Patience During Adversities (49)
Defining “Tu” in the sacred ‘Gayatri Mantra’: Patience During Adversities
Patience During Adversities (49) Patience During Adversities The fifth letter in the sacred ‘Gayatri Mantra’ - “Tu” teaches us to keep patience during adversities, hardships and difficulties. As the Sanskrit verse says: it is our duty to put sincere efforts during period of crisis. Unlimited importance and glory are attached to hard work and sincere efforts. Difficulties, calamities, adversities and damaging moments of crisis keep on coming into human life. As the time cycle consists of night and day, comforts and sorrows are two wheel of this chariot of life. Man has to be prepared for both the situations - prosperity or damage with due detachment. Lamenting and wailing in crisis and flying in vanity with inflated ego during prosperity – both attitudes are wrong. One should keep calm and need not lose balance during disappointing circumstances of fear, worry and despair, but should try to overcome difficulties intelligently with vision, alertness and patience. One who laughs even in crisis and plays his role like a character in this drama of life is considered a wise man. Bad times come and go, but they leave for us a precious gift of virtues like tolerance and experience. Difficulties teach us lessons better than ten teachers put together can. Adversities bring one more boon for us, they clear and discharge the obligatory sufferings accumulated as a result of past deeds (Karma), that one has to compulsorily undergo. Such hardships and adversities challenge our skills and build up capacity for putting efforts. One who successfully passes through this test can only be garlanded with glory and fame. Therefore, it is our duty to learn from the past, to remain alert in the present and to be bold and fearless to face the future. According to the proverb, hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Mental balance should never be disturbed during prosperity or peril. Striving to reach a better and better position
Patience During Adversities (49) from the present one, is natural for the soul, but looking to its grace, the fear of difficulties is not normal.
It is futile to be afraid of difficulties: Sorrows and difficulties have an important place in human life. The seed of progress is concealed in the blows of adversities. Surrounded by smooth and comfortable environment, a man will lose liveliness and will become dull and lazy, leading to a mental state of grief. This will hamper the growth and curtail progress, research and ambitions. If one does not undergo pain in life, he can not truly enjoy the happiness also. Always a bright sunny day time without an intervening night can not be a good situation. In absence of the balance of tastes like salt, chili, bitter, astringent etc. only sweetness will not have any charm. In the same way, the taste of happiness is enjoyable only after a pinch of unhappiness. We consider unhappiness to be bad, but in fact, that is the only nucleus for growth and progress. The prestige, fame and name earned by all great people of the world, are due to their endurance and capacity to resist adversities. Had the king Harishchandra not been sold by a lower cast person nobody would have known him. In the same way, Dadhichi, Shibi, Prahlada, Mayurdhwaja, Seeta, Draupadee, Damayanti, Kunti – all these great souls are remembered today due to their endurance while undergoing severe hardships. Nobody would care to remember them, had they chosen the life of luxury and comfort. Trees on remote and hard rocks grow stronger and larger and live long compared to the short lived orchards that are irrigated daily. Any person, society or a nation, that works hard and withstands hardships can only grow and achieve victory. History is witness to the tribes diminishing into slavery and poverty due to indulgence into lust and luxury. Our ancestors were well aware of the benefits of endurance and hence they attached prime importance to its practice in their lifestyle. Combating sorrows was a part of their
Patience During Adversities (49) study of penance and endurance just like a soldier rehearsing fight before going to actual battlefield. In old days, the children of kings and wealthy families also used to stay in the ‘Gurukulam’ of Rishies to learn the lessons of life the hard way, undergoing all atrocities and hardships, which they otherwise would never realise living under shelter of their parents. The ardent practitioner of endurance enjoys facing obstacles much the same way as a swimmer finds a lake to swim across – as an opportunity to test his skills and strength. On the other hand, a coward seeking comforts only can easily be crushed by slightest problems of routine life as he starts crying in tough times as if a mountain has fallen on him. Difficulties come into each one’s life - they are unavoidable and necessary too. Not only to relieve us from bondage of past deeds (‘Karma-Bandhan’), but also to make us strong and sharp, purify our mind and put us on a path of rapid progress. They impart precious experience of facing any rough situation. This is a gift from almighty God, which destroys impurities like ignorance, ego, laziness and attachment to the worldly matters. To wail, resent, become dumb or blame others on encountering an adverse situation is totally unjustified. It is like contempt of God’s great favor. Thus you deny the intended benefit of making you strong and on the contrary such wailing will make you coward, helpless and pauper. Being afraid of hardships, giving up efforts, crying in despair, start worrying – are all not good traits of a true man. In a way a difficulty is a divine challenge to arouse the courage and manliness in us. By accepting it, we attain God’s grace and favor. The veteran wrestler teaches his student by throwing him in the wrestling rink and badly beating him down. This provides him a great lesson for learning all tricks of wrestling. God is also one such great teacher – who thrashes us to shake off our weaknesses and to make us strong to fight against any adversity of life. There is no point in getting afraid of difficulties as they are a useful part of this universe. No need to get upset, to blame
Patience During Adversities (49) others or to be unhappy over it. Only thing required is to face difficulty with sincere efforts, with perseverance and to conquer it and convert it into a comfortable situation. Such efforts are our pious duty, avoiding it amounts to deviation from our own moral path (‘Dharma’). Therefore perseverance and hard work are the only tools for uplifting our soul, which are sharpened by the adversity. Radiance of man’s glory and prosperity occurs due to efforts and hard work. The true pleasure or bliss of life can be enjoyed only after boldly facing difficulties and conquering all adversities.
