FOUR EXERCISES TO BE GODWARD

Recently, I attended a lecture given by Swami Tyagananda , head of the Vedanta Society in Boston and thought of sharing it with my family and friends. I found the lecture not only meaningful but also practical. We all at one point of time in our lives want to turn towards spiritualism. The reason of turning towards it varies from people to people – But it is for sure that when we don’t get an answer for our miseries, sufferings or disappointments in this worldly life, we turn towards God.  Sometimes even after reading books after books, attending different lectures and temples, it becomes difficult for people to implement those doctrines in practical life in order to realize God. To reach the stage of Samadhi is not that easy – at least not possible in one birth.  As said by Sankaracharya in one of his slokas in “Vivekchudamani” For all beings a human birth is difficult to obtain; rarer still is the attachment to the path of Vedic religion; higher than this is erudition in the scriptures; discrimination between the Self and not- Self, Realisation, and continuing in a state of identity with Brahman – these come next in order. (This kind of) Mukti (Liberation) is not to be attained except through the well-earned merits of a hundred crore of births.”

 

So what we should do to practice spiritualism?  This lecture was basically trying to explore those methods or exercises through which we can think of elevating ourselves in order to reach nearer to the highest reality.

 

1.   Forget all the good that you have done to people - This is true that we always remember the good that we have done to others. It gives us the satisfaction of knowing how good and generous we are. If we don’t forget, then it will hurt us if that generosity is not returned with the same warmth. For example, on our friend’s birthday we buy a nice gift along with a cake and go to his/her house to greet and celebrate his/her birthday. Now by the time our birthday comes, we start expecting the same thing. It is possible that our friend will not show up. Forget about showing up, he or she might not even call us and that will make us miserable, thinking we did so much for him/her but he/she did not even bother to call us and thus our birthday will be ruined. So by doing one good and not forgetting it, we have created bondage for ourselves. So if we want to help or do anything for people, do not expect. As Swami Vivekananda rightly said,” When you give something to a man, expect nothing--do not even expect the man to be grateful--his ingratitude will not tell upon you, because you never expected anything, never thought you had any right to anything in the way of a return. You gave him what he deserved; his own Karma got it for him; your Karma made you the carrier thereof. Why should you be proud of having given away something? You are the porter that carried the money or other kind of gift, and the world deserved it by its own Karma. Where is then the reason for pride in you? There is nothing very great in what you give to the world.”

We are just a carrier, whose job is to deliver. So, why to bother what good we have done to others?  It is their turn to remember if it has to be remembered. Our goodness is over once we performed that particular duty. We should have the satisfaction of doing good which only will make us go Godward.

2.   Forget all the bad others have done to you – I know this is not as easy as it sounds, as our ego is not ready to accept it.  We think if we will not retaliate in the same manner, people will take us for granted. It takes time to tame our EGO, to make it understand not to retaliate but to reason it out. Why did it happen in the first place? Were my actions responsible for this kind of reaction? Sometimes even this kind of experience leads us towards spiritualism.  So we should be thankful to those ‘bad’ people who have made us wiser. Also, we all know that no two people are alike. Our situations, circumstances, nature and appearances are all so different and so are people’s reactions. Life is too short for trivial things. We should try to appreciate the goodness and the beauty of people around us. Swami Vivekananda has rightly said, “Life is good or evil according to the state of mind in which we look at it, it is neither by itself. Fire, by itself, is neither good nor evil. When it keeps us warm we say, "How beautiful is fire!" When it burns our fingers, we blame it. Still, in itself it is neither good nor bad. So as we use it, it produces in us the feeling of good or bad; so also does this world.”

 Similarly, all human beings are bonded to their prakirti (nature). We have to understand it, love it, appreciate it and if we don’t like it – keep a distance with it. Life is too short to have the grudges – people around us are the ones who are helping us, loving us, guiding us, so it is best to keep no bad feelings for them even if they have done any harm to us. Accept it as part of their nature, try to reason it out and appreciate them for giving us a different perspective to look at things. If we not do so, we will regret, once they will be gone. Think about the karma theory. Anything that is done to us, it is because of our own karma. They are just a carrier – like a postman – delivering only what we have asked for. Stop blaming others for your situation. Do not play a victim.

 

3.   Remember, everything is changeable or passes away - We all know that we are constantly changing. The whole world is changing. Our relationship changes – with our spouse, children, family, friends. We grow from baby to a teen and then to adult and finally old. If we don’t remain the same how do we expect other things revolving around us to remain the same.  Weather changes, season changes – the same way people’s emotion changes. We should learn to accept the changes, otherwise we will be miserable. Our situation keeps on changing. Nothing remains the same. One should not get too excited or sad at the outcome of the results of our actions because nothing is going to stay forever. There is this story, which I would like to share,

There was a king. A time came in his kingdom when lot of bad things were happening –- the king didn't know what to do. He was sad & worried. His ministers were concerned seeing the king sad. So they went to a goldsmith & got a ring engraved with "THIS TOO WILL PASS" and gave the ring to the king. Time turned and good time came. But the king did not forget to look at the engraved ring saying, "THIS TOO WILL PASS." So why to get overjoyed or excited?

Seeing the fragility of this life, we should not get too much attached to things because we know it is not going to be the same all the time. Life is a constant change. If we accept these changes, we can handle it more diligently. If we reject it, it becomes difficult.

 

4. Remember One Being that never changes is God – We all know that. So try to hold on to it. You will feel safe. Our faith in God intensifies when we know He is there to take care of our needs. Perhaps, we can accept that God’s ways are far better than our own. Choosing to release control to the only One who is the ultimate Truth gives us peace and security. Because God is the only one who can guide us, direct us and lead us to the path of salvation.

When we do puja and japam, we have to see how much it has entered into our being. When problems come in life, how do we deal with it? Do we behave like a spiritual person or a worldly person? If we are showing too much anxiety and stress – that means we don’t have faith in God. At the time of difficulty one should think – I am like a little baby in the lap of God mother? A sleeping child will not have a single sign of worry on his face because he knows his mother will take care of him. We should also be like a child when it comes to have faith in God.

 

God knows how to hide us and protect us, even in the very midst of any problem that could ever come against us. God knows how to take us in His arms and cradle us with love. He knows how to swoop down with His mighty arm and pluck us out from the midst of our enemies. God is a provider and always will be. He will provide for us if we will simply allow Him to do so. Reach out and grab a hold of Him for He is always there for us. He simply wants our trust. God will never let us down, nor will He forsake us. The world will let us down and walk away from us in the midst of our trials and tribulations. The world will run the other way when our enemies stand fast against us, but God will move forward with a band of angels stretching forth His mighty arm and pulling us to safety if we will just call on Him.

Practise these four exercises, and see what you get at the end. – peace, peace and peace.