Try Being Nothing

Once there was a king and he was very proud of his kingdom. He had done good for is subjects. He had done good for his family. He had a strong army. He was very proud of what he had done.

But one fine day, he got to know there was another king who had done more for his kingdom. The other king had a larger army, had created more wealth for his citizens.

This changed the entire mood of the king.

Now the king started thinking how he too could grow more. He became restless. He kept trying harder. He started spending more. He became agitated.

He kept asking his minsters, "Am I now, not better than that other king?"

And in the process he ended up losing his peace of mind. He became insane with hunger to outdo the other king. In the process, he started making mistakes.

His kingdom and citizens started suffering, hes started suffering, his family suffered and he died a miserable man.

This is the story of so many of you. Think about it honestly. You might fight me or deny what I am saying, but deep down you know it is true.

Sometimes you try too hard.

You try to hard to impress people. You try too hard to show people how great you are or how much you know or how rich you are or how powerful you are or how intelligent you are.

And many times that takes up a lot of your energy and focus and attention.

You become like the king, mad to show the world all that you know and have.

But you don't have to. Everyone is beautiful in their own way.

People don't have to be equal. In nature nobody and nothing is equal.

Visit a jungle, you will realize nothing is equal. The lion hunts the deer. The deer eats the grass. The bird flies. The fish swim.

None of them are equal. If you try to make them equal, the balance of the jungle will not be in harmony. The Universe will collapse.

Instead, try bring nothing. Become empty.

Empty your mind. Empty it of all the clutter.

And create space.

The moment you create space, you will be true to your nature.

Your true nature will take over.

Ever heard a deer trying to compete with a lion? A lion is a lion. A deer is a deer.

They can never be equals. But that doesn't mean the deer can't enjoy a beautiful life.

The deer can enjoy grass even when he is old. He can enjoy the sweet river water.

From now on practice the art of being nothing.

Simply do what you are meant to with total devotion and don't try to prove anything to anyone.

You waste more energy and let go of your peace when you try to prove things to others.

There is another story I am reminded off. Once Alexander the Macedonian (III) - I don't enjoy calling him Alexander The Great, there are reasons which I have shared in the past was on the borders of India.

He wanted to capture India and he got to know about a sadhu, a saint, a learned man, a mystic.

And he sent his people to get the mystic. His guards, who were very arrogant, went to the mystic and told him very rudely, "Alexander The Great has ordered you to come. Get up and come with us."

The mystic laughed, and said, "I am not coming anywhere. If he wants to come, he may visit me."

The guards got angry and removed their swords, "Come if not we will kill you."

The mystic laughed again with no fear, "There is no way you can kill me. You may cut my head off, but you can't kill me. Go ahead an cut my head right now. "

The guards were surprised and taken a back. This man had no fear of their swords, they were flustered.

And they decided to go and report this to Alexander.

When they told about this Indian mystic to Alexander, he too was taken aback and decided to come and meet him. He had never met anyone who was not afraid of him.

He had destroyed so many villages, killed so many people, he had even killed his own best friend, how could this man not be afraid of him.

When Alexander met him, he was surprised, this mystic showed no special reverence to him.

Alexander asked him, "Aren't you afraid of what I can do to you? You have no army, not guards, you are just a poor mystic sitting under this tree."

The mystic laughed, "I can't be destroyed. No flame can burn me, no water can drown me. I am eternal."

Alexander didn't understand, and removed his sword and held it to his head, "What if I cut your head?"

The mystic smiled, "You will just destroy my body and not me."

Alexander, felt something for those few moments and spent time with the mystic, speaking, learning and before he left the mystic told him, "You will never be able to get anything. Everything here is impermanent. Today you are, tomorrow you will be no more."

The mystics words were so true and apply to everyone. Alexander as we know could not conquer India, he was soon defeated, his army abounded him, he became an alcoholic, he went insane and he died when he was only 32.

Imagine how miserable his life was. He chased for power. He tried to conquer more and more.

But in the end he got nothing.

Had he accepted he is nothing, he would have experienced everything.

Yogesh Chabria

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