Spiritual Progress Through Adversities: Spiritual progress always occurs while undergoing severe hardships and boldly confronting them. Running away from difficulties makes a man worthless but challenging them makes him more capable. Success of a human life depends on one’s willpower. Stronger your willpower, the more successful you are; and for increasing willpower, you have to face more and more adversities in life. A person habituated to struggle, never gets afraid of any new difficulty but confronts it boldly. Basically the attitude of cowardice is a root cause of all sorrows, and such sorrows can be curtailed by a strongly positive attitude of bravery. Man of a weak mind is usually sulky and shadowed by horrifying negative imaginations. He can not have good thoughts as he finds himself surrounded by all sorts of troubles and distress. To avoid such a situation and to make our life happy, we have to be always prepared to combat the hardships and difficulties.
Mind Only Is the Cause of Freedom and Bondage: Challenges are of two types: external and internal. Ordinary people usually focus on external challenges only. Very
Patience During Adversities (49) rare persons have the power to visualize the internal challenges. In fact the internal ones are the only real challenges, because the external ones are mere reflections of the internal ones. Any situation can be either beneficial or harmful – it all depends upon how a man tackles it. Sometimes the apparently favorable condition can cause damage and an apparently adverse condition can result into benefit for us. The situation which frightens a man is harmful, but if a man is strong enough not to surrender to the situation, however difficult it may be, at the end it turns out to be beneficial, as it makes the man stronger. The mind gets stronger by internal contemplations. A man, fully aware of his duty and ready to sacrifice anything, can never be afraid of any situation. The human mind has a limitless power. Whatever energy one needs, usually gets it from within. A man, endangering himself to perform his duty, reveals unlimited source of energy within himself, which overcomes any obstacle on his way. As he experiences more internal energy, his efficiency to tackle adversity also increases more and more. When a man finds himself trapped among adversities, most often he misses to focus on his duty. Such a deviation from the path of duty, further traps him into external adversities and a person so perturbed by difficulties, has a totally confused perception of his duty. If the internal complexities of a person are resolved, external problems automatically get solved, because of their mutual inter-dependence. As a man goes on fighting and conquering the external adversities, he keeps on gaining self-knowledge, which ultimately gives him more power to overcome even greater difficulties. The person, who is easily scared by every small trouble in life, usually dwells in a state of internal conflict which
Patience During Adversities (49) prevents his mental energy from channelizing onto a specific task. Such lack of concentration of mental energy leads to a weak mind which easily succumbs to any external adversity. A nation which has become weak due to internal anarchy of riots and rebels reunites again and prepares itself to fight against any external threat. In the same way, a person however disorganized internally, once he faces external adversities and takes the challenge to combat them, regains the harmony and unity of his mental faculties. An idle brain is a devil’s workshop. So keeping the brain busy in resolving external perplexities automatically solves many difficult problems. Usually a man should take up any work that comes to his hands, even if it is more beneficial to others rather than to himself. No matter, if it takes sacrifice and devotion to accomplish the work. If he habituates to do such work, he will acquire spiritual knowledge slowly and steadily. The selfknowledge, which is not gained through mere philosophical thinking, is easily gained by combating with tough situations. This further makes a man calm and composed, which is impossible in a life of comforts and luxury. The spirit of fighting and conquering upon difficulty, not only makes us successful, but also provides inspiration to others. Like bad habits and vices, the good habits and virtues are also infectious and spread among people very fast. Many soldiers start running away from the battle-field when they see some coward doing so. On the other hand, when they see some brave warrior fighting unto the last drop of his blood, they also fight fiercely with all their might. A brave soldier induces courage into others. In fact, human nature is composed of a mixture of all good and bad traits. It is the inductive effect of surrounding atmosphere to bring out a specific nature of a man at a particular time. Therefore, the good moral character of noble and brave men always provides inspiration to the society and this is a great gift of such benevolent men to the society
Difficulties Help In Our Progress
Patience During Adversities (49)
Ordinary people consider difficulties as matter of misfortune. People born in wealthy families get upset on every small inconvenience they face, and also expect that all their desires be fulfilled in no time and without any trouble on their part. Moreover such people are considered lucky by others. But the fact is other way round. Those who do not face hardships of life remain raw and underdeveloped in many ways. Therefore, God created sorrows and difficulties at the same place where happiness and joy are bestowed. A man remains incomplete without experiencing them both and deprived of apt growth.
