After years of servitude, I put off the shackles and stepped out. The next morning breeze welcomed me by softly kissing my face, a drop of rain wiped off my teary gaze; the fragrant roses refreshed my tired soul, the dancing daffodils made my weak body gambol; the cuckoos song delighted my deafened ears, the grey dove fixed my ultimate fears, the playful children waved the mope and the rising sun brought me the hope. I found relief in this heaven of solitude after escaping from the prison of loneliness.
Loneliness, as it struck me, was not a state but a quality, an emotion and a feeling that completely dominated me. It was not the absence of people or objects that made me lonely, but the excessive dependence on these. My belongings enslaved my soul, my fears interned my mind and my desires confined my heart. I was running tirelessly to match all my companions and the competitors but I left my own self far behind.
Solitude, as I found it, is a heavenly state where the need is the alternative for all the desires and self is the replacement of everyone and everything that be. I used to be all alone in the heavy crowd but found an entire universe entertaining me in this mere solitude. I cannot decide whether the pleasure of solitude has freed me from the servitude of my desires or giving up on desires has brought me the bliss of solitude, but the two came to me simultaneously. Sitting all alone in these forest woods, under the shelter of this blue sky, I feel as free as a bird and as complete as a crown.
The more and more one progresses along this hierarchy of needs and desires, the more this endless path expands.
Life is a vast phenomenon that extends from the needs as simple as food, clothes and shelter to the desires as complex as the entire universe. The more and more one progresses along this hierarchy of needs and desires, the more this endless path expands. The peace lies in gratitude, the gratitude comes from satisfaction, the satisfaction arises from self-realization and self-realization demands detachment of one’s inner universe from the hustle and bustle, doom and gloom, and the wear and tear of the outer world.
The secret to human survival under the changing external conditions is the body’s homeostatic mechanism. Our body keeps our inner processes constant by adapting to changing external conditions. Just as this physical homeostasis is necessary for the survival of human being, a deeper psychological, spiritual and emotional equilibrium under the variable superficial circumstances is necessary for the peace of mind and heart. Although, keeping the control of our inner selves in our own hands is the only way to be happy and peaceful but this independence on outer circumstances could not be achieved unless we understand the nature, extent and complexity of these circumstances. Just as an effective defence against an unfortunate situation requires complete knowledge of what the situation is and what it could be, a persistently contented soul is the one that remains prepared for even the worst circumstances that could come up.
We need to realize that we are the immense creatures with a limitless universe within us and our only limitations are our fears and desires. Let us confine ourselves to our needs, liberate ourselves from the shackles that are holding us in loneliness and meet ourselves in the nirvana of solitude.