the mystery of acceptance...

One of the most intriguing experiences is that of acceptance.
What does it mean to accept people and situations as they are?
The only moments when I realize the need for acceptance is when I have stepped away from love, stepped away from the center of my being. When there is you and then me. Till then I don't even realize the need for it. Hmm!

Have you eaten bitter guard? It is one of my fav veggies. I love it for its bitterness. I have seen many folks wash the bitter guard like a zillion times to remove the bitterness and then cook it, and proudly proclaim - "I love bitter guard". Ok People! What you cooked is no longer bitter guard. You have taken its very essence out of it. What has this got to do with acceptance & love? You think about it!

Most of the time , we love something for what we see it to be or what we want it to be! if it is in alignment with my perception of the world, I love it! Or else, sorry.. I am going to wash it a zillion times till it fits my taste and then eat it! Bitter guard might stay mum but a person won't! They explode, react, spill, fume and move away!!

What is our perception afterwall? Some experience from the past, some sensation created through the illusory senses, some memory cells invoked from the past - that is our perception! And it is never the same. If you observe, ever moment our perception is getting refined, changed, evolved, and renewed! And yet to measure people, situations and things based on our perception seems to me quite a futile task...

Going beyond perceptions, beyond observations, beyond the illusory senses ... to just being in love - without any strings attached!

Do you think anybody on this planet can every understand you 100%? Forget 100% - even 50%. No way! Do u think anybody can feel what you feel, anyone can see what you see, anyone can experience what you experience? No. And yet, we find it our undue right to understand every person, situation and thing around us, and label it in our mind.

Gurudev says in Astavakra that the form doesnt have the name in it. It is the name which has the form in it. So are the labels. They only exist in our mind and it distances the gap between me and you. Throw away those labels and where is the gap! You and me are not so different after all...

What I cannot accept in you, how can I ever accept in myself?
When I say I cannot accept you the way you are.. what am I really saying?
Am I saying it to you or to myself?
It is such a wonder!