Let Us Understand God’s Blessings God is considered as an ocean of mercy and compassion. God’s gift to mankind and his benevolence are limitless. We know that even the trivial animals love their offspring and creations enormously, whereas the human being is the supreme creation of almighty God, hence one can never imagine how much love and care He must be having for man! A painter wants to see his painting to be in the best condition; in the same way, a gardener, – his garden; a sculptor, – his idol; a farmer, – his farm; and a shepherd wants his herd to be in the best condition. They rejoice the growth and wellbeing of their creations. Then God, the omnipotent creator, how can He neglect His best creation – this mankind? Certainly, God wants us to be the happiest and prosperous. His love and mercy are constantly showered on us. In spite of all these, we find many people unhappy and dipped in the sea of sorrows, suffering from many hardships, fear, pain, torture, injustice and scarcity of basic amenities. Some people face so harsh and acute emergency that even onlookers may faint. Sometimes people start doubting the kindness of God or consider such calamity as divine curse. But fact is, God can not be merciless for a moment even. The stream of his love and compassion keeps on flowing perpetually. And what we consider as difficulty is also one kind of his generosity only in the broad sense.
Mother’s Harshness is a Blessing In Disguise for the Child
Patience During Adversities (49)
The mother’s love for her kid is unique. She does not spare any effort to make it happy. Even then, some of her acts are unpleasant for it. The child wants to eat sweet in harmfully excessive amount, but mother knows that it can make it sick, so she allows only required quantity and child does not get any excess of sweet in spite of many resentful tantrums. Similarly, a child is guarded against exposure to fire, arms and ammunition and prevented to play with such dangerous goods even if it wants to do so. A child is also not allowed to play with wild and harmful animals, or to lean and peep from high terrace. It is punished also if it tries to indulge into any act harmful or risky for its own self. The mother gives it a bitter medicine with only purpose of making it well during its sickness and she is also prepared to allow a painful surgery or an injection on the child with an ultimate aim of giving relief to it. The child thinks that its mother is cruel as she does not allow certain activities or does not give it certain things and does not help it in difficult situations. Being unaware of the reality, it can even start disparaging or ridiculing its mother and blame her for being harsh, but surely, its belief is baseless. Only if the child could see the noble purpose behind this attitude, it would realize for sure, the true love, compassion and care. Otherwise how can she tolerate the pain caused by any process of healing the child and restoring its health during crisis!
God’s Mercy and Mother’s Love are Similar! Mother’s love for the child is expressed in two ways: one that pampers and cossets the child, when it gets sweets to eat, toys, nice clothes and a ride out for sightseeing etc. The kid thinks its mother is very kind and considerate. But when she resorts to the other way, that truly nurtures it, as putting an ointment in the eye, or sending it to school, or asking to take a bath, it often gets annoyed and curses the mother. The immature mind fails to understand the soft and harsh aspects of the mother’s behavior, but those who know the reality, fully
Patience During Adversities (49) well understand that mother can extend only love and care for the child, which are equally concealed in both the attitudes – harsh and soft. In the same way, God’s mercy also comes to us through joys and sorrows – and both situations contain love and care for us. Lack of knowledge prevents us to realize this, but when we are awakened to see the truth by grace of God, all difficulties and hardships disturbing us disappear and make us free from all fears and unhappiness.
