding to challengsituations with equanimity anddwelling on the deeper meaning Just like any higher learning sucmathematics, physics and econogaining wisdom requires deliber
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Janina Neema Mazumdar and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Neema Mazumdar and Speaking Tree ,Times of India
Acquisition Of Power & Gaining Of Wisdom
M any today associate spirituality withacquiring extra powers or mobilising a cleansingenergy which could solve our problems. Hence they conclude that a spiritually evolved person will acquire extraordinary powers. But there is a difference between acquiring powers and becoming spiritually evolved. Hindu tradition does recognise that through specific practices one can acquire extraordinary powers. But these may not necessarily be spiritual in nature. Many examples are given to show extra powers can be meaningless, become a curse or be responsible for one's destruction if one abuses them. Thefirst story is about a person who did great penance for 12 years and acquired the power to walk on water. He wanted to show off his power to a boatman crossing the river and told him, asked, "How long did it take for you to acquire this power of walkingon water?" The person proudly said."12 years of hard work". The boatman replied, "Why did you waste 12 years of your life trying to acquire this skill when you can easily cross the river in a boat?" The second story is about a kingwho was greedy for wealth. He managed to acquire the power whereby whatever he touched would become gold. Initially he was thrilled that when he touched his table, chair and other objects, they turned golden. But when he sat down to eat and the food turned to gold, he was in distress. When he embraced his daughter, she became gold. Now the kingbegged for the boon to be reversed. Finally, the story about Hiranyakashyapu. Through penance, he gained a boon that he could not be day or at night. Now he thought he was invincible and so he abused his extraordinary powers. Finally, Lord Vishnu in the form of Narasimha, half-man andhalf-lion, neither man nor animal, atthe threshold of the house that was neither inside nor outside, killed him at dusk, between dayand night. Do these examples mean that acquiringadditional power is necessarily bad? No. One can become more intuitive, one's prayers begin to get answered, and one can actually use it for common benefit. Power has to be put in perspective. The Bhagwad Gita enables you to see that every individual has some sphere of influence, and some can acquire more power than others through practice. However, these powers are nothing in comparison to the generating cycles of creation ardestruction, making everythingway it is. No one who claims to hpowers can stop day, a tsunamicnatural calamities such as cycloand hurricanes, that follow the nature. That means, the objectiposition to have towards power one can have it, use it for comm benefit, but that cannot be the m of one's spiritual progress. Spirituality is not about gainpowers; it is about making a delilattempt to expose oneself to wisdthat enables one to see things in tright perspective. Evolving spiriincludes gaining mastery over o emotions, making appropriate chof action, responding to challengsituations with equanimity anddwelling on the deeper meaning Just like any higher learning sucmathematics, physics and econogaining wisdom requires deliber
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Janina Neema Mazumdar and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Neema Mazumdar and Speaking Tree ,Times of India