New Year's Reflection: The Call for Awareness and Inner Transformation

The new year has come. 2026. Hope, hope, the definition of old time has nothing in the stream of time. The dictionary of the old. Time is always a moment of newness. The river into which our left foot falls, by the time our right foot falls, is no longer the old river or the old stream. A new stream flows in every direction. Nature, time and the music of life change in the sky. So, every time is new, where or where is the old? Then, with the ascent of our limited knowledge, the so-called new year, which is so-called, descends into formality. Is that it? The year is definitely changing, then man? Who is that man - the old man. That corruption, adultery, cheating. That man of envy, greed, and strife. That brutality, the man of murder. The old Thakur in the new temple. The old shop of exploitation of religious gurus in the new name. The same old man in new clothes. Yet the new year has come. How does a man know the problems in life? Why is a man so sad and miserable? We are moving towards death every day. We are living in the same old way. Nothing much changes in life. Bayazit was a Sufi fakir. In the new year, he always taught his disciples to be aware. Only by being aware, by being awake, can you not only know life, but also reach your destination. He used to say this because a man always lives in sleep. Lying on the bed with his eyes closed is not just sleep. Even though our eyes are open, we often fall asleep in our desires and longings. We do not have lust. We do not live life. In this state of unconsciousness, we end our journey. Bayazid was once asked by his disciples – What is awareness really, which you always tell us in every word? One day Bayazid took them to the bank of a nearby river. On one side of the river is a small hill. On the other side of the river is a small hill. Bayazid said – We will tie a small wooden plank bridge from one hill to the other hill. The width of the pole will be only one foot. There will be no fence on either side. You will have to walk from this one-foot plank bridge to that hill and then you will know what awareness is? What is being alert? The disciples said - We have been walking our whole life. We have never learned anything by walking. Bayazid said - Wait. Do what I say. After this, many disciples started getting scared. They said that it is scary to walk on a plank that is only one foot wide. We will not be able to walk. What if we fall into the middle of a deep river? Hearing this, Bayazid said - What is there to be scared of. How much space do we need to walk in real life? Not more than one foot. After listening to Bayazid, some disciples started walking on the bridge. After walking two or three feet, the man came back. He said, 'Great danger.' No, it is not possible to walk on such a narrow bridge over the river. Then Bayazid himself started walking from one hill to the other on the bridge and some brave disciples followed the Guru after him. After reaching the other hill, the disciples fell at the Guru's feet and said - Gurudev, now we know what wakefulness is? What is awareness? The danger while walking was such that we could not be distracted for a moment. No other emotions were stirred in our minds. We had to be very alert. Had to be alert. Life could have passed in a moment of carelessness. That is why we had to be so alert. The point is, in how many rare and terrifying moments does a person become alert himself. Remains alert. Otherwise, not. Awareness means an intensity, a depth. Such an intensity of awareness when no other thought or feeling can enter you. Without any feeling, you are aware. You can try this state. At any time, anywhere. When you walk on the road, walk as if there is danger in front of you. Danger is there because at any moment you can die. Death is with you in front of you. The fear of death makes a person alert. Do your every action with awareness. Seeing the total unconsciousness of a person, Kabir says - Awareness in every situation. Walk alertly. Eat alertly. Talk alertly. Listen alertly. Be more and more alert. Be mindful. The more mindful you are, the more you will see life changing. Awareness can change the roots of your life tree. When the roots change, you can change the tree in a new way. And without doing that, there is no need to change every branch, every leaf of the tree one by one. Sometimes, your inner anger, sometimes sexual desire, sometimes greed. There are thousands of leaves on the tree. How many leaves will you change? Why not change the root? The main problem is, you are living a life of illusion. Start an effort to live a conscious, awake life. Many greetings to my readers. Let each one start a new life in the new year.