Keep a Balanced view on Joys and Sorrows Happiness brings many benefits for a man – mind remains fresh, senses are satisfied, progress seems easy, friendcircle expands, encouragement increases giving more prestige and pride. But benefits of sorrows are also not less. The dormant talent wakes up to activate mind in search of relief from the troubles. Body acts fast giving up all laziness. The jockey or the horseman lashes the horse with a whip to teach it a correct gait. It is trained for fast running through painful whipping and tight rein, which ultimately help the horse to win the race. The adversities and sorrows act as a whip to activate and rejuvenate our slack physical and mental capabilities. They also guide us to walk on the path of truth and honesty. Scission of a blister releases stinking pus from the wound; passing stool clears the intestine of faeces (nightsoil, excreta); fasting burns the undigested residues in the stomach; in the same way, sorrows and adversities wash away the accumulated sins and our conscious comes out purified and bright like pure gold after exposure to fire which burns the dirt sticking to gold. Negative thoughts, malice and malevolence in man do not end until he is confronted by a great trouble or a severe crisis. A big slap of nature brings him to senses and compels him to trim his irregular path of life. The knowledge which can not be gained from lengthy sermons can be quickly obtained from a single dip in distress. Thus, most often a single stroke of time teaches more than a thousand teachers.
Patience During Adversities (49) Beware of Happiness: Happy days have many advantages, no doubt, but a great drawback also. Good times often make a man arrogant, greedy and lazy. He forgets to utilize this opportunity for extending kindness and compassion to fellow human beings. He spends most of his time in chasing selfish motives. To rescue him from this miserable situation, God snatches away his wealth to divert his attention from selfish means towards benevolence. This is just like a mother taking away all toys of a child who is deeply engrossed in playing, neglecting his study and books. Hence many times the purpose of divine punishment is to teach us the lesson of “Quit playing around and start studying”.
Endurance of Great Souls: Many great souls have willingly adopted the hardship of penance with a sole purpose of benevolence not only for self, but for the entire world. They attained immortal fame and the radiance of their worship has enlightened the path of people for an endless time to come. Harishchandra, Prahlad, Shibi, Mayurdhwaja, Dadheechi, Pratap. Shivajee, Hakikat Ray, Banda Vairagi, Bhagirath, Gautam Buddha and Jesus Christ – all they volunteered to undergo severe hardships which otherwise they would have easily avoided by little compromise in their principles. But they knew that gains so achieved were worthless, so they remained firm on their path of truth. Other people view this as suffering but in reality, only if we peep in their inner-self, how pleasant they felt while tolerating these hardships.
Accelerating Freedom from Birth-Death Bondage Those kind people who are favored by God are subjected to greater difficulties and more severe hardships in life as a quick means of clearing away the suffering destined as a result (‘Karma-Fala’) of their accumulated past deeds (‘Sanchit Karma’). In any way, one has to tolerate this to get free from
Patience During Adversities (49) bondage of birth and death. Once all such due pains are experienced and none is left, the soul is not forced to take birth again. On one hand all the accumulated resultant destiny (Sanchit-Karma) are exhausted and on the other hand the inner self and mind also get purified in the process. This double edged sword cuts the bondage of deeds (Karma-Bandhan) faster and so the soul proceeds rapidly towards ultimate goal of salvation. This is why great souls willingly and happily invite all sorrows and adversities on them to accelerate the suffering for finishing it as fast as possible.
Hardship – A Great Teacher Normally God forces us through bitter experiences from time to time to develop many virtues in us. After death of a child, parents shower more love and affection on other children, as they understand the pain of losing a dear one. Whose wife dies, takes better care of his second wife. Usually loss of anything makes one realize the importance of that thing in one’s life. The man who lost all his wealth learns how to use money for the benefit of other less privileged people. Only the sick person knows the difficulty of another sick and also realizes value of maintaining good health and controlled diet. Necessity of good conduct is self-evident to a person whose face is slapped on abusing someone. The victim of atrocity and torture knows the pain of a sufferer. When we ourselves are trapped in a gross tragedy of life and beg for mercy, only then we come to know how important it is to help others who are in dire need of our support and compassion.
