Today is Buddha Purnima, the day Buddha was born. He got enlightened, he attained nirvana and he died also on this same day. Today the moon seems 20% bigger than other times; it is a very big moon. It is a good occasion to watch the moon rise.
Buddha has left such a permanent mark on the planet for centuries to come, for people to remember the glory of the divinity.
Wake up the little Buddha inside you!
There is a little Buddha in everybody, and that Buddha is in the form of Siddhartha. Do you know who is Siddhartha? Before Buddha became Buddha, he was Siddhartha. He was wandering and lost but he had the spirit of enquiry in his heart.
Siddhartha, at a very young age understood that everything is sorrow. He said, “The world is all sorrow and I want to get rid of sorrow”, but he did not know the way. Everybody has this little Buddha inside of them (here referring to the burning spirit of enquiry), one only has to wake up to it.
Buddha’s first words after he got enlightened.
Today being Buddha Purnima, I’d like to tell you a little bit about Lord Buddha’s life.
When Lord Buddha saw the suffering in the world, he said, “Life has no meaning. If you have to become old, and you have to die, then what is the point in living!”
When he encountered a sick man, a dead man and an ascetic. He left his palace and sat in meditation for many years. After he attained enlightenment, for seven days he didn’t say a word. The angels and gods of the subtle world got worried. They said that after a long time a Buddha has come on the planet, why isn’t he speaking anything?
Buddha said, “The people who know, they know, and those who do not know, even by my speaking, will not understand. They are so busy making money, making relationships work, fighting, eating and sleeping that with my telling, nothing will get into their minds”.
All the Gods and angels argued with Buddha saying that there are some people who are on the borderline. If you just tell them, they will get it! There are people who have some idea, and who really want to know, for them you must speak. Then Lord Buddha stated speaking from that day; the seventh day.
On the seventh day, after the full moon, Lord Buddha started speaking and all he said was, “Everything is nothing!”
I want you to immediately experience one thing. Wake up and see till this moment, whatever has happened in your life for the last 30 to 50 years, is it not like a dream?
Take your mind forward and backward. Now fast forward it. You’re sitting here, you will go back home, have your dinner and sleep. Tomorrow you will wake up, brush your teeth, get on with your work. The next day will roll, the third day will roll and June will come. Then July, August, September, and the New Year party will happen. It’s all gone! All the days will be gone. Is it not like a dream? Could this be a dream, you reading these words? How do you know it is reality? It could be a dream! The present could be a dream, question the present. The future is like a dream. If you can manage to shift your attention and see this reality, you will see something above this. There is something above and beyond this, which remains, which is so beautiful. And if you see this, you gain such incredible strength, energy, love and beauty in your life out of it that nothing whatsoever can shake it.
What do you need to do? You need to simply wake up! Turn one switch off (mind), and turn the other one on (intuition). For a moment, wake up and see, this is all a dream, and discard everything. Immediately you get connected to the universal power, to the truth that you are made up of!
When you have to work with people, don’t use this philosophy, i.e., everything is nothing. You will not be able to do your business! However, keep this in mind – everything is nothing. This gives you inner strength, intuitive ability, happiness, contentment, love and compassion.
Happy Buddha Purnima!