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Be in the rat race, but don’t be a rat!

The desires that increase our wants are not our own desires; they are desires borrowed from others. When we see someone pursuing some desire, we adopt that desire and try to fulfill it. Mahavir Jain, the enlightened master of Jainism, said that each being born in this world, comes with everything needed for its living till it dies; the universe provides it with everything that it needs. But what happens after we are born? While our needs are clearly defined, we start grabbing wants from others; we grab all their wants out of greed, jealousy, and lust. When we do this, we start feeling that the resources we have are not enough. Obviously! Because we have been provided for one set of desires and now we have multiple times the number of desires!

Ramana says, ‘This universe has enough to fulfill the needs of every single being; however, it cannot fulfill the wants of even one being!’

Let me share a real life incident with you:

Towards the end of his life, Albert Einstein was very depressed. He turned to spirituality after his discoveries were put to destructive uses. Once, his assistant asked him what he would do if he were to live his life again.

Einstein replied, ‘I would like to become a plumber.’

The assistant was shocked. He expected that Einstein would say that he would like to become a greater scientist etc. He asked him, ‘Why? You have been greatly successful as a scientist; why would you want to be a plumber?’

Einstein replied, ‘All my life I have worked and delivered great truths to the world. But now, I understand that my whole life is a big lie. Right from my childhood I have always wanted to be a plumber, and I denied myself that joy. That is why I want to be a plumber and do what I have really wanted to do, what my being wants to do.’

When you are in the rat race, the problem is, even after winning the rat-race you are still a rat! This is why depression of success hits you. Depression of success is worse than the depression of failure. At least with failure there is hope that you will succeed; with depression of success, there is nowhere to go! Read More : So You Want To Know The Truth by Paramahamsa Nithyananda.