Patience is an Important Attribute While dwelling in this world, facing difficulties and adverse situations is natural. Specifically when we plan some important work, facing unexpected obstacles is almost unavoidable. Many people never start any big project just due to fear of such hurdles. They may escape from difficulties in
Patience During Adversities (49) the life, but at the same time do not make any progress and their existence is nothing more than small insects. Agony and ecstasy are inevitable attributes of this gross physical body. Enjoying happiness forever and escaping from sorrows is not possible. When joys and sorrows are both so assured why to be upset with the latter? These are inseparable parts of the physical body, we have to patiently endure their cycle of coming and going. Those who understood this secret and learnt to be patient are really happy in this life. It is the nature of all animals to get upset under grim and horrifying calamities, but keeping cool and unperturbed during distress is a characteristic of a brave man with a lion’s heart. After all, why we become anxious? The reason is nothing but mental weakness. It is well known that nobody in this world - right from almighty Brahma Himself to the smallest insect – is completely happy and satisfied. All have undergone pain and discomfort of one or the other kind. Even then, if a man becomes frustrated under a hopeless situation, it reflects lack of will power. Physically, great persons and saints are no different from ordinary man, they do not have horns on their heads. Their only speciality is they never lose their calm during trying times. They happily tolerate adversity accepting it as a result of past deeds. Had the five ‘Pandavas’ obeyed their oppressive brothers ‘Kauravas’, had king Mordhwaja died of the grief of losing his son, had king Harishchandra defaulted from his promise lured by greed of the kingdom, had the king Rama remained in Ayodhya fearing hardships of a forest life, had king Shibi surrendered the dove to the hawk being afraid of getting cut his own body, nobody would remember their names today, and they too might have vanished from pages of history like all other ordinary men. But their names are alive in the memory of people even today, just because of their endurance.
Patience During Adversities (49) Accepting Realities Provides Patience We become upset on departure of our beloved ones. But does it serve any purpose? Will he return? If not, then being sad is useless and unjustified. He, who is born, will die one day. The creator of the entire universe, Brahma himself will disappear at the end of his tenure. He has evolved from the navel of lord Vishnu so he will annihilate into lord Vishnu. It is a firm and unavoidable principle that everything that is created at a point in time, will vanish at the end of its life at some other point in time. Then why to cry over your beloved’s death? He had to die one day, tomorrow if not today. He went back to the eternity from where he came and you are also surely to follow him one day. Hence, whatever life is remaining with you, pass in worship and praise of almighty God. Accept the reality of this gross physical body – a house of many diseases, has to undergo all pain and difficulties which are destined as a result of past deeds ‘Karma’. Be kind and benevolent, worship Lord chanting ‘NaamJapa’, medicines for your ailing body – do whatever you can, but never get anxious even if the desired result remains obscure. As you never know what remedy will finally give you comfort and when. Hence put efforts patiently, without losing your calm, thus you will get relief from your sufferings very easily.
Knowledge and Wisdom: Pillars of Patience We are disturbed when we do not get essential commodities to support life. There is not a single spoonful of grains in house to cook, wife’s clothes have worn out to rags, child is bedridden with fever and no money to buy medicines, now what to do? Where to go for help? We may lament for the whole night brooding over such negative thoughts, but none will solve the problem. The situation will not improve any more by crying. We must understand that we are not alone to face such crisis; it is a common fate for all, at one time or other. Even the most powerful God - Indra had to conceal himself in darkness to escape from the sin of ’brahm-hatya’ (killing a brahmin). King
Patience During Adversities (49) Harishchandra had to serve in the house of a lower caste and his queen had to beg from door to door seeking financial help for cremating their dead son. The saintly and the most exemplary man like king Rama had to stay in a forest for fourteen years and was deprived of performing last rituals of paying homage to his dead father king Dasharatha. There is none who did not face adversity and harshness in this physical body. This is the law of ‘Karma’. So why to be disturbed? Our anxiety will make our dependents too unhappy. We have to be patient and support them. That, what is destined to happen, will happen. That is all. Here is the main difference between a wise and a stupid. Aging, disease and death – these are common to all, but the wise man with discretion tolerates these accepting as unavoidable reality of life, whereas the stupid, without a sense of discretion, gets upset and increases the trouble even more. This is very aptly expressed by St. Kabir like this: “Death, aging and pain are faced by all, but knowledgeable wise man endures them with awareness and an ignorant man faces the same weeping and lamenting”. Those who do not keep patience become pauper and helpless, undergoing more and more difficulties. Humiliating own self as a helpless poor creature, dependent on others, expecting favors from others, begging for support, is the greatest insult one undergoes due to undue anxiety. Therefore, keep your calm under any adversity and strive to remove the root cause of your sorrows and pain. The energy spent to solve most of our problems is only half of that being wasted impatiently in lamenting and crying.
Keep Moving Ahead Under Any Circumstances Human life is meant for ascent on the spiritual path. A lion, an elephant, a snake and many such animals existing on this earth are far stronger than a man, but do they possess the power of discretion between good and bad? They can not distinguish between what is beneficial and what is harmful.
