God’s grace is hidden in all the struggles and hardships

A young boy learned about the caterpillar metamorphosis at school. Inquisitively, he went out in the garden in search of a cacoon and ah, he found one too. He was so excited to bring home the cacoon, put it in a glass jar and started observing it with a childlike curiosity. To his surprise after a few hours, the shell of the cacoon started breaking and the caterpillar began to struggle to come out of the cacoon. His struggled continued for hours. Slowly he saw the wings like things started coming out, but the caterpillar was struggling hard. He observed patiently, but his heart was filled with pity for the poor caterpillar who was struggling for a long time to come out of the cacoon.

Finally, he couldn’t hold himself and he cut the string of the cacoon with a blade to relieve the caterpillar. But, to his dismay, the caterpillar fell flat on his back and the juice from the shell swelled into his body. He couldn’t see all this and he left the room to play with his friends. After a few hours when he returned, the caterpillar was dead.

The very next day he narrated the whole episode to his teacher and asked, “Sir, I tried to help the caterpillar very carefully, but how come he died?”

Knowing the Supreme TRUTH is the goal of a true seeker

Caution: This topic is for advanced seekers. In my humble opinion, new seekers might take a long time to comprehend this one.

It  took  me  a  long   time  to  understand   the meaning  of the word “TRUTH”, when it comes to   spirituality. I  mean  the  word  “TRUTH” in  reference  to the spiritual quotes like: 

• Know the Truth and you will be blessed.
• You can recite and discuss scripture, all you want, but until you drop everything, you will never know Truth. – Astavakra Gita
• The Truth of oneself alone is worthy to be scrutinised and known. – Ramana Maharshi
• The knower of Truth is never miserable in the world,for the whole universe is filled with Himself alone. – Astavakra Gita

In the initial years of my seeking, I couldn't relate to the phrase, “Knowing the Truth”. I could only understand telling the truth. In the worldly conduct, it is generally taught to the young ones that one should always tell the truth, never lie. It took me long time to understand that the truth (which is opposite of a lie) is different than the spiritual Truth. In reference to the worldly affairs, telling a truth means telling as it is, as per your understanding, as your senses have perceived. But at the same time, they say, whatever your eyes see is not always the truth. In other words, the truth can change from person to person, based on their situation, their perceptions and their pre-conceived notions.