Are You a Piano?

Yes, I plead guilty. It’s been a while and to be honest, I didn’t have much to share lately. But today, I was watching Om Swami’s video of Him playing the piano on Wildr and got reminded of Krishna’s flute. You’d have all heard of the story, but still let me quote from Swami’s book itself. (Here ‘they’ refers to the gopis).

Isn’t it wonderful, that things (or people) which bring the most joy to the world, and also are the most joyful, have no will and almost no existence on their own? Just like the most beautiful music which escapes from Swami’s piano and Krishna’s flute, can we as humans also be empty? These musical instruments only start to exist when their Master decides to speak through them. Perhaps if we manage to empty ourselves, we could bring divine music to the world. But how can we bring this about? Because afterall aren’t we mostly cluttered and filled with desires? That’s not a bad thing as such and It is possible to be mostly empty though. Here’s what I think.

1. Do what life presents you with.

Life is always showing us the way, it only requires some awareness from our side as well as keen observation. The combination of all the duties and responsibilities which we cannot get away from, no matter what, is exactly what life wants from us at any given moment.
This isn’t to say that we have no choice. We can very well change our circumstances through action, grace and wisdom, but not by walking away. Instead the idea is to deal with what’s at hand and acting in such a way that we move towards wrapping them up. Towards cutting the rope.
On the other hand if there is no way out, e.g. you have kids and a family, well that’s what life wants from you, whether that’s based on previous choices or unfulfilled desires. And the moment we accept our situation is the moment when peace dawns in unimaginable ways. So what is life presenting you with? And nope you cannot just lock your kids up and leave town. Na. Not kidding:) Do you have studies staring straight at you but want to run away? Then life is talking. Your studies ain’t going anywhere, not should you. Do you have nothing to do and are not escaping any duties? Well then maybe you are meant to be empty, which leads us to the next point.

2. Be mindful about what you get entangled in.

Very often our choices lead to our misery or leave us feeling trapped. If the choice is due to a certain desire then we should assess the situation and certainly go for it, if it’s something we’d regret not having done when we reflect back on our death bed. If however, life isn’t presenting you with anything, then perhaps that’s our chance to become a flute, piano or guitar or whatever you wish. When we start dealing with whatever life presents us with instead of using our own will, that’s when an eerie sense of peace dawns on us. Emptiness becomes a state of being and whatever is presented gets dealt with to return back to the state of emptiness. And repeat.

Have you noticed how Swami’s piano just remained still without a single complaint or desire to play music for months(or years)? Yet the music is exudes is still as divine. Same for the flute.

So, are you ready to be a musical instrument? All it takes is the ability to remain still in stillness. Yes, remaining still in stillness because stillness almost always gives rise to restlessness.

Ready … Get Set … Go!

PC