Patience During Adversities (49) They just live as per their pre-programmed instinct. It is only the human being so inquisitive to reach new places and occupy unreachable heights inventing new paths for important projects. Therefore, those who do not grab the opportunity to achieve spiritual growth in this precious human life are really wretched and the most unfortunate persons.
No Excuse For Your Failure “I would have accomplished great success only if I had got enough facility” – these are the words of people usually under a big self-deceit and illusion. It is their futile exercise to conceal their incapacity under the name of bad luck or god’s disgrace. The excuse of limited resources as a cause of failure is unjustifiable. Even if such a person gets all required facilities and a favorable condition, he may still not perform and look for yet another set of excuses, like that famous proverb: ‘an unskilled carpenter blames his tools’. Those who have got enough of wealth, education and supportive friends – are many times observed to be totally disorganized and leading an aimless life. If one does not have a purpose in life, the facilities become a burden. How dangerous it is if an inexperienced snake-charmer is surrounded by hundreds of snakes! A person, who has not mastered the skills of living, may find life interesting to some extent under scarcity even. But he will certainly invite trouble by misusing the unduly acquired wealth. So, no need to be disappointed, if you do not have a desired thing in your possession today. Start showing your art and skill through whatever limited gadgets you have. Always remember the importance of a small earthen oil lamp in complete darkness. When the biggest lighting implements fail and become useless while electricity is cut-off, this small lamp costing less than a rupee, keeps shining and spreading light so that people can resume their ongoing work. The tiny lamp never
Patience During Adversities (49) laments like this: “I would have emitted more light, only if I was bigger in size, or had I got more oil”. It never cares to show any excuse, unlike those crazy and lazy men crying on their own fate instead of putting efforts. It only judges its own capacity, the surrounding situation and starts doing the best whatever it can, to make life of other people happy and better. This is the success of a small lamp. From the standpoint of self-satisfaction, benevolence and efficiency of performing duty, it is nothing less than that of a sun or a moon, given their size and capacity. Thus, importance and success of a tiny lamp is well comparable with that of a moon and the sun.
Scarcity Is Not A Curse – But a Boon ! It is a fact that, the starved people with scanty resources, grown up under adversities have become great leaders, saints and successful guides on the path of liberation. The adverse situation encourages talents and sharpens one’s skills. The knife rubbed on a rough stone is sharper and more effective in its performance. In the same way, a rugged person has a better experience, skills and clarity that helps him in progressing successfully. Contrary to this, people born in wealthy families get basic amenities easily, without much struggle and hence their skills remain undeveloped due to over indulgence and luxury. Their life becomes unworthy like a rusted knife lying idle, unused for a long time. Generally it is observed that children in rich families remain comparatively less successful, whereas children with poor family background usually turn out to be bright and more successful due to struggle they have to undergo in carving their path to survive in adversities. In ancient times, kings, emperors and rich businessmen used to send their children to Gurukulam and Rishi-Ashrams (special types of educational homes headed by sacred teachers, saints and spiritual leaders), to educate them with severities of life so as to sharpen their skills and talents. Here we do not intend to say that wealth is a bad thing or that people born in rich families can not lead a life of high
Patience During Adversities (49) morals. In fact people endowed with God’s favor and all facilities can make spiritual progress even faster, only if they decide. The carpenter with best quality of wood and sharp tools will certainly make the most elegant furniture. We only wish to convey that if one acquires skills of living, no adversity can interrupt his progress. No doubt, poverty imposes a limitation of resources and increases hardship, but at the same time, it also brings out the latent talent more sharply, which wealth can not. The abundance of equipment most often spoils skills due to over indulgence and lavishness. Thus, rags or riches both have their pros and cons, but anyone firmly determined to move on the path, whether poor or rich, deprived or facilitated, will surely make his way happily turning any situation into a favorable one.
Creativity is Within – Not in Tools Money, education, facilities, cooperation and good health are essential for leading a happy life, but not necessarily they only make life happy. To write a good book we need a pen, ink and papers, but merely a combination of these three would not automatically produce a book. The main ingredient in a good book is the talent of a writer. Ink, pen, paper are merely tools, not very significant. A capable writer will utilize whatever tools available to him, and lack of them will not hamper his work. Have you ever heard that an author could not write a book as he did not have ink? Will you believe a writer telling: “what can I do? I had no pen, had I got a good pen, I would have surely written the best book.” This reminds us the well-known proverb, describing a person who does not know how to dance, but blames shape of the stage for poor performance. A perfect dancer is less bothered about such trivial factors. In the same way, one who has mastered the skills of life has no time to complain about hardships and difficulties. Proper tools are necessary, no doubt, but not to the extent that progress may halt without them.
