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Mahatma Gandhi taught that we should endeavor to be the change that we wish to see in the world. This statement is a call to personal authenticity and suggests that we make every effort to embody in character and action that which would see created for ourselves, our fellows and future generations.
Mahatmaji was a man of God. On the day that he was shot, the last word to issue from his lips was not, "Ouch." or "Oh, my..." or "[expletive deleted]", but, rather, "Ram" (pr., R-ah-m). Ram is one of the many names of God.
So imbued was Gandhi with the spirit of his personal intention that he did not fall back into the narcissistic delusion of ego, but stayed with his superconscious Self-perception. The man was shot point blank and, yet, remained present and, at the moment of his death, recognized God in the eyes of his assassin. You don't get much more authentic than that.
Authenticity is about remaining connected to our true nature - the character that we create for ourselves and to which we subscribe. The challenge comes in deciding whom or what it is that we wish to create.
All of us have before us two cups - one of poison and one of nectar. The poison is representative of our ego-bound nature - our spite, our hate, our anger, vindictiveness, grudge-holding and need for revenge. The nectar is the fruit of freedom - the letting go of that which binds us to our own self-created suffering.
If we hold fast to our anger and resentment of another, then in doing so, we are choosing to drink the poison; we are trapped within our own narcissistic delusion of ego and perpetuate not only our own suffering, but the suffering of the person whom we hold in disdain.
If we choose to let go of our delusion and, metaphorically, see God in eyes of our assassin, we release both ourselves and the object of our rage, coming back to our basic goodness, and acknowledging the basic goodness of the other. By no longer allowing ourselves to be at the sufferance of our own fear, or hate, or anger, or spite we transform not only ourselves and our own experience, but the experience of those around us.
By letting go, we become the change.
© 2009 Michael J. Formica, All Rights Reserved
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