Vikas Malkani, SoulCentre
16th August 2017
The Tao Te Ching spoken by
enlightened master Lao Tzu is one of my personal wisdom treasures. Every time I
dive into its wisdom, I feel so touched, inspired, expanded and humbled!!
The amazing Tao Te Ching is made
up of 81 short chapters that contain limitless wisdom. Only an enlightened
master could have spoken so simply and so powerfully at the same time.
The Tao Te Ching is not a
discussion or a debate, it’s a statement of reality as experienced by one man.
It’s the distilled essence of this thing we call ‘Life’, as he saw it from a
place of enlightenment.
The Tao is full of wonderful
revelations and secrets, some completely contrary to common thought, and others
so simple that they are easily missed. It’s a sharing that leaves one
refreshed, empowered and curiously peaceful, even after only a few minutes of
swimming in the ocean of wisdom it offers.
I offer you 3 powerful secrets
from the teachings of Master Lao Tzu.
Tao Secret #1 - Decide your ‘Enough’ from a place of trust
Human desires have no end. Our
thirst for more and more is insatiable. The Tao teaches that we have to
consciously decide what is ‘enough’ for us, in different aspects of our life,
and abide by that set point, else we will be on a search that never ends.
If we do not train our mind, we
will continue to want more and more, create more and more, and drive ourselves
harder and harder for a goal we never seem to reach. Meditation that leads to
wisdom is the way.
Happiness comes when can be
content with what we create, and this is possible only when we can live from a
place of trust and decide what is ‘enough’ for us.
Reminds me of what Mahatma Gandhi
once said, ‘The earth has enough for the needs of all men, but it doesn’t have
enough for the wants of even one!’
Tao Secret #2 - Live in alignment with the world around you
The Tao teaches that we are meant
to align ourselves with the world around us, and the universe we live in. it is
not prudent to force the world to fit into our ideas of comfort and what we think
is right and wrong.
Remember that the earth was here
long before we arrived, the cosmos was spinning before we started our life, and
manifold life forms we unconsciously extinguish for our comfort existed in
balance before we decided to rule the world!
Realize that the universe
supports us, but it doesn’t need our support. Thus it is wiser always to align
with the universe, rather than force the universe to align with you.
If you simply spend a few minutes
to research the harm that plastics are doing to the environment and the oceans around
us, you will realize that Master Lao spoke to us with wisdom that is timeless,
and especially relevant today.
Fit in and flow with the Universe;
don’t force it to align with you!
Tao Secret #3 - Softness is stronger than hardness
Once you begin to meditate, or
receive guidance from a person of wisdom, you realize that that is no need to
be hard, harsh, rough or crude, in any and all aspects of your life. The Tao
says that soft and flexible beats hard and rigid. The bamboo that bends is
stronger than and will outlast the tree that doesn’t.
Softness is strength, flow is
resilience, and flexibility is longevity.
Flow through life and whatever it
presents you with; fight with nothing. Everything just presents an opportunity
to manifest something better, and you can use whatever life presents to create
what you want, if you come from a place of wisdom.
Thus, suffering can be a doorway
to joy; struggle can open a window to simplicity; failure can become a trigger
for realization!
Non-resistance is the way of the
master, says Lao Tzu. Resist nothing, respond to everything!
I love the wisdom contained in
the Tao Te Ching. I hope you have enjoyed and benefited from the 3 secrets I’ve
shared above.
For the very first time in
Singapore, I will be teaching ‘Secrets
of the Tao Te Ching’ on 9 & 10 September 2017, at SoulCentre. Come
and spend 2 days with me in a weekend of wisdom and enjoy a transformational
experience with life minded students.
If you are keen to develop wisdom
like Master Lao Tzu, I highly recommend our ‘Meditation Made Simple’ program as the perfect first step
in your journey of awakening and wisdom.