Convert the Adverse into Favorable
Patience During Adversities (49) Clever men can turn even adversities into their favor. They make nectar out of poison. Experts in ‘Ayurveda’ (the ancient Indian medical science), possess skills of making life-saving drugs from deadly poisonous seeds, toxic metals and seemingly harmful chemicals. People can extract silver from sand, convert coal into diamond, fetch pearls from the bottom of the sea, get gushing flow of cold water by piercing hard and dry crust of the earth. The anti-venom vaccine which is an effective remedy for a snake-bite is prepared with the help of deadly poison of a cobra. There is no shortage of such examples, where seemingly the worst thing is put to the best use in favor of the mankind. There are uncountable number of artists and experts around us performing great tasks and making valuable things from trivial and apparently useless materials. There is no dearth of brave men who cut through any tough situation and emerge out as winners like Goddess Seeta who came out unhurt through the fire test. If you are also a person of a strong will, you can easily convert your difficulties, grievances, worries and helplessness into facilities, satisfaction, capabilities, optimism and ultimately – grand success.
Do not worry about difficulties: Many people are so much frightened by difficulties that their lives are gripped by worry of innumerable imaginary difficulties. By any logic, it is futile to lament over past - which has already gone, and over future which has yet not come. But these people, instead of living in the present, usually cry on events of past or bother too much about imaginary harms of future events. This shows foolishness and cowardice. Past or future, worrying about any difficulty is detrimental and drains our energy, making us incapable to face the real problems of the present situation.
Worry is a Mental Disorder Worry is the worst mental disorder emerging from unpleasant memories of past and fear of unknown future. Worry destroys our mental, physical and spiritual energy. Once
Patience During Adversities (49) gripped by this disease, man can hardly ever escape, because it becomes deep-rooted in the subconscious mind as a complex, controlling our activities. Once worry becomes a habit, it induces a permanent pessimism and the person loses interest in life, devoid of enthusiasm, inviting overall failure. Worry, like a contagious disease, makes all people pessimistic who come into contact with a person infected with worries. We hear many people saying that they are fed up of life and have become totally useless and better that God may call them back. They also blame their ill fate, curse the situation and lament that their efforts are all in vain and with no outcome of any type. But they are not aware that by crying this way, they destroy their own fortune and cover their own life under darkness.
Always Live in the Present A famous wise man has said that our subconscious mind is filled up with bitter memories of past buried deep, related to painful experience, bad treatment from others, our own foolish behavior and absurdity. We have to shut the door of our mind behind such painful memories so as to isolate our present moment from their black shadow. Let us firmly decide that past is past, dead and buried. Let us also close tightly the chamber containing imaginary fear of the future. This will relieve our mind from all doubts, anxieties, disappointments and haunting imaginations of the future. After shutting off the past and the future, now we are left with only the present - this very moment - a wonderful treasure of joy! Only the present moment is with you, under your control, at your service! Make the best use of this present moment - only this can ensure a bright and happy future and also can relieve you from pains of the past. Live the present moment whole heartedly with full concentration and you will never need to worry for the future nor lament for the past. This is the secret of the happiest and the most successful life. The purpose of this statement is not to forbid the thinking or planning about future, no, not at all. It only suggests that undue worry about future will not serve any purpose. We have only to focus on the work presently on our hand, and strive
Patience During Adversities (49) to complete it with the highest efficiency, with total attention, care and expertise. Then you do not need at all to worry for the future. This is the only sure way to create bright future.
Today’s Prayer for Today Only In a prayer to lord Jesus, it is said, “O God, Give us this day our daily bread.” Let us keep it in mind that the prayer is for obtaining food, happiness, prosperity - all for today. There is no greed or fear for the future, or no complain for the past. It emphasizes the importance of the present moment. If we live the present moment ideally with full awareness, joy and satisfaction with whatever we do, then progress and prosperity of the future is automatically secured. We need not worry about that. Hundreds of years ago a philosopher moving around the mountain regions, where earning a daily bread was full of hardships, once addressed all residents, “O Poor souls! Surrounded by worries of future, why do you destroy the golden moments of today with fear and worries of tomorrow?” If you focus on today’s work with the best efficiency and efforts, then almighty God himself will take care of your tomorrow! Lord Jesus has said, ‘Never worry for tomorrow’. Very few people understand its meaning. Most of the people will say, ‘why should we not worry for future? after all we have a family, and we are surrounded by complex problems of children’s education, marriage, employment, food, clothes, housing, social status, old age, health insurance and what not.’ For the sake of argument, yes, these are OK. Such thoughts are normal. What we suggest is, plan for the future, make all preparations, get good social support, but never worry. Advance planning with foresight to mitigate any future emergency is one thing and to worry for the future is quite another. In fact lack of planning leads to worry and anxiety. Worry is a process of negative thinking that paints everything black and destroys our energy throwing our mind out of balance. It blunts our natural capability and endurance hidden in everybody already created by almighty God.
