Blog

September – 2008

In life, it has always been observed that to solve a problem is to rise above it. – Chinmaya

The Omniscient Lord has designed the world in such a way that none is spared from facing some or the other kind of problems! The reason is not difficult to find when we also take into account the fact that He is an ocean of compassion.

There is a beautiful saying which goes thus: “I asked for strength and God gave me difficulties to make me strong; I asked for wisdom and He gave me problems to solve; I asked for prosperity and He gave me brain and brawn to work; I asked for courage and He gave me obstacles to overcome; I asked for love and He gave me troubled people to help; I asked for favours and He gave me opportunities … I received nothing I wanted but I received everything I needed!”

All problems and challenges in life are in fact, His blessings in disguise. This is the right attitude which helps us in rising above all problems. It is well said that a successful man is the one who builds a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him!

Rising above the problem is nothing but the right way of looking at events, things or happenings. Thomas Alva Edison had to undergo thousands of failures in his laboratory during the initial years of his research. When asked about these failures, he replied aptly, “Failure? Never. Every time I was successful in knowing how it won’t work!”

He considered every failure as an opportunity to learn. And, very soon he came up with the invention of the electric bulb!

Many a time our hidden talents and potentials come to the fore only in the wake of a severe crisis.

Walter Davis, in his childhood, was affected by infantile paralysis and the doctors feared the boy might not be able to walk again. But the events so turned up that the boy, challenging his limitations, later went to become theWorld Champion in the High Jump event!

The truth is that the problems are created not by the external world but by our own fickle mind. It is this weak mind which labels an ordinary situation as a problem or as a crisis.

Scriptural statements and spiritual masters unanimously declare that a peaceful, steady mind is the best instrument to deal with any situation in life. And the best way to quieten the mind is to turn it to the Divine. It is the Lord’s promise that whoever takes refuge in Him