[Nishchalatattve Jeevanmukti]
For one who is unwavering in his intention, liberation cannot be denied.
▵ Unwavering Attention
If we want to know the intricacies of this human mechanism, it is one way. If we just want to cross barrier, it is another way. But one who does not cross will never know. For one who does not break the barriers, there is no possibility of knowing. First comes breaking the barrier, then knowing, which is a much longer process. But if you just want to enjoy the freedom and bliss of crossing the barrier, it is much simpler than knowing because knowing takes much more. To break the barrier, all it takes is an intense dimension towards any one thing. This is not possible for people who are “multi-tasking.” That is a very common word nowadays.
People who are multi-tasking are going in five different directions at the same time. One who goes in five different directions obviously doesn’t go anywhere. He will do many things, in a social context people may clap their hands, but he will not move an inch within himself. I am not referring to multi-tasking the way corporates are talking about it. It is just that people are constantly shifting. They are constantly grazing all over the place. Animals who graze don’t go anywhere. The stomach becomes full but you don’t go anywhere. That is always the quality of grazing.
If one wants to go somewhere, one has to stick to one thing. Truth or the divine does not need your assistance. It will happen without you. It is just that you can deny it to yourself. People bring enormous amount of punishment, pain and suffering upon themselves, not necessarily because of a life committed to evil. Their life may be committed to spiritual wellbeing, but every day they choose and re-choose. They keep destabilizing themselves by constantly falling off and falling on. We will bring enormous trouble to ourselves if we do not allow life to form itself – if we keep disturbing that which is taking shape. Every time you choose and un-choose, you distort the course of your destiny. Maybe you un-choose the path you are on because of some situation that you experience as frustrating. But even if in a few hours you are again on, by un-choosing yourself for a few hours, you have destabilized the formation and course of your destiny..For one who is unwavering in his intention, liberation cannot be denied.
A determined mind, a mind whose choice is permanent, will allow destiny to flow the way you have chosen. If you think something is worth it, there should be no turning back. If it is worth it, that one point should not change. On the way so many things will come and so many challenges will be there. If one has to successfully go through all these things, that one unchanging point is needed.
This is what Adi Shankara means when he says, “Nishchala tattve jeevanmukti.” For one who is unwavering in his intention, liberation cannot be denied. If there is no nishchala tattvam, there is no mukti; there will only be chaos. Nishchala tattvam is needed. Otherwise you will not transcend your limitations and the hurdles that come – every hurdle will look like an impossible mountain.
If the goal was fixed, if there is no other way and that is the only thing, people would never think something was impossible. They would always be striving for the possibility. That is what a spiritual seeker should do. That is the first and foremost thing that you must do – you establish one steadfast point such that, this one thing is not changeable. If you do not compromise on this, the rest of life gets organized behind you, not in front of you as a hurdle. Life will organize behind you and will support you all the time. Your faculties, your energy, the whole world will get organized behind you because you have nishchala tattvam.
▵ Nishchala Tattvam: Creating An Unwavering Intention (Isha)