(Contd.........Part 1)
Always keep in mind the law of karma and its fruit
Impelled by the sense of attachment, man desires to have things, otherwise impossible of achievement, irrespective of what the consequences are going to be. Thus, everyone wishes his loved one or even his friend to live for ever, free from old age and death. But, this is possible only when his loved ones have not done any evil deed in their life-time, i.e. they have not done anything, which results in illness, old age, death, etc.; otherwise his this wish would simply be futile.
In the world, as it is today, it is impossible that a man may not suffer old age or death because everyone has done at least some evil deeds. Yet ignoring this fact and forgetting that the law of Karma is equally applicable to all men, blinded by attachment and infatuation, he does not only ignore the law of action or of the course of events in the world but also craves the fulfillment of his own wishes at any cost. He craves that His loved one may not die at all. Out of affection for her son, the mother prays that, as he is going to school, it may not rain lest he should get wet and be taken ill.
It does not enter into her mind that, for want of rains, cultivation of land would be impossible and, if land is not cultivated, there would be no crops and want of grains would lead to famine. Nor does she ever think of the ways of her son’s actions and their ramifications. If man’s all wishes, dictated by his affection, were to be fulfilled, then there would be chaos in the world or, nothing would be possible to be done according to some principles and laws. If nature’s laws were to work in accordance with wishes of a man who is under the spell of infatuation the nature’s all works will come to stop and, consequently, man’s wishes also will come to a naught. Suppose a woman prays that her son may not die and another woman longs for a son to be born to her.
Now if one, who is either a son in a
family or is anyone’s friend, does not die, how can the wish of another family
that a son be born to them be fulfilled? We should understand thoroughly that
souls are eternal and immortal and no new souls can be created. They simply
change places of their habitation and their corporeal forms during the course
of the World Cycle. And they cannot be born in another family until they shake
of the body at the place they occupy in a certain family at a certain time.
In short, in the event of
anyone’s death, we should contemplate the system of the dispensation of actions
done by man. We should think over this subject in some such manner as the
following :
“Well, souls come into this world and, ultimately, go and then come again. They take one corporeal form, shed it off and then take another. When I cannot have authority over my own body, how can I declare a desire that so-and-so may not suffer death? This vast world-drama works according to an eternal and pre-ordained procedure; we can have the lawful wish for everyone’s long life, but grieving over a sad event is useless because no amount of tears will bring back the dead to life. So, this sad event should serve as a reminder to me to be ready to make the cut when the time comes.
One has to go alone! One cannot be accompanied by anyone while passing the gates of death. I should, therefore, be firmly rooted in the feeling that I have to travel alone and take refuge in Him, the Supreme Soul, who, as the Master of all, annuls death, and during the short period now left to me before World Destruction, I should take refuge to Him, the Supreme Soul who is above death and decay. Thus, from contemplation of Him, I will draw bliss.
He is Father, Master, Son and Friend – the only one of His kind whom
death cannot touch. Considering Him as my true friend, I should be linked to
Him with love and thus earn my own beatitude. Does not that mean that the soul
that I am, shall for ever be wedded to my Lord and Master and, therefore, be
always powerful? I if be weeping while praising the dead, I too shall be
carried away by the agents of death, because my laments will prove that I am
also in for the world of the devils. If, on the contrary, I keep happy in
remembrance of the Supreme Soul, I will be carried by deities, as it were, in
their Viman – superior aircraft,
because whatever I do and say shall establish that I am duly equipped with
courage, tolerance, contentment, cheerfulness and right remembrance of God and
am, therefore, qualified for deity status is Vaikuntha.”
Thus, if man tries to
acquire these abilities and practices the methods vouchsafed by God, situations
otherwise causing grief and tears will help him towards contemplation of the
Supreme Soul and keep him secure in yoga and peace. If he does not contemplate
on divine knowledge but is influenced by the ignorance, he will not only fall
from yoga and be peaceless but make others also weep so much so that he will be
instrumental in depriving the departed soul of peace. Is it not a maxim of the
Philosophy of action that our giving way to grief and disquiet disturbs the
dead also and that the dead would attain peace if we remain stable in
remembering the Supreme Soul who is All-Peace?
How to have peace in adverse circumstances?
Non-fulfillment of one’s wishes, or the presence of an obstacle or a difficult situation leads to loss of peace. In these circumstances, man should regard these situations as a means of giving him experience of life and thus rendering him noble and divine, in the same manner in which a storm throws up, from the womb of a ocean, on to the shore, the good things like pearl-mothers, gems, shells, etc.. even a stone rolling among the waves is chiselled by them into a rounded piece, called a Shaligram.
Or, it may be fashioned into being a statue or idol by being constantly planed
by hammer and chisel. Therefore, man should regard difficulties and
disappointments as the events that lead him to maturity. These are due to his
own karmas and, so, he should endure
them calmly. By dint of these divine virtues, he will become a deity and
acquire heavenly peace and happiness.
Considering every event
that happens here to be pre-ordained, he should always remember that what was
ordained, has taken place, that the world is subject to change and that, one
time or another, these dire difficulties will vanish and good days will come.
Things do not remain the same for ever. So, we should make efforts maintaining
the equilibrium of mind and keeping faith in God and hoping for a bright
future.
How to keep calm when someone behaves improperly?
