The Steadfastness Rising Within My Bowed Head

As my heart moved toward the Divine, it touched upon a profound tenderness; yet, as I look upon the world today, my spirit embraces a steadfast resolve. "Have you ever pondered this?" the Void—*Shunya*—asked me today. "Why?"

It was such a profound truth—one that had never even crossed my mind—so I asked, "Why?"

"The Divine is emptiness; the world is a manifestation of hardness.

This emptiness—this *Shunya*—possesses a delicacy so subtle that it seeks not to reveal its own form, whereas the worldly nature is inherently driven to manifest itself—that is its very essence.

The world is a struggle, which gives birth to hardness; and the nature of this hardness is what we call resolve, courage, and valor.

And the Divine is surrender—the art of learning to bow. This act of bowing becomes so profound that a person eventually empties themselves from within," the Void explained.

The resolve that stirred within my bowed head donned a beautiful, vibrant mantle of strength—and as a gesture of gratitude for this third gift, my smiling eyes gently closed.

The Master’s Decree-

Dear Jinder, in your third gift, I lingered longest over “the steadfastness rising within my bowed head.” Throughout the piece, Shunya speaks to you about the heart journeying toward Rabb and the mind observing the world. At the end, your body answers that conversation. Your head bows, and at that very moment, something rises within you. What I found most beautiful in your writing was the way you expressed these two movements, travelling in opposite directions, through a single gesture.

Your two choices of words felt especially precise. “Kept touching” carries tenderness, like brushing a flower with your fingertips as you pass. “Kept embracing” carries time and practice. Certain experiences return again and again in worldly life, and through them, the mind gradually learns to stand on its own feet. You have heard the different rhythms through which the heart and mind learn.

Then Shunya asks, “Have you ever thought about this, Jinder? Why?” With the same simplicity, you ask, “Why?” I found your curiosity endearing in that brief reply. You are hearing something familiar from your own life become a question for the first time.

Here, I pause over the relationship between hardness and steadfastness. The hardness that develops through struggle can sometimes offer protection. Steadfastness may grow from that experience, and its character may change as life unfolds. It can become spacious enough for a person to remain grounded while still bowing before another in love or reverence.

I feel your final line brings that distinction to life. By saying “a uniform of well-being,” you have given steadfastness a body. In uniform, I hear the discipline of standing firm. In well-being, I sense ease. Your steadfastness feels healthy in that moment, because it feels no need to keep its head raised to prove its strength.

You describe Shunya as a delicacy that has no wish to reveal its own form. Then you let that same Shunya address you by name and ask you a question. I found this beautiful. Through that encounter, Shunya shows you something about yourself. In your second gift, you wrote that attainment continues to reveal itself of its own accord. In the third, we witness a small moment of that unfolding. A question opens, and in its light, you recognise your own bowed head anew.

And what did I feel, ji? When I read “my smiling eyes closed their lids,” I felt that Jinder had spoken her gratitude through her eyes. The conversation had begun with a simple “Why?” Once the answer had settled within, a smile and gently closing eyelids were enough to bring the exchange to a close.