What Alexander could not conquer
Before Alexander marched into India, people in his country asked him to bring back, a sanyasi (one who is unshaken by anything is a sanyasi), for they were precious and found only here.’ When he arrived, he ordered that sanyasis be brought to him. But, strangely, nobody arrived in response to his summons. He then sent a warning: he would chop off the heads of those who refused. Still, nobody responded to the warning. He threatened to take away their books - four Vedas and the ancient scriptures. It is said the pundits secretly made their children memorize every manuscript overnight and handed over the texts the next morning.
Alexander had the manuscripts, but he still wanted a sanyasi. And a sanyasi would not come.
Finally, he was forced to go in search of a sanyasi himself. When he found one, he threatened to behead him on the spot if the sanyasi did not come along. The sanyasi replied that Alexander could do so if he wished. The mighty conqueror could not even look into the eyes of the sanyasi.
What is it that stopped Alexander? He could not stand the power of dispassion he saw in the sanyasi’s eyes. For the first time in his life as a conqueror, he stood before a person who did not care about an emperor. Dispassion is not arrogance but centeredness.
When Alexander was in India, some people presented him with golden bread on a plate. He said he was hungry and asked for real bread. They replied that he was an emperor; how could he eat ordinary wheat bread? Alexander wondered if he was being made fun of. He was starving, and wanted real wheat bread. When people placed ordinary, real bread before Alexander, they asked, "Is this bread not available in your own country? Why have you conquered so many lands? Is it only to eat the same bread that is eaten everywhere?”
This shook Alexander for a moment. He felt it was the truth. What was the point of conquering country after country? All that one needed was to live peacefully and happily. When he did not have that happiness and peace inside him, putting his stamp on every village and town had no meaning.
So it is said that Alexander instructed that when he died, his hands should be kept open, for everyone to see. He wanted the world to know that, though he had conquered so many countries, Alexander the Great was leaving with empty hands. He was unable to take a single thing from this earth.
Now, why is this story so relevant? Look back at all the desires you have fulfilled so far and ask yourself whether they have given you rest. They have only created a few more desires, and those desires have sent you on yet another pointless trip. The mind is like a merry-go-round. A merry-go-round has dummy horses that do not go anywhere. They just go round and round in the same place, giving you the illusion that you have travelled miles, when you have reached nowhere. This is what desires do for you. A mind obsessed with them cannot find peace.
People often prioritize their feelings over their intellect. They constantly seek validation and approval from others. They believe that fulfilment lies somewhere outside themselves. They become slaves to their emotions. No conquest can satisfy a mind that keeps looking outward for what can only be found within.
You may have a craving for beautiful things, and you keep looking at them. How long can you keep looking? Your eyes will tire of the most beautiful views, and you will close your eyes. Later, you may forget the scenes. All these objects that titillate the senses have their limitations. But your mind is not ready to accept these limitations. It wants unlimited joy and pleasure, which the five senses cannot give you. You simply get burnt out going over and over the same thing.
Dispassion is not about running away from the world or blaming the world. Often, people who think they have dispassion keep blaming their circumstances. They run away from the objects of the senses, fearing them as big temptations. But the fear of temptation is far worse than the temptation itself. Dispassion allows you to retrieve your senses from the objects or the craving, and take them to the Source.
And dispassion does not take away the joy from you; it gives the joy that nothing else can give. It does not divide you; in fact, it connects you to the present moment totally. When your mind is hoping for something, or regretting the past, you are not in the moment. When you are fully centered while doing anything in the world, then you are one hundred percent with every moment. You may be eating, enjoying every bit of it, and you are one hundred percent absorbed in it. You can feel every sip of the soup you are having. Every bite of the food tastes great. Every sight is fresh and new. You look at everything as if you are looking at it for the first time. Dispassion is not something dry and boring. It makes every experience complete.
There is a beautiful verse by Adi Shankaracharya: Kasya sukham na karoti viraagaha, which means, what pleasure can dispassion not bring to you? There is no joy that dispassion cannot give you. This is because you are fully in the moment. When attention shifts from taking to giving, and from seeking recognition to being centred, a profound freedom dawns. Dispassion helps you understand that everyone who has come to this world has come to give something. We have nothing to take from here. This is a very valuable shift in consciousness.