Patience During Adversities (49) Positive Vs. Negative Thinking How to differentiate between worry and positive thinking? It is very simple. The thought process in which any difficult situation or an adversity is evaluated logically against its cause and effect with a focus on our future goal and selection of the best way learning from our past mistakes and finally arriving at a solution. This is positive thinking for problem solving, contrary to worrying, which does not follow any logical path. Positive thinking is highly creative, energizing to face any problem head on, it encourages to achieve success, not by running away from duty but by resolving the complexities of the life. This is quite opposite to the negative thought process emanating from fear and confusion. Most of the sick in mental hospitals and in lunatic asylums are observed to be victims of mental imbalance caused by overburden of worries. Their minds are disturbed by painful memories of past. Events like separation from the beloved ones, loss of financial assets, social insult, atrocity by government authorities and other sufferings of many types have made them so rigidly pessimistic that source of any joy or inspiration has totally dried up. The first outcome of distorted feelings of fear and insecurity is worry, and if this is suppressed for a long time, it strongly emerges out as a mental disorder. The harmful energy of such negative emotions has to be released by expressing feelings and channelizing our thoughts towards act of humanity.
Few Golden Rules to Conquer Adversity Never get upset while facing hardship. Though it is a bitter experience, but remember, the medicines that cure fever and purify our body are also bitter in taste. Never get disappointed by hardships, remember that the dark black clouds shower rains to produce good harvest in the farm.
Patience During Adversities (49) Difficulties usually harass those people more, who are afraid of them. People with firm mind, fearless, and having faith in God, usually enjoy adversities like a bed of flowers and easily tackle them. Difficulty, like a mountain on the way, looks frightening from a distance. The traveler may worry about how to overcome the mountain looking from a distance, but as he approaches near, he finds a way to cross over through a zigzag path. In the same way, adversity also, however frightening it may appear in imagination, actually turns out to be trivial when confronted face to face and broken into small steps at a time. A stone has to undergo painful carving and hammering before it turns into a beautiful statue. Difficulty is that sculptor for a man’s personality doing overall development and beautification. Adversity is a test for relationship and love. It teaches you to be compassionate and caring for your near and dear ones who are put to hardships. Similarly it tries and tests your friends and relatives also when you are in trouble. Hence, adversity has so many positive and useful aspects we have to use them in our favor instead of worrying about it.
Adversity: A Natural Beneficial Remedy The darkest clouds have silver lining, joy after pain, hope after dismay, and spring after autumn are all according to the rules of the nature. In a continuous phase of happiness, a stroke of severe grief is required to teach us the reality of life. Consider these five points when you find yourself deeply down in extreme harshness or adversity: 1: It is a result of your own past deeds (Karmafala), so tolerate it and get relieved from the bondage. 2: It is a test of your faith in God. If you are frightened and upset, you will not get His favor.
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3: Consider an adversity as a boon sent by God and rest assured that it will be beneficial ultimately. 4: Accept it as a pre-destined thing that had to happen to you, and calmly endure it. 5: You are afraid of difficulties because you identify yourself with the gross physical body which has some name and form and which is subject of all sufferings while playing various roles. But in reality you are consciousness - a part of that “Brahman” - which is ‘Sat - Chit - Ananda’ which is not a subject of any attribute. The name and form are merely superimposition on real thing or ‘Atman’. Experiencing joy and pain is a function of the physical body and you have no connection with it at the spiritual level, therefore, being afraid of a difficulty is foolishness. Like other roles of human life, adversities also come and go as a natural routine, considering them good or bad, more depends upon one’s attitude. Most of the adversities are meant for correcting our mistakes and to put us on a right path. Hence, under whatever hardship or difficulties, we should perform our duty, keeping our patience and focusing on our goals. Only then, the adversity will do us a great favor instead of doing any harm. =============================================