AFTERWORD
The story of the Monkey and the Monk is not a fairy tale. It is my real-life experience. Today as I sit as a peaceful Monk, I recall the Monkey within that made me so miserable. It teamed up with my ego and together, the ME, the Mind and Ego made me feel that this misery was excitement. Jumping from one success to another, it made a Monkey of me, as it made me feel victorious in my turmoil, giving it the guise of achievement.
Even today, I see so many people living stressful lives. I see the Monkey in them, Ever Yearning, wanting more and more, and their greed leading them to do deeds that make them go round and round in circles. Ultimately, their life will be over, and they will never get a taste of that pure Divine bliss that I now experience as a Monk.
It is only in hindsight, after discovering the Monk within, that I even realize how one should evolve from a Monkey to a Monk to experience Peace and then, enjoy true bliss. As long as my Mind was a Monkey, sitting in silence was a complete waste of time. How could I be doing nothing? It was only much later that I realized that in doing nothing, I learnt everything. Every contemplation of mine was just a session of creative brainstorming. Don't we all do it? But we don't realize what we do. We are creating a storm in our brain and our Mind gets caged as a Monkey in stress. We fail to attain the ultimate goal of tranquillity and bliss.
The Mind is an expert. As it produces those 50000 thoughts a day, it keeps us ticking from birth to death. It doesn't give us a chance to enjoy Ananda, that heavenly Peace. It thinks, then dreams and schemes, and as it yearns for more and more, it is never satisfied. The ME doesn't know the meaning of enough, because enough is never enough! I caged myself in a prison of desires. My passion and my obsession made me so aggressive that I could see, not just the Monkey, but the entire jungle coming alive in me. At first, it was the Mind that made me a Monkey. Then, I was riding like a horse, galloping day after day, to reach my destination. I became passionate like a tiger. I achieved my goals. I was more agile than an eagle that wants to catch its prey, as I would swoop down to grab every opportunity. There were times where I would be a crocodile, ruthless in my quest to achieve my passions.
While I was proud to be the lion amidst the sheep that I conquered, 5 decades of my life did not see the dawn of Peace. I knew what pleasure was and my obsessions created success, wealth, name, fame and 'happiness' as I understood it to be. Only now I realize that the jungle was not the place to be happy. There was no Peace.
Today, as I have withdrawn into the monastery within my heart, I live as a peaceful Monk, far happier and more blissful, than those 50 years when I was running like a mad man! Sometimes we don't even realize how much stress and anxiety we live with until we are attacked by some affliction and find ourselves in the ICU at a hospital, fighting for life. I was blessed to discover the Monk within, as I let go of the Monkey, thanks to the grace of my Spiritual Master – Dada J. P. Vaswani. My Guru was a true Monk, an epitome of Peace and humility. The reflection of tranquillity was always shining in his eyes and it radiated to one and all through his smile.
It was he, who touched, triggered, and transformed my life. He led me from living like a Monkey to being a Monk and made me choose a life of Peace. He helped me put the pieces together, as he made me realize the true picture of who I was and why I was here. He liberated me from my quest of achievement, as he led me to contentment and fulfilment. Finally, he guided me to Enlightenment, showing me the way to Liberation. Sometimes, it becomes impossible to cut the Monkey's tail without the help of a Spiritual Master and I am grateful that 25 years of my life were spent holding the hand of my Spiritual Guide – my Guru, Dada. Whenever I went to visit him in his ashram in Pune, I would see millionaires and billionaires, ministers and governors, the rich and famous bowing down to him and I wondered why. These people had everything. They were famous, they were rich, and they appeared to be the happiest people. But deep within, they were miserable, they were anxious and had no Peace.
