Be still and know that I am God

Published in Life Positive August 2010 as A vacation at home

I was pondering recently about the Karthik poornima celebrations which are held in the temple of Arunachala every year .It has long been my desire to go to Arunachala temple in Tiruvanamalai, Tamil Nadu. So far it has not happened and it has now been relegated to the list of shall do in the future list along with a long desired trip to Chidambaram, Badrinath and Parangipettai (the birthplace of Babaji) I have for the present shelved any plans of visiting these places.
Life has to go on. The family needs to be catered to, food has to be put on the table and served, various jobs have to be done, the plants need to be watered, the dog has to be fed…this is the famous grind of life the sages keep talking about- the treadmill that goes on and on. Where is the time to take off and go on a vacation or a pilgrimage? Even if I have the time, my school holidays do not coincide with my son’s. If they do as in the case of Christmas break, my spouse cannot take off that time. So home seems to be the only vacation spot.
This was at first very difficult for me to digest and I yearned to visit all these places I have mentioned above. But this Karthik Poornima which also happens to be the birthday of my guru Mahavatar Babaji, I had a revelation.
Aruna means light and achala means steady. The idea behind going to see Arunachala is trying to keep your own inner light steady. Suppose the pilgrimage I was hankering after was only an outward manifestation of an inner state? Why do I need to stir outside my home in search of ways to steady the light of my soul when all I need is to turn inward?
When I did an about turn and turned my focus inward, I found that I needed to do nothing. The world rolled itself out at my feet. Life became all about keeping my calm, holding my peace, keeping the light steady in the world.
I suddenly remembered what Krishna spoke of in the Gita when he said that ones light should be steady and protected from the winds of theworld.
Isn’t that the greatest challenge? Remaining in this world, at this point of time doing all you need to do with perfect involvement, yet remaining calm and unaffected even when the storms of life blow all around you.In fact it is about diving into this Light that we are ,to find comfort and solace especially when a storm is raging outside.
What is the insulation that can help keep this light steady? What is that magic spell which will keep you too steady inside this light? For me it is just one thing. Faith in a Divine power, the kind of faith that makes you know for sure that whatever happens ,the ONE who gave you life will also help you live it gracefully, if you only believe…
I would like to say I keep my light steady always but that would be a lie. It is a continuous process. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose but whatever happens life has become calmer ever since I have made an attempt to Be still and know that I am God…
And sometimes home can be the best vacation spot especially when you carry Arunachala, the steady light in your heart!