The life of Gautama offers countless, profound lessons, revealing its true richness only to those who recognize its true essence. When we speak of Siddhartha, he is the sheltered prince, Gautama is the relentless seeker, and Buddha is the radiant state of enlightenment.
In those times, royal astrologers foretold the destinies of the princes. One such seer predicted that Siddhartha would renounce his royal life and embrace asceticism. Alarmed by this, his father, King Suddhodana, shielded him from the harsh realities of life—old age, sickness, and death, lest they inspire him to walk the path of renunciation. The benevolent father built him magnificent palaces for every season, crafting a world of comfort and pleasure, free from even the discomfort due to seasonal changes. Many of us might envy such a life, a father so devoted. But can a true well-wisher protect us from reality?
Siddhartha’s father tried to control the surroundings, the environmental circumstances. But could not command the thinker within Siddhartha—the thinker within each of us.
Eventually, when Siddhartha encountered the inevitable realities of human life, several questions arose within him—Why do humans grow weak? Why do they age? Why do they suffer? Why do they die? Is this everyone’s fate? This led him to question the permanence of all that he had known, and he realized the transient nature of his lavish existence. This gave rise to a yearning to seek the ultimate truth, something beyond the fleeting pleasures of life. His longing to break free from his sheltered reality led to his prayers to come out of his comfort zone and discover the deeper meaning of life, which intensified after witnessing an ascetic meditating. Siddhartha had transformed into Gautama—the ardent seeker of the ultimate truth of life.
This thirst for the truth arises within. To pursue it, one must let go of the endless desires and tread a path of discipline, determination, detachment, forgiveness, and surrender.
Gautama embraced this path with unwavering resolve. Renouncing his royal life, he engaged in a long period of intensive spiritual practice, after which he firmly resolved and sat beneath a peepal tree, now revered as the Bodhi Vriksha—the tree under which he sat in meditation. He vowed not to rise until he attained the ultimate truth; until he transformed from a seeker to being the Buddha—the Enlightened One.
This state of enlightenment can be referred to as a state transcending both joy and sorrow. The Buddha state was attained, where neither pain nor pleasure could sway Him. He had mastered the art of witnessing. Even after knowing what lies beyond this body and experiencing that blissful state, His resolve remained unshaken, as He remained detached from the blissful state!
Humans often turn away from the truth, clinging to fleeting pleasures in a futile quest for permanence. Gautama wasn’t different. However, his firm resolution and discipline helped him look beyond the temporary joys of life and continue his pursuit of the ultimate truth.
As the legend goes, Mara, the devil—the embodiment of temptation—tried to test Gautama by luring him with celestial pleasures with the help of the gods. However, he remained steadfast, unmoved by the fleeting joys being offered. he did not deviate from his path and continued meditating. Such was the power of his resolve to know the truth and the prayers that arose from the very core.
How many of us would endure such a test? If promised eternal bliss in life after death whilst living on Earth, would we be able to remain undeterred and resist the temptations? Most of us would falter. However, some would find their way back through unwavering devotion.
To instill such devotion, we need to take the first step toward spirituality: meditation, the way to realizing our true Self, Pure Consciousness, our true essence. However, we seek comfort and indulge in worldly pleasures that take us nowhere.
No matter how difficult life seems, we must ask ourselves, “Is my struggle greater than what Gautama faced during his penance? Can’t I rise above the pull of temptations and help myself for my awakening?”
The Buddha’s teachings hold timeless wisdom. His three core principles that formed the foundation of His path—
- The Universal Truth: Everyone’s mind is the same. It tends to ensnare us in Maya, the illusory world, and keeps us from pursuing the ultimate truth. We must learn to witness the mind’s games with detachment and train it to be steadfast, obedient, untainted, and loving, leading us to self-development.
- Vivek Buddhi, wisdom and discernment: On our path to realizing the ultimate truth, we need wisdom to break our age-old beliefs that blind rituals are a part of spirituality. We need to be free from these by inculcating the habit of self-reflection.
- Samyak Samadhi Sangha: To detach ourselves from emotions like fear, jealousy, greed, and people who do not align with our ultimate goal in life, we must seek the right company, the sangha, that abides by the same teachings as we do, which will help us collectively progress on our path.
It is important to learn the art of being detached, remain aligned, and practice the higher teachings. So, stay disciplined and train yourself to be an ardent truth seeker. With a strong resolve and consistent effort, you can attain that state—the state of the Buddha—Enlightenment!
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