It is a matte of common observation that man becomes pleased to receive respect from others, but would be sad and disturbed if he was insulted. Thus, common man’s life and outlook are determined by situation. His happiness is not under his control. In a situation, likely to bring him respect, he makes merry, but if anyone showed slightest impropriety in his behaviour towards him, he would be agitated for a pretty long time afterwards.
But, in the case of a yogi, it is very well-known
that he keeps happy in all conditions whether he is respected or not. The
question therefore arises, what line of thought and action should man adopt at
all times in order to continue, by means of yoga, in a state of divine bliss,
sucking it in without let or hindrance and be free from the control that these
aforesaid situations try to exercise over him.
One kind of these
situations is caused when without any fault of yours, an irritable person,
labouring under a misunderstanding, passes curt, waspish and improper remarks
against you in the presence of others. For instance, he might say to you in the
presence of others that you are a fool and a do-nothing and that you brainless
and are no better than an ass or an owl. Even though the fault lies with
someone else, yet under the compulsion of a misunderstanding, he desires to
insult you and uses the hot words as the instruments to inflict pain on you.
And, if we now look at it
from the point of view of wisdom, we find that there is no point in losing
peace of mind. The reason is that you are not to blame for a wrong done, yet
the other man indulges this useless talk on account of a misunderstanding. Why
should then a useless thing occupy your thoughts? You should have the ability
to regard it as useless talk because he himself is blameless. Why should one
try to find meaning in words that serve no purpose?
Be a care-free sovereign
There is another thing to ponder over. No one becomes an ass or an owl nor does one become blind by what others say. Rather, one should thus learn to be unruffled. Let him be firmly enthroned in his faith, and not lose hold of his principles. The common fault now-a-days is that man considers himself to be a monarch – that’s why he asks for respect from other – but he does not really remain, as he ought to remain, unruffled and unattached to be truly called a ‘care-free sovereign’.
Thus, even though he is the child of the Supreme Soul, the king of kings, and belongs to the dynasty of Shri Narayana, the sovereign of the world, he does not have happiness. This is because he runs away from the ecstasy of his faith only to be entangled in the meshes of others’ remarks. Naturally, he is restless and unquiet. He falls easily from the state of faith; otherwise, if he were told by anyone that he was a nincompoop, he should laugh at him instead of feeling pained.
This poor individual gives a wrong name out of his sheer ignorance, as
in reality, a man is not an owl but the child of God. But if we doubt this
rendering, we become unhappy. Hence it is aptly said that Maya hits is hard1
if we forget ourselves?
1. Apne ko jo tu bhoola tho laga maya ka gola
Firstly, have regard of and faith in the self
From what has been stated
above, it should be clear that he who has proper regard for himself, i.e. the
soul, and believes in the Supreme Soul, who is truth, is not affected if others
do not give him due regard. He should, therefore, arouse in himself regard for
the soul by reminding himself that he is the child of the Supreme Soul, who is
the Overlord of the Three Worlds, the Saviour and the Ocean of knowledge,
peace, bliss and love. When he is in this manner, resting in proper
understanding of himself as the soul, the thorns of insult or ignominy do not
touch him. Looked at in this manner, you will find that any feeling of disgrace
is due to our own acceptance of it as such, otherwise, it would have no
application to ourselves in terms of abuse flung at us.
Someone might argue that it is our faith and not our doubt about ourselves that makes us experience insult when disrespectful or abusive words are used against us. For instance, if we were told in presence of others that we are asses, we never doubt that we are human-beings. We believe rightly and therefore firmly that we are not asses but human beings, and it is this belief that makes us feel angry at being called asses, and this feeling causes is grief.
But, proper consideration of the points involved should reveal to man that along with the belief that we are human beings and not asses, we should also have in us the belief that abuses of others will not harm us at all. We stand for truth, and truth shall ultimately win, and the reality shall come to be known to all. Besides, we should not forget that we all are souls, that each one of us is a sentient point of light and that he who calls us by any other name, such as ‘ass’ is mistaken. Others presence over there are quite surely watching his misbehaviour. Why should a man, if, he is wise, ever fear that others too would call him an ass?
Fears of this kind mean doubting one’s own identity and deposing our ownselves from the seat of divine virtues. If we have the firm faith that we are human beings, essentially sentient points of immortal light, we shall have occasion to laugh at him who reviles us because he is obviously an instrument of what is called Maya. We shall find that he is like one possessed by maya. He cannot control himself. He is restless and, hence his opprobrious language. His mind is deeply excited, as it were set on fire, and hence his fulmination’s.
But I am a pure
and a peaceful soul, a beautiful receptacle of the nectar of knowledge. Neither
his language nor his action touch me. He is an ignoramus; he does not know that
he is a soul, a point of light, and being in the darkest ignorance
(unenlightened), he vituperates, calling me an ass, whereas I should continue
to be firm in my spiritual state. Placing oneself firmly in this state, which
is a state of true self-respect, i.e. right recognition of one’s self or soul,
no one will ever feel pained by insults flung at him.
When you look outwards and
accept anyone’s abuse, i.e. hear and then accept it, only then you experience
insult, whereas when you look inward and concentrate on yourself as a
point-of-immortal-light, you experience true self-reverence and respect in
general. This is a theorem of life.
Contd....Part 3
