The School Called Earth...

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16.0pt;font-family:Garamond;font-variant:small-caps;font-weight:bold">The

School Called Earth

The

planet that we

call earth is

really an institution

where we gain momentum on the

sacred path, our

sacred journey toward

self realization.

In essence, the

experiences we gain here, in our physical form, are meant to

usher us toward the

understanding

that all

physical/sense-perceived phenomena are perishable and ultimately

lead us to

misery and suffering. The lessons

learnt in the

school called earth are

very valuable and greatly contribute to the

progress of

our spiritual

journey.

The

perception

called “sorrow” and its counterpart

“happiness”

are really educational tools, teaching

us the lessons of

equanimity and

impermanence. Why were the

dualities

sorrow and happiness

referred to as

perceptions?

Generally, the term

perception

refers to something that is not real

and subject to

change. Our mistaken association with our

bodies causes us to get so

deeply involved with the

opposites of

joy and sorrow that we take them to be

real. They are not; they

are only passing

clouds. Take a look at your

own lives; wasn’t every

sorrow or joy you experienced temporary?

Didn’t it pass just the way

it

arrived? Some of these

experiences lasted for

a very long time,

while others

were of a much shorter

duration.

Yet, none

seemed to be

permanent.

With each

passing

experience, however, you became wiser, more mature,

and understanding.

The t

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font-family:Garamond">ives were only possible

because of life experiences. They were indeed great teachers.

font-family:Garamond;font-weight:bold">Na

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font-family:Garamond;font-weight:bold">ure as a

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font-family:Garamond;font-weight:bold">eacher. Nature is

indeed a great teacher.

Hot,

cold, rain, drought, night,

day—all these

are the

dualities that nature puts forth to man.

All of these

have a purpose, a higher purpose. Through these

dual experiences we learn the

great lesson of

equanimity. Our

life too is

replete with such

dualities

during every phase of our growth.

Mother

earth has

a great role

in the

universe. It is

here that we

learn life’s lessons

and get detached

from the

dualities that life throws

at us

and progress to the stage of

equanimity—the gateway to

liberation.

Every experience we create for

ourselves takes

us a step

closer to this

goal.

It is

only when children are growing that they

feel candies and toys

are the

purpose of life. Take a toy

away from a child and he would think that was the end

of the

world. As they

grow, however, they

realize that toys

and candies are not everything.

In a similar manner we, as adults, are

attached to the

bigger toys that this

world offers and as we grow spiritually

we realize that all the material things

we ran after all

our lives were really only toys

and candies in comparison to the

real goal of life.

Night and

day must alternate. After

every night there

must be day

and after

every day there

must be

night. That is

inevitable.

Life also has its

share of nights and

days, but the

spiritual

individuals will learn to use the torch

of God’s grace to continue

surfing through

the

darkest nights of

life.

font-weight:bold">Failure is

bold">the ca

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bold">th. One

grows only after

failure. With

every failure we evaluate

causes and make an attempt to

learn from our mistakes

and as a result we

grow.

Saints, the

great ones,

always welcome sorrow with a

smile. They know that

suffering is a great means

to get

closer to the

Lord. Take the

example of Jesus. He was crucified and yet He

smiled and prayed to God to

forgive those

who subjected His

body to

pain. He was (is) a great master who

maintained

equanimity even

in the

face of physical death. The result

font-family:Garamond">? Today, He is universally

recognized as one of the

greatest masters

and one who helps millions reach the

shore of bliss.

It is

only by going through

the

school called earth that we

can enjoy the bliss

offered by the

supreme.

This

learning is internal,

though,

and takes

place without our

realizing it.

Remember no one fails in this

school. The school is so built that all

learn without fail

and progress. Some

souls complete this

journey in one life, whereas others

would require several lifetimes.

Just as a

child studies

hard and gets

promoted if they study

hard, if we study

hard (undertake

spiritual

discipline/prayers), our progress will

be much faster and

the

goal much closer. We are all in the stage of

schooling. Welcome sufferings with a

smile; with

every experience we get

closer to our

goal: perfection.

Bon Voyage!

Source: http://www.omsaimandir.org/the_school_called_earth.cfm