When Gautam Buddha opened his eyes, along with his five companions, the whole world was looking at him with hope. The whole world hoped that Buddha would now give some serious sermons and will share some experiences which might shock everyone to their core. But he did not say anything like that. Rather, he demanded food, due to which his companions were disappointed. Why did Buddha do this? This was the question inside everyone. Actually, whatever Gautam Buddha was looking for or searching outside, he found inside himself. On that full moon night, the moon was perfect not only in size but also in light. That night came to be known as Buddha Poornima, which is celebrated every year. It was the night when Gautam Buddha attained enlightenment.
Buddha attained enlightenment on the day of Buddha Poornima
Whatever is visible or invisible in this world, everything is situated within ourselves. Every question along with its answer is situated within ourselves. The seeds of such thoughts had sprouted inside Buddha, which was a bit difficult for a normal person to digest. So, one can say that Gautam Buddha was an example for people who contemplated and meditated.
Actually, Buddha had risen above rational intelligence, so he came to be known as Buddha. One who remains at the level of rational intelligence remains unhappy. Those who are below it are counted in the category of fools. In the state of meditation, Buddha had understood that whatever it is, this is life. Life will become extremely easy if we remove all the obstacles from life. This was a part of his self-realization and his sayings, which states that the root cause of all the miseries of life is our cravings.
By the way, in reality, almost all the dimensions of sorrow are included in our cravings. Some are sad because of losing someone, some are sad due to some failure, and some are sad due to various other reasons. But if we look at the root cause of all the sadness, craving comes to focus as the most important reason why misery enters one's life. In sync with this sequence, the story of Kisa Gotami fits well as it is quite famous. The story of a woman who renounced all worldly attachments to become a nun and follow the footsteps of Buddha.
Craving is the most important cause of all sorrows: Gautam Buddha
Once Buddha came to a village to give a discourse. A woman's son had died in the same village. The woman heard that some perfect saint had come. She immediately reached Mahatma Buddha with her child's dead body. She started crying and pleading to Buddha that he can cure her son with his miraculous power. But Buddha didn't do anything. Rather, he said to the woman, "I will bring your son back to life if you bring a handful of mustard seeds from a house in which no one has died till date". The woman tried and searched, but could not find any such house where no one had died to date. She returned to Buddha with a disappointed heart and said, "I understand what you wanted to explain".
Buddha said that everyone in this world has to die one day. Thinking that one can postpone death is the most foolish thing. It was not that the woman did not have this knowledge before, but in this worldly life, there are so many problems around us, that result in us getting attached to people and things. From here the knowledge gets clouded and covered by cravings.
One can win over anything in two ways
The Buddha was an emperor. An emperor who, from the control of his senses, had conquered the eight disciplines of yoga. Buddha used to say that a person or a state can be ruled in two ways. Either by winning or by joining. Buddha chose the path of inclusion and also succeeded in it to an extent. It is said that those five companions who had left him became his first five disciples, to whom he preached for the first time at Sarnath in Varanasi.