I too was successful and rich in terms of money and achievement. But where Peace and tranquillity were concerned, I was bankrupt. I was stressed out, not because I had a unique gorilla inside me, but because the animal in us doesn't leave us in Peace. The Monkey Mind goes from need to greed, as it makes us crave till we reach our grave. I saw this in my own life, just as I saw it amongst my peers as they struggled through their rubies and diamonds, trying to find pearls of Peace. I did not realize that pleasure was not happiness and wealth was not Peace, till I experienced Peace as a Monk after I realized the truth. Till I was 40, all I wanted was success. Then my Master helped me shut down my business. Even then, as I did Humanitarian, Inspirational, and Spiritual work, the Monkey in me kept swinging and did not let go of stress and anxiety.
It was only when I realized the ultimate goal of life, and when I went on a quest to find out who I really was and what the true purpose of my life was, that I discovered Peace. At first, I transformed my life and let go of the animal in me as I shut down my business. But it was only after my quest, my Realization that I enjoyed the metamorphosis that gave me true Peace. For decades, I too was crawling like a caterpillar – first as Ravi Melwani, then as RVM, till I realized the truth that I was AiR – The Atman in Ravi. It was this metamorphosis that transformed the Monkey into a Monk. Not only did it cut the tail of the Monkey Mind, it made me change my entire paradigm of life. I renounced many things, including those desires, cravings, passions and obsessions that made me a prisoner. I was caged with all the pleasures of the world, but inside a prison of chaos.
Haven't you heard that story – what is the difference between heaven and hell?
If one peeped inside heaven, they would find all exotic food on the table. Every cuisine of every culture and country - pizzas, tacos, kebabs, biryani, noodles…you name it, and it would be there - all the amazing fruits, desserts, chocolates. People in heaven would be having the time of their life. But what about people in hell? One would be surprised to see that they too would have all the food that was available in heaven. However, despite every possible food being available, people in hell would be roaring with hunger. Both in heaven and hell, everybody's hands would not have the usual fingers but instead would have grown into long spoons. In heaven, there would be bliss and Peace, but in hell there would be fights as people would be screaming and shouting at each other. In hell, as people picked the food of their choice, it would only splash against their face as they would unsuccessfully try to feed themselves. But in heaven, people would peacefully and blissfully enjoy the food as one would feed the other with whatever they liked.
Isn't this analogy what we see on earth? The Monkey Mind is greedy and wants to fulfil its wishes. Only those who have evolved to being a Monk, who live with compassion, wanting to serve others are the ones who find Peace.
After many years of making money and living with turmoil and anxiety, I chose to let go of making money and I started making a difference. It gave me far more Peace, as I moved from achievement to fulfilment. However, it was only when I realized the truth that I was able to experience true eternal Peace and tranquility. It was then that the Monkey within transformed into a Monk.
What are the differences that I experienced as I transformed my life? I realized that we human beings live and die in ignorance. We don't realize that life is just a journey on earth. The destination is death. Nothing belongs to us, but the Mind makes us a fool as we accumulate things and, in the bargain, we lose our Peace. I saw myself living with so much Peace and tranquillity as a Monk, whereas the Monkey Mind used to live in anxiety. The Monkey wanted achievement, but the Monk wants contentment. The Monkey lived in ignorance, but the Monk realized the truth. The Monkey fed on pleasures, but the Monk is happy with Peace. The Monkey wanted excitement, but the Monk wants fulfilment. The Monkey wanted success, the Monk wants meaning and purpose. The Monkey enjoyed noise, the Monk enjoys silence. I experienced both, the Monkey and the Monk and I realize how much more peaceful and blissful I am as a Monk.
To most of us, life is all about success and happiness. We never learnt the truth that none of these can be built without a strong foundation of Peace and tranquillity. We forget to live. We exist and we die without discovering the biggest treasure – PEACE. Each one of us has Peace within. Ananda is a blessing for us all, but to experience that state of Satchitananda, we must make the Monkey into a Monk.
Today, as I live as AiR – the Atman in Ravi, I must admit that I have been able to cut off the tail of my Monkey Mind. It has become the Mind of a Monk. How did I do it? The 'EY' in the Monkey is the Ever Yearning. If we remove the 'EY' – Ever Yearning from the Monkey, what is left? A Monk, a silent Monk! The ‘EY’ is also Ever Yelling. I sil