He replied “it’s true we can have this realization even in palace or anywhere but I got this wisdom when I moved to outside world.” There should be a practical approach.

When Gautam Buddha was born in Patliputra, Astrologers told that this child will become a great King or he will renounce everything and become a Monk who will create a new religion. But, a young astrologer said “I am very sure he will become a Monk.”
Previously there were two extreme types of lifestyles either there is luxurious life full of enjoyment and entertainment or a rough and tough life of penance (तपस्या).When you choose rough and tough life you have to trouble your body, torture your body, keep yourself hungry. In luxurious life (भोगविलास) full of enjoyment we waste our life and time without any purpose.
There should be balance between two extremes. You have to be busy in materialistic world as well as take time to meditate and develop inner wisdom.
King Shudhhodhan father of Siddharth(Gautam Buddha) decided to keep his child inside the Palace full of luxury and all the facilities. He never allowed the child to go out where he can see any miseries of life like old age, poverty, death or sadness. All young people kept inside the palace so that he could not even get a chance to see any old person, he couldn’t feel “what does old age means?”
But may be Gautam Buddha could realize his vision that his life has got some other purpose.So, there should be motive in your life also. It seems today also we don’t allow children to face the reality of life. Sometime we do emotional torture to our children as King Shudhhodhan did with Siddharth.Sometimes only we create an idea that life is full of fun, full of joy. But if one is given extreme he / she will move away from that.
Slowly Siddharth grew to a young man, got married, experienced an enjoyable life but one day he left all the luxurious of the Palace and went to the forest in search of truth. When he came out of the Palace he saw for the first time an old person and could experience pain of ageing. We should also experience all spheres of life. When we go to Big Bazar than we can practically understand what is marketing? And management? Pepole thinks marketing is not a good thing especially for girls. But there is nothing bad, only our thinking does it so. We can learn a lot even in Marketing. It teaches us best management theory. Life is beyond all narrow thoughts. You should have a broad outlook of life.
Buddha could never get this wisdom if he would have confined himself inside the palace. He got the valuable knowledge when he saw the outside world. He left all comforts, his friends, family members and faced lot of trouble did lot of struggle. But he realized struggle makes our life meaningful and extreme pain, sacrifice or life full of enjoyment and entertainment cannot bring true realization in life. There should be a balance between these two life style and he named this as middle path(मध्यम मार्ग).
Neither body can tolerate maximum toughness nor should we waste our life only in enjoying luxury all the time. You need to gain proper knowledge for balancing.
When Buddha came back his mother Yashodhara told “you left the Palace at the age of 29 years and came back at the age 35 years and got enlightenment. In these years what did you gain outside was it not possible to gain this knowledge inside the Palace. What is middle path (मध्यम मार्ग).Was this knowledge available only in forest?”
He replied “it’s true we can have this realization even in palace or anywhere but I got this wisdom when I moved to outside world.” There should be a practical approach. Try to be knowledgeable and powerful. Be very practical and don’t go away from reality if you get a chance to do something practically do it honestly and sincerely. Concentration gives us power. You can get anything – relation, money etc. by concentration.
Meditation helps us concentration. It brings awareness because it gives us wisdom and knowledge that is our power that is our strength which helps to do any work beautifully. Let us close our eyes and chant “OM” with right attitude.

Assembly Thoughts delivered in Morning Assembly on 3rd September 2016.
By Prof.Sanjay Biyani
Director(Acad.)

To know more about Prof. Sanjay Biyani visit www.sanjaybiyani.com