The Fruits Of Sadhna

Yesterday a friend asked me

what the fruits of sadhna felt like. He had recently resolved to tread the path of inner wisdom and inquiry and was curious to know what the experience of freedom was, that ensued when sadhna bore fruit.

I had just emerged from that morning’s

period of stillness and the experience was powerfully alive in me as I shared with him, trying to capture in words the unfathomable, inexpressible joy that was mine.

This freedom, I attempted to explain,

felt like a wellspring of joy that rose from the heart and showered its vibrancy over my whole being. Each cell in my body throbbed with life, awake, alive and inspired. The all encompassing urge to share and embrace the whole world in the envelop of this joyful peace was so strong, that I almost felt as though I could take all of humanity into my arms like a child and hold it close to my bosom, so it could feel safe and loved.

Sown into that fertile urge was

the seed desire that pain be erased and that all could be blessed by the light. A prayerfulness that lost souls could find their way back into hope and that their darkness may be transmuted through their will to have more, to be more and to be ONE, echoed through my spirit.

I tried to explain how the waters of this joy flooded my whole body as a stream that rushes to embrace the ocean, hungry and impatient to become one with the object of its love.

I feel my prana rush through my whole body,

I whispered, sharing a secret I hadn’t spoken of before to anyone.

From his expressions I wondered if I was doing justice in being able to capture in words, the import of what I truly wanted to say. I tried nonetheless.

It feels like a stream that flows endlessly,

meandering, wandering, exploring. Knowing it will meet its source. Knowing it is joy, though just an iota of the whole. Calm yet vibrant, bubbling yet peaceful. Never stopping, never getting stuck, unencumbered, free to flow, to keep moving on.

As I think of it now, I sense it as the Ganges

flowing through me, in every cell. Washing, purifying, empowering. Giving me strength to do what I don’t know I can. Inspiring miracles where even the gentle sway of a tender Lily leaf can feel like a sign from the universe.

Where the heart swells at the sight of a rising sun

and the mind stills at seeing birds fly across an expansive sky. Where one can travel anywhere at will, whilst still being confined and where joy is no longer the slave of the satisfaction of needs or wants but arises from within without any reason, except to be alive, to be blessed enough to see what lies within.

I don’t know if I succeeded in helping him glimpse

the ethereal planes of my inner world but I share it here nonetheless, as a window into my soul, for all those who may care to look within or those who need a reason or perhaps an inspiration to embark on their journey’s to discover the secrets of their souls.

 

Pic courtesy: Diptesh Ghosh