Birth, by far, is the most significant point in one’s spiritual journey. But then, the very process involved in it is the most interesting phenomenon a soul ever comes across. Sample this – a child is born to a king, with almost all the possible luxuries that a mortal could afford and another child is born to a beggar without even the means to sustain the survival of that child. What crime did the child commit? Is the Creator merciless? Does the one who gives heart and compassion to infinite, not have a heart or sensitivity towards a child who is born in miserable conditions? There must be an intention, a design, and some logic.
Prarabhya – consequence of past life karmas
That’s where the first element comes into the picture which influences the human existence – the cause of our births. Cause is the basis on which the consequence happens. Cause is our karmas of our last births while consequence is the condition in which we take the present birth. Higher the karmic score, better the conditions we are born in. Food, shelter, and clothing, the three basic necessities are fulfilled if the karmic score from previous lives is good. Then, the individual moves towards the higher quest. So, the first element the consequence of our karmas from previous births determines the conditions under which we are born. It further determines the rate at which we undergo evolution.
Prabhav – Influence of Parenting and Education
Once the birth has taken place by the soul in a body… It grows under the identity it has been born under – male or female. Then, the second element comes into picture – the influences. During this stage, parents and teachers start teaching the child what is right and wrong as per their own experiences and definitions. Here onwards, conditioning patterns are born and one is fed with beliefs. On the basis of which foundations of one’s personality is based…..till the age of 13….one’s structure of personality is formed by the influences the individual experiences from his or her surroundings. For example, even before a child touches a flame, he is immediately shouted at. Stay away! You would get hurt. This demonstrates how a child’s personal experience is prematurely substituted by others’ experiences, which start governing his actions. In short, a child starts acting on what he has been told rather than what he has experienced. Now, before a child realizes the impact of these influences on his actions, one more element starts coming into the picture. It is the influence that the society starts exerting on an individual – with or without his wish.
Society
Here, the third element comes into the picture – the Society, which governs individuals by certain laws that have been conceived by it. In accordance with the beliefs of a few individuals, it starts playing its role in shaping the personality of an individual. So, the basic decision to pursue education by the child as per his interest is eclipsed by what others would think of his decision. So, if the society thinks that being an Engineer or a Doctor is a respectable profession, a child is pushed into pursuing these professions no matter what his or her inherent interest is. His benchmark is set. If the neighbor or some close relative’s son is a Doctor, he has to either match the level or surpass it. After being influenced by all these elements, the individual develops the power of judgment and consequentially the decision-making ability.
Free Will
Now when the fourth element comes into the picture, which is ‘free will’ of an individual. The individual, by then, has become a mere puppet of the influences of the first three elements and unconsciously starts operating under their influence. That’s why free will happens to be the most abused of elements, wherein an individual thinks that he is taking all the decisions independently. In reality, he is just operating as a mechanical entity and with a mindset that has been imposed on him rather than being his own. With a loaded gun and no direction or the purpose to shoot makes it a very dangerous situation a human being can be placed into. But that’s where an individual reaches with all the behavioral patterns, conditionings, and traps come into the picture. These patterns are repeated thus forming a vicious cycle of cause and effect.
The Fifth Element – the Void – Presence of something felt cause of its absence
Now how to break this cycle. This is where the 5th element comes into the picture. The connect with the creator, the source from where one has come. If an individual gets directed to the creator, grace sets in, guidance sets in and consequently awareness sets in, empowerment sets in and finally freedom sets in. The fifth element is one’s connect with the self, the source. An individual chooses a form of the creator and accepts it as a friend. Friendship by far is the most powerful bond a human being forms while in existence. There is no logic of blood and society. It’s a choice one makes while evolving. Once the creator is chosen as a friend, you need not pray, meditate or go to a temple, church, mosque or a religious place. You can just interact or talk as one talks to a friend without thinking without manipulating, without the fear of being judged. Grudge or gratitude, one only has it with that friend. There’s a constant interaction that takes place thus venting out any kind of negative or positive energies, leaving the individual with just the perfect energy which is needed to maintain balance or peace of mind. One has to fall in love with that form and consequentially infinite and absolute faith gets developed, which leads one to surrender to the creator wherein free will seizes and gets merged with that friend’s will. So, once an individual reaches this stage the choice is simple – either you drive or let your friend drive. Suppose, you decide to give the steering to your friend then you shouldn’t and you can’t question him about the direction or speed because he is a far more accomplished driver than you. Isn’t that bliss? Just closing your eyes and enjoying the journey because you know you’ll reach the right destination through the right path – all the while enjoying the stress-free journey as well. That’s called surrender…
The idea is to invoke this fifth element in you by choosing a form of the creator as a friend and developing love for him by experimentation, realization, and finally implementation of your faith. Once connected, you’ll be home and you’ll enjoy the journey as well because you just have to observe how the divine plays this game which has bought you to your knees.
After implementing this fifth element, the fourth element is no longer a concern for you because now the loaded pistol has got an ace shooter who would only shoot when required and in the right direction as well, only at the target. Invoke the fifth element!