The Greatness of the Birthday for the Great
By Karmayogi
Birth is the great mystery of life, said Sri Aurobindo. Having said
that, He explained the process of birth that leads to death spiritually
in three chapters in The Life Divine.
The chosen few gravitate to the Master and live sheltered under His
spiritual aura. Some are favoured with the vision of their Soul in their
own dreams. Others are dreamt about by other people which news reaches
them in time. People who meet them find them exuding the Spirit. It is
all a gentle call from beyond from the Beloved.
To know what one is inwardly is a thrilling experience. It is real at
that time. Life has other aspects such as office life where friends
offer delightful company.
The kitchen and its chores are so satisfying to the physical experience
that one sometimes seeks it. The rare experience in the dream recedes to
the background and is forgotten. Birthday is a great social occasion to
which all children look forward to. Even adults feel a mild pleasure
when meaningless people repeat the hackneyed phrase ‘Happy birthday to
you’.
However inconsequential they are, however lifeless those words are,
something in us is satisfied. That is the force of tradition. Those who
are so endowed are called the great of the SOUL.
They wait for life to overcome them or the hidden soul to burst forth.
It so happens to one in a thousand.
One has to take individual effort and exhaust it. Had Buddha awaited his
illumination, he would have ruled all India and beyond. That was one of
the alternatives the astrologers saw at the time of his birth.
There is another phenomenon as happened to Swami Vivekananda and a few
others. Someone sees the endowment of this fortunate soul and is
determined to bring it out at all costs.
Very rarely such spiritual benevolence is received without a frown or at
least occasional annoyance. Whatever the endowment, whatever the
process, its ultimate consummation is said to be in the hands of God,
the Supreme.
The Mother says it is in the hands of the person who is so fortunate. In
fact, it lies in his CHOICE, not one major choice, but in every choice
he ever makes.