Quality of our life is the quality of our emotion. If we are emotionally weak, our life becomes weak. If our emotions are insipid, our life also becomes insipid.
What is an emotion? It is energy in motion. All of us are looking for energy, is it not? We say we have less energy; we need more energy, etc. Where do we find this energy?
We have to look deeply into this. Our body has energy, our feelings have energy, and our intellect has energy. Tapping that energy constructively is the need of the hour.
If one wants to use the body effectively, one needs to drop energy wasters in the body. Then one’s body will remain charged. To conserve energy, it is crucial to handle one’s emotion. Mother’s love for the child brings in energy of giving and contributing. Life is pleasant, if such pure energy in us is tapped.
Irrespective of age, one’s love to serve and to contribute should always be in the forefront. I have seen this trait in some of my students. They have shown tremendous flexibility in balancing their energy demands.
Let me illustrate this with a few examples from the life of some of my students. One is serving me even today in spite of going through divorce and the energy demands for bringing up children; one rose to the occasion to serve me by balancing the energy demands from family due to sickness of mother; and one despite being in hospital and undergoing surgery had the energy to ask me for updates on enrolments.
I have no words but only tears of gratitude for their loving heart. Somehow they have discovered the right emotion, the right love and passion. Life is an opportunity for such a discovery and for such a growth. It is a pathway for inner growth.
Why is one after pleasure? Why is one after money or power?
If you look at their life, you will find that their basic needs are provided for and in spite of that the greed for money is so high.
Something is lost in their pursuit. People want money or pleasure not for its sake, is it not?
They feel money, pleasure or power will change the way they feel or change their emotion. When they have money, they will feel good, feel joyous, and feel fulfilled. So, basically they want to “feel better” and in the process they become bitter.
They miss this point. So the object of pleasure or money has become more important than the “feeling of joy”. Thus, if one is aware, one will see “this feeling” is uplifted and in that state they contribute for others uplift.
You connect to people through communication. Have you observed that your communication is not only through words but also through the feelings that flow through words? There are four levels of communication. Words are at one level and feelings, energy or the music of feelings is at another level. So, musicians in singing not only choose the words but also the right feeling. If there is disconnect between words and the feeling, then something is missing.
The third level is “intent”. Intent also communicates. Lastly, if one can drop the ego then another energy or emotion emerges. So, in communication there are four levels and the energy flows in all the four levels. This is Vak Tapas – i.e., austerity in speaking.
You need to bring all these emotions at home and in your spiritual family and also deeply reflect whether, in your feelings, you are connecting or disconnecting with fulfillment of energy with others.
Swamiji is giving classes in Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Dallas, TX and SV temple, Pittsburgh, PA in April first 3 weeks. Please visit Swamiji’s website www.swamisukhabodhananda.org
Swami Sukhabodhanad
