Kintsugi

A Japanese legend traceable to the 15th century tells the story of a shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimasa, who sent a broken vessel (often described as a tea bowl) away for repairs to China. When he received it back, the bowl was held together by unsightly metal staples. Although he could still use it, the shogun was disappointed. Still hoping to restore his beloved bowl to its former beauty, he asked a craftsman to find a more elegant solution.

The craftsman, inspired to find a more elegant solution, mended every crack in the bowl with a lacquer resin mixed with gold. When the tea bowl was returned to the shogun, there were streaks of gold running through it, telling its story, and adding to its value and beauty. This method of repair became known as kintsugi, where kin means gold and tsugi means joinery.

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold. It is built on the idea that in embracing flaws and imperfections, you can create an even stronger, more beautiful piece of art. Every crack on a piece of pottery is unique; the 400-year-old technique highlights the cracks as a part of the design. By adding gold, the worth of the pottery increases. Kintsugi, therefore, is a metaphor for the beauty that lies in imperfection. Kintsugi turns a broken piece of pottery into something unique, beautiful, and resilient.

Similarly, this human birth is a culmination of our karmas, the consequences of our past actions, in which we go through the trials and tribulations of life. Even if we live a life of privilege, we are not immune to pain, loss or sickness. Our life is filled with imperfections, and there is a need for kintsugi to add value to this human birth. How do we embrace our life with its difficulties and problems? How do we make our life beautiful and unique?

All these trials that come to us in life, if taken in the proper spirit, as a satsangi should take them, will develop strength of character and make one throw himself absolutely at the feet of the Satguru within. On the other hand, they may also discourage us and make us unhappy, which reveals to us our own weakness.

I am sorry I do not appreciate your attitude of being fed up with life and having no interest in it. Life was given to us for a definite purpose and that, as a satsangi, you know well. It was given to us in order that, by complete surrender to the Satguru and daily spiritual exercises, we might be joined to Shabd and rise above this valley of tears. That is a privilege which nobody can take from you unless you yourself, in a fit of petulance or despondency, give it up or cease to make use of it. Even then, no satsangi’s life is hopeless. But the road is much easier for us if we do our bit.

You have to take care of your worldly duties and give as much time to bhajan and simran as you possibly can, and then leave the other matters to the Satguru. When one has thus surrendered himself to the Satguru, why should he worry? For by heeding his advice, the adverse karmas which stand in the way will also be mitigated to a great extent, and their force will be lessened.
_{Maharaj Charan Singh, Light on Sant Mat}

As followers on the spiritual path, the kintsugi in our karma-loaded imperfect lives is our meditation. Meditation illuminates us and despite the hard knocks we go through, over time we become resilient. With meditation, it becomes easier for us to accept change. Like the gold that increases the strength of the cup, meditation gives us courage to face the ups and downs of life.

Kintsugi also relates to the Japanese philosophy of Mushin (no mind), which encompasses the concepts of non-attachment, acceptance of change, and fate as aspects of human life.

The concept of mushin, of non-attachment and accepting change, is very similar to the teachings of the saints, which instruct us to live in the present and not become obsessed with worldly relations and possessions, as these are temporary. Change is a part of the karmic cycle that we must learn to accept. Through meditation, we attune our consciousness to the Shabd so that we can rise above the changes of life and accept them in a positive spirit.

Meditation like kintsugi adds purpose to our human life, making it beautiful, as we understand the reason of our existence and are able to identify with our inner self. Just as kintsugi makes a broken piece of pottery valuable, so does our meditation add immense value to this human birth as we embark on the journey to our true home, with the guidance of a true living Master.