There is a beautiful thunderstorm raging in Delhi right now and its not very different from a similar state in my head. I have been battling for the past few days on the questions around sacrifice or त्याग. As my fellowship is nearing its end, i know the next step that i will take will clearly reflect on the strength of mind that i have towards following my dream. I inherently believe in the fact that if one is clearly aware of what is that you want to do(one’s purpose of existence), then one should go after it with all one’s got without caring for anything else. If one has the strength of character to sing one’s song with the utmost of purity then the universe will itself take care of the rest. The entire universe will come towards conspiring to help one such person in singing his song well. However, the extent of universe’s help is directly dependent on the purity with which one sings one’s song which comes only and only out of utter conviction in one’s path(song).

Now, when one has reached such a stage of extreme clarity towards one’s purpose of existence, then one has to pass through a litmus test of sacrificing everything else for that cause, so that there are no distractions left and the only idea that remains in one’s life is that of the completion of one’s purpose and nothing else. The level up-to which a person is willing to sacrifice one’s attachments and other things in life reflect directly on how far’s one will go in one’s path and also, how much would others be inspired by one’s path. Its this sacrifice of one’s attachments and one’s own sense of security(by jumping out totally into the unknown) that proves in action one’s unselfishness towards one’s path. Its this precisely which makes other people believe in one such person, infact the other people start resonating with the purity inside such a person and go crazy over him/her and are ready to even lay down their lives for him/her.

It was Bhagat Singh’s ultimate sacrifice for his path that made and still makes the youth go crazy and inspires them to emulate his actions. So was Gandhi’s sacrifice of even his upper clothing that made the people of the country so totally resonate with him. Imagine, millions of people were ready to lay down their lives after been inspired by the sacrifice these men made. Funny isn’t it, it wasn’t money or power(through status or guns) that won these people over, it was the renunciation of these men. All of India’s saints have been people who have set aside everything in their pursuit of experiencing and then spreading truth, they sacrificed all and see the level to which they are revered today. In the life of each person who is in pursuit of finding one’s purpose, such a moment arrives soon after one achieves the clarity of one’s path and its the sacrifice one’s is able to make in the moment that determines one journey forward.

This brings me back to my own journey and the related doubt: Would i be able to sacrifice everything for my goal when the right time comes OR would i compromise and settle for something less? I am yet to get the extreme clarity on my purpose of existence and still am attached to quite a lot of things. I had this doubt in my head around my mind creating delusions of me not being ready so as to keep myself from giving it all up right now but that cleared up few days when i realized that i was yet unclear on the purpose, the single idea behind my existence.  I know i have to prepare myself, slowly increasing the rigor so as to be able to take that ultimate step when the mind achieves the clarity.

That will be my ultimate test and i hope as and when the day comes, i would be able to make the  त्याग(sacrifice) required of me.