The Break of a Rosy Dawn

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At the end of a deep, dark night when the eastern horizon begins to turn pink, it heralds the arrival of a new day, and thereby the beginning of a fresh chapter of possibilities and opportunities in life. It is the time to wake up and get ready to confront the challenges that life flings at us. When the dawn breaks, scattering the gentle rays of the rising sun all over, it is a moment of fresh hopes and aspirations. It is an invitation to rise up, change our ways, if need be, and march towards our cherished goal with renewed vigour and enthusiasm.

Something similar but of much greater and far-reaching significance happens in the lives of many who wake up to a new reality in life. It is like meeting with someone on the way, who, though a stranger to you, manages to steal away all your attention, time and even urgency of your journey, and gives an altogether new direction and sense of purpose to your life. When this awakening takes place, suddenly, as if without much notice, one finds oneself face to face with a fact which had been, till then, neither important nor appealing to oneself. Such an inner encounter often leaves one bewildered. One feels puzzled, wanting to change one's life-style in a way that would reflect this inner revolution. One can neither set it aside nor rest content without doing something concrete; it ignites a sense of urgency in the mind, which catches him off guard, as it were.

Thus begins the spiritual life. Thus begins a life oriented to a higher ideal. It begins with this inner awakening. This phenomenon of spiritual awakening is one of the most intriguing facts of life. Though it is an event that happens rather rarely, it does keep occurring in the lives of many men and women all over the world. To those blessed few who experience it, what startles them is the mystery of its absence till then. They wonder as to where was it 'hiding' while they groped in the dark alleys of different pursuits of life. On the other hand, to those who are sleeping, the awakened ones become a puzzle. 'What has happened to them? Why this change in them?' they ask with disbelief and surprise.

Why, when and how does a man wake up spiritually is largely unknown. What is known, and what the common human faculty of expression can afford to express is much meagre and inadequate compared to what really transpires. A quiet process, invisible to our eyes, goes on deep in our mind, making us ready for this momentous moment. And one fine day, comes a catalyst: a chance meeting with a person, or reading or listening to a lecture or going to a holy place or some such happening, making it burst forth. One feels ushered into a new world, then.

About the author

Swami Atmashraddananda

Swami Atmashraddhananda is a monk of the Ramakrishna Order and editor of The Vedanta Kesari from the year 2004 .

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