Life in an Ashram is pretty simple, bland and boring. There are Ashrams at many places like the Osho Commune in Pune, the Aurobindho Ashram in Pondicherry, the Ramana Maharishi Ashram, the Vipasaana Meditation Buddhist Retreats, A Network for Grateful Living etc. Ofcourse, one doesn't need to enroll themselves in these Ashrams to get healed. Only, these Ashrams aid the process by giving a suitable environment.
When one takes up such a life, a few pointers can be useful if understood at first itself. It's because when people jump into this way of life, they expect a radical change immediately and that too without wishing to drop off their old harmful old life patterns. Such unrealistic expectations make them jump out as fast as they jumped in. The reason Enlightenment happens in a moment but Liberation takes time is that there are latent tendencies. A habitual smoker suffering from some problem from smoking, after going through many self-help articles suddenly finds a way out and all things fall-in place. At that moment, he thinks he has got over his addiction because it's all sorted out nicely and his taste for the cigarette is eclipsed briefly. The real test comes when he keeps getting the opportunities to smoke again, like when he is anxious or when he wants to pass the time or his buddies are offering him some. And there can be many such issues like smoking that a person has. Someone need not lose heart to see a mountain of those issues because one can go on at the pace he or she is comfortable with. A child who keeps postponing studies because of playfulness feels guilty of the parent scolding. But if the child says that he or she has started studying according to his or her capacity, the parent will even ask the child to not keep studying all the time but also play. Buddha was enlightened and not liberated at 32. He was definitely liberated at 80 when He died, though perhaps He might have lived as a Jeevan-Muktha (freed while still living) long before then.
There are 3 basic things that need to be understood clearly and knowing these help even those not taking the Ashram way of life. These are in the way they go about discharging their duties, taking rest and enjoying pleasures.
As long as one lives, one has to discharge one's responsibilities or duties. Even one who goes to an Ashram is asked to do some simple things, like in the old days, sweeping the floors or preparing the food or buying the merchandise for the community. One cannot ever escape from doing karma but the beauty of nature is that there is only starting trouble and when one gets into the rhythm, one no longer feels like one is doing an karma because there is a shift from momentum at rest to momentum in motion. All efforts in action leads to the state of effortless action. But wait till you read further next...
It's equally important to take rest to regain energy and allow nature to heal oneself. The way to do this is by putting brakes on the momentum in action whenever it starts exceeding. Here, one does karma to stop further karma i.e. one acts to take rest. For example, when one starts working 18 hours a day and gets burnt out, then one has to force oneself on a vacation. This is not mere running away from duties but a mindful decision to optimize one's capabilities i.e work-life balance. But read further because it still isn't complete...
While the above 2 makes one to discharge the responsibilities to the society to a large extent, it leaves the person dry and empty. Also, without joy from enjoying pleasures, there is no real motive to discharge the responsibilities joyously and so it gets affected as well. But pleasures are like butterflies. If you chase them as desires, they run away but if you allow them to settle on you, they linger. For example, in an Ashram, the food served is clean, made with simple ingredients and not really hot and spicy like the ones served in restaurants. But when one understands that it helps heal the physical body, comes without having to pay too much money and tasty in it's own sublime way, one starts enjoying it.
Combined with all the 3 above is one more thing, which is patience. Changes sometimes don't seem to be happening, the present is not exactly all the wonderful things it was promised to be and one feels like going back to the old life knowing full well that the old life was like hell. At these times, 2 things come to the rescue. One is life itself because it creates obstacles in going back and gives incentives for going forward. The other is one's own will-power or self-confidence or self-belief or trust in oneself or whatever one calls it. If one faces even a small, single, habitual pessimistic thought in a realistic way, it will disappear forever, a victory that can be celebrated and which propels one forward. It's alright to slip every now and then and it is to be expected. There is no point in feeling miserable about it and considering oneself a failure. On the spiritual path, there is never ever the risk of falling back below to the milestones already crossed, though wallowing in self-pity at any one point means opting to stay there for all eternity. Even if one doesn't mind it, nature forces one to move forward because nature wants perfect beings. It's smarter to do something from inspiration than from perspiration. Atleast there is the saving of face...lol. So one has to get back to where one left, when one is comfortable enough and continue further. If one loses a month's salary gambling, the casino is not going to be kind enough to reimburse it. However, if one spills the milk, one need not cry over the spilt milk but instead let the pet cat drink it and who knows it may warn you of a robber in your house in future. Never under-estimate the power of the smallest of actions done towards a better life...it is what the Butterfly Effect is all about. This is an esoteric truth and many ancient civilizations have knowledge of it like those who practice Voodoo in Africa. Over here in Tamil Nadu, it is called, 'Sei Vinai'. BTW, if you are an African or a Tamilian reading this, don't take this wrong, because there is a counterpart of this everywhere. The thing about this esoteric truth is that it works whether it is done for good or bad or for fun. But the universe respects all of it's laws, not just one. It also respects karma i..e cause and effect. When people practice wrongly, it no doubt hurts the intended party but it equally hurts the one doing it. When one does it for fun as an experiment, the fun lasts as long as the experiment is continued and so there is no permanent benefit. If one however, uses it as a tool of benevolence, he or she becomes an angel who in turn gets blessed. I have sometimes suspected that my ex-girl friend's family might have done a 'Sei Vinai' to me (the Malayalis are quite good in these esoteric truths), but then I cannot really blame them even if they had done it. It's because they wouldn't have done it if I hadn't give them a reason for doing so. Eventually, everyone's life is decided by one's own actions and since we are all social creatures, it's better to send good things around so that we get back the same. One more thing...the moment we return back after a distraction is in itself an initial point of the Butterfly Effect that decides how we will end up at that stage of development. So while an Enlightenment may be a mega start, these are all minor starts which also matter in our Liberation.
As one proceeds like this, better times are more frequent and lasts longer whenever they come. Eventually, there is eternal happiness.
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