Spirituality

Buddha and a Grieving Mother

Though one should live a hundred years without seeing the Deathless State,

 Yet better indeed is a single day’s life of one who sees the Deathless State.

The above verse is from Dhammapada. Dhammapada is the collection of the sayings of Lord Buddha, a famous ancient scripture written 2300 years ago. With the story of a woman named Kisa Gotami, the verse teaches us the inevitability of life, that is, death.

Buddha means the enlightened one. After achieving his enlightenment, Buddha started teaching what he had learned by roaming around in villages. Many followed him, joining Buddhism. While walking around, he and his disciples reached a village named Savatthi. Little did anyone know that millions of lives around the planet were about to change over what happened next in that town.

One wealthy man used to live in the village of Savatthi. He was married to a woman named Kisa Gotami. After a few years of marriage, they finally had a son, and their family was complete. But the days changed, and the son got ill. All of the father’s wealth could not seize the inevitable, and the couple lost their only child.

Both of them were devastated, especially Lady Kisa. She loved her son so much that she refused to believe that her son was no more. Carrying the dead body of her beloved, she started roaming around the village, asking if anyone could help her out. Her sorrow was so grave, dark, and deep that people thought she must have lost her mind.

Villagers saw that it was over for the child, and nothing could be done here. They advised her to carry out the final arrangements for his funeral everywhere she went. Whenever she would listen to this advice, being in grave anguish, she would clutch the child’s dead body even more tightly, not letting him go, begging him to wake up.

One village elder took pity on her and advised her to go and visit Buddha, as he was the only one who could help her. Without losing a second, carrying her dead son in her arms, she ran towards the house where Buddha and his disciples had arrived.   

Buddha’s disciples made a circle surrounding the sitting Buddha and listened to what he had to say. Breaking that circle, Kisa dashed forward, and by putting her son’s dead body at Buddha’s feet, she pleaded with him to bring her son back.

“Dear Kisa, I have a way to bring your son back. But you have to do something for me first”, said the Lord. “I would do anything to get my son back, oh my lord,” replied Kisa.

“If that is the case, you should bring something for me. I am in need of mustard seeds, but they should be bought from such a house, where no one in that house should have lost a family member. Bring the seeds to me, and I shall bring back your child,” replied the wise Buddha.

Listening to that, Kisa Goutami left that house to find seeds that would bring her son back. She stated, knocking down the first house she spotted. An old woman offered her the mustard seeds, but when Kisa asked her whether she had ever lost a family member, the old lady replied, yes, I have seen most of my family members dead, and soon, I shall be dead as well. Disappointed, Kisa went to the next door.

She found out the house owner had died a few months ago. She went to the third house, and a girl told her that her mother gave her life, giving birth to her. Next door, she found out that someone was dead in a war, and someone was dead due to a famine. She kept on moving from door to door. Houses, people, and locations kept changing, but the answer was the same. Every home had lost a family member or two to death.  

Needless to say, she never got those mustard seeds. Finally, she realised, “Jatasya Hi Dhruvo Mrityur,” meaning the one who has been born will be dead. Death is an inevitable part of life. She finally understood that everyone in this world had lost someone beloved to death. Understanding this, she carried out the last rituals of her son, and after returning, she became an avid follower of Buddha.

Chakra Balancing for dealing with death scare

Everyone is going to be dead. But this should not make someone lose faith in life itself. Death makes many people depressed, gloomy, and fearful. Thoughts of death can bring panic, depression, dread, or fear, and this phenomenon is called Thanatophobia. Thanatophobia means fear of death. If you cannot let go of the dark thoughts of inevitable doom that is death from your mind, you might have an issue with chakra balancing.

Portrayed as a six-petaled saffron-colored rose and moon in between the lotus, Svadhishthana, or the Sacral Chakra, is the second Chakra within our body. It’s located between the navel and tailbone. This Chakra is known for improving the creativity, emotions, and regulation of sexual energy.

A blocked sacral chakra can cause emotional displeasure, imbalance, addiction, seizing creativity, and an unnatural scare of death. If you are having trouble processing your emotions and reactions concerning processing the concept of death, it points toward the blocked Svadhishthana chakra.

So next time when you will sit for the meditation, wear loose clothes, preferably orange or amber colored clothes. Get in a comfortable position and concentrate on breathing for the next five to seven minutes with closed eyes.

After that, begin loudly chanting the powerful Beej (seed) mantra “Vam Namah.” After chanting for three to four minutes, start chanting the mantra in your mind while focusing on the location of the Chakra. After chanting the mantra for about ten to twelve minutes, stop and get out of the meditation.

This powerful mantra will provide cleansing to your Swadhisthana Chakra, bringing out the balance of it. Mantra shall create positivity within you, granting you the mental clarity to process your overall emotions. This mantra will reduce anxiety if you have been dealing with the illogical or irrational fear of death.

Even though there is plenty of literature available on Chakra balancing, it is highly recommended that one learn these steps under the supervision of a Guru. Everyone has unique spirituality, personality, and experiences. One solution cannot fit all; therefore, it is imperative to seek guidance from spiritual experts to get that particular mantra and Chakra meditation method crafted exclusively for you. And hence, we recommend you practice these methods mentioned above under the guidance of an expert. 

We hope this blog helps you to understand the spiritual ways to improve emotional maturity.  

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