Self transformation is chipping away the unwanted parts of us which stand in the way of realizing our divine nature. We have a short life of less than a hundred years. We spend our entire lifetime in growing up, education, earning our trade, amassing wealth, marrying, raising a family, fulfilling social and other obligations. And then we die. Very few of us think of self transformation. We have barely time to exist and survive. We have endless desires and we spend our time chasing them till we are forced to leave the body and death overtakes us. The unfulfilled desires are our karma which place us in situations where these desires can be fulfilled. We spend countless lives running the same trip of fulfilling desires, earning and existing and there is no end to it. Also there is change in our attitude, knowledge, wisdom or actions.
Self transformation is going within ourselves and finding ourselves. It is chipping away the useless unwanted parts of ourselves which we have accumulated in this lifetime and other lifetimes which form layers of veils over our soul and hides the light of soul within us. It is coming out from the incredible darkness that we live in into the transforming light of our soul. It is the awareness that there is more to ourselves than our body and mind and the false identity we have created for ourselves in this world.
We carry heavy burdens from our past – of guilt, pain, stress, unworthiness, anger, hatred and limiting beliefs. We have to get rid of our old memories and habits. Only when we shed the burdens and pains of past we can move in greater freedom and freshness. Like the snake sloughs off its old skin and moves out in fresh new shiny skin, we must also slough off our pains of past and move on with renewed freshness and zeal in life. It is a struggle for the snake to slough off its tight covering but it is essential for its survival. Similarly, when we shed past pains, habits and attitudes, it is like tearing of our nails or skin. But the result is a changed perspective and habits which are disciplined and help us in walking the path of self transformation and towards God. There is a fable about the powerful eagle which illustrates this change:
The eagle has the longest life-span among birds. It is reputed to live up to 70-80 years. When it is in its forties, its long and flexible talons can no longer grab prey during its hunting. Its powerful and sharp beak becomes bent. Under such conditions, the eagle has only two options: die or go through a painful process of change which lasts about 150 days or five plus months. The eagle retreats to its nest in the mountain top. There it knocks off its beak against a rock till it falls off. This process is not for the cowardly. Then it has to wait patiently till a new beak grows back. Then it uses its new beak to pluck out its talons. This is equal to ripping out our nails without anaesthesia. Then it waits again for the talons to grow again. After the new talons have grown strong, it plucks off its old and aged feathers. Then it waits again for new feathers to grow to on its body. After five months of self inflicted pain and growth of new parts, the eagle is now ready for its extended new life which lasts for thirty more years.
The story of the eagle may be a myth. But it teaches a very important lesson. Change is essential to survive. We have to remove the old and unwanted part of ourselves to change. This process is painful and is a self inflicted operation without anaesthesia. Only when we shed the unwanted, we can live a new life which helps us to live up to our inner potential. Our reality is that we are sparks of the Divine. Unveiling our inner divinity is self transformation and it is worth every bit of pain we undergo. Let us make a strong intent to walk as per the guidance and teachings of the Guru and race towards the Light.
