22/09/2025
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧: 𝐀 𝐉𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡
It's easier to sit for meditation, chant, or step onto our mat when life is smooth. The breath feels steady, the mind is lighter, everything flows. But life isn't always like that. Sometimes grief hits us, our plans collapse, leaving us feeling unsure of how to proceed.
That's when many step away from our practice, wait to feel better before returning. But those are the very moments when sadhana matters most. Sadhana isn't a hobby we pick up when the mood is right. It's our anchor when life throws us a curveball so sharp that it knocks the wind out of us.
In those moments, I think of the mountain. The winds blow, the rains flood down its slopes. And yet, the mountain stays rooted. It doesn't run. It doesn't wait for brighter skies. Our sadhana makes us that mountain. Breath, asana, mantra, meditation, prayer, whatever form our practice takes, it's what keeps us steady when life tries to shake us loose.
When challenges arise, we are in a perfect state to meet our fears, not with force or charge, but with a calm, steady strength. Instead of getting lost in the stories of the mind, we can bring our attention to the raw sensation of it. Fear itself can become the teacher when we don't resist it. Where does fear live inside us? Maybe it's tightness in the chest, a knot in the stomach, or a lump in the throat. We notice it, we don't push it away. We meet it with curiosity, as if we were encountering it for the first time.
Then we remember the mountain, solid, grounded, unmoving. Fear is only the storm: wind, rain, clouds passing overhead. However intense, it cannot move the mountain. In the same way, we are not our fear. We are the ground beneath it, the steady presence that watches it come and go. Vedānta reminds us: we are not the body, not the mind, not even the waves of emotion; we are the Self (ātman), unchanging, infinite, untouched by the storm. The more we rest in that Truth, the more we discover courage, not as boldness, but as a quiet, unshakable strength that is already ours.
If we only start sadhana when trouble hits us, it's like planting a tree in the middle of a storm. It won't take root. The roots need to be there already, deep in the earth, so that when the storms do come, we can bend without breaking.
So when we feel low, we don't abandon our practice. We show up anyway, even if it's just five minutes. Even if all we can do is sit in silence with tears streaming down our faces. That is still sadhana. That is still courage. And over time, this is how we become unshakable, like the mountain, knowing storms will come and go, but they never stay.
On a more personal note, I now understand why Ramana Maharshi, one of the great sages of modern India, said that Arunachala, the holy mountain in South India, was his guru. To him, the mountain was not just stone and earth but the silent presence of Truth itself: unmoving, steady, endlessly still, yet alive with a force beyond words. When I reflect on his devotion to Arunachala, I see how the mountain embodies what Vedānta teaches us: the storms of fear and emotion may pass across the surface, but the Truth itself remains untouched. This image reminds me that the true guru is not outside; it is within. The mountain leads us to our own essence, anchored, unshakable, untouched by storms. When we unite with that inner Arunachala through sadhana, we understand why Ramana bowed to the mountain: it reflected the eternal Self. This unchanging reality is always present.
The mountain is not outside—it is who we truly are.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞—𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞.
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