Possess nothing or own up everything

You can grow to the position of a nishkinchana (having nothing, owning nothing) – a zero! What does it mean? “I belong to the world. I am a denizen of the earth. Nothing in this world belongs to me. On the other hand, I myself belong to the world. When I myself belong to the world, how can I say that a portion of the earth belongs to me?” How fallacious, wrong and immoral it is to say so!

So, evaluate your own position, and understand your relation with the world around, and the universe as a whole. If you agree that the world or the universe belongs to God, are you also not included in the world and therefore, do you also not belong to God? You have your body and also sentience. So far as the body is concerned, certainly it belongs to the earth. And so far as Consciousness, the ‘I’ in you is concerned, it is God Himself or Itself!

Can you not arrive at this conclusion? How is it difficult? Think about it, and then spend enough mind-hours on this conclusion, so that it becomes an outlook and refinement in you. That is why I say, ‘mind-hours’ will have to be employed.

So, change your outlook. When you look at the world, multiply it with your ‘Godly-idea’. Then you will find the whole world becoming Godly. Everything is born of the supreme reality. It is the substratum of the entire creation. Understand this depth and arrive at this nishkinchana about yourself.

With this understanding, you may freely move about in the world. You can take up any activity. You can employ your hands, feet and every other physical organ for their own respective purposes. But understand that nothing belongs to you. Tell yourself: “I am using the mind and mouth provided by Nature, shaped by the hands of God. I am using them for doing something in the world of His, and I would like it to be an addition, an enrichment and a contribution.”

Hate nobody. Love everybody. Have fondness for all. If you are fond of your children and that fondness delights you, what would be the extent of delight you will get when you have fondness for the entire creation? It is so very simple. You don’t have to spend money at all for this. No special task is required!

Just remember these – nishkinchana and akhila-jeeva-vatsalaah. By remembering and by thinking about these, grow into these two dimensions. Be enriched, empowered and enlightened by these. And then be fully functional in this world to the best of your ability.

In this, there is no conflict. It is a corollary to your interactional and professional life. It is not antagonistic to anything. It is an addition. It makes you more worthy. It makes your performance more qualitative. You will become so infallible, that you will be able to plunge into any situation and perform any task boldly. You will not be afraid of anything.

Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha