Age is an Illusion

What is age? By age, we generally refer to the time this physical body has spent on this planet earth. But in reality, age is a mindset. It’s an illusory concept. You define your own age.

Age is just another label which finds use in the society, a number we use and it’s not wrong, it has it’s own importance. It becomes a problem when we start clinging to it, when we become over-attached to it, when it becomes a part of conditioning. Age becomes a problem when this number enters your thought process. Then you start thinking in terms of age and it becomes another barrier you surround yourself with, which is somewhat like, “I am too young/old to learn this or do this.” But for your kind information, world’s oldest bodybuilder is 85+ and oldest hockey player is 95+. You can read the complete article here. When you think in terms of age, you create all sorts of excuses and limit yourself from discovering your own true potential.

I have a 20 years old body. But I don’t feel my age is 20 years. There is a part of me which makes me still feel the same as I used to feel when I was 9, 10, 12, 15, 16 or whatever. It feels time doesn’t work here. So, I can behave as an ignorant innocent child or as an old man, but can still remain untouched. I am neither young, nor old. With time, physical body has definitely grown, mind has also grown by experiences and reading, different phases and seasons of life have passed, but still, something is changeless. Call it “Being”, “Witness”, “Consciousness”, “Shiva”, whatever, it doesn’t matter because it’s not about words, it’s about a feeling. And since it’s about a feeling, you may go on accumulating words but may not get to know anything about it. (Even if you were to read all the books written on mango, you will not know how it is unless you pick one and taste it.)

Now the relation of my age to my spiritual aspect. I never thought in terms of age. It’s a blessing that I have somewhat unconditioned mind, not completely civilized. This fellow doesn’t believe in blindly believing the set notions of society. So, thoughts like, “I am 17 so should not start Kundalini sadhana” or “I am too young to do sadhana and evolve spiritually or have spiritual experiences”, etc could never overpower me. It’s hard for me to even recall occasions when they came in the first place. The result was it saved me from unnecessary mental struggle. And most of the hurdles on this path are just mental struggles. A mental struggle is like trying to fight dust and smoke with sword, the more you fight, the more dusty it will get.

Age is just a number, never let this number overpower you, don’t let this number decide what you can do or what’s your possibility. Forget that you even have an age and live youthfully, eternally.

Would like to quote a name from Lalita Sahasranama –

नित्या-षोडशिका-रूपा

She is eternally remains 16-yeared. Apart from other esoteric meaning, 16 represents youth. It’s the time when one is full of energy and life. Similarly, inner devi is full of energy and life, she is ever youthful.

I offer it to the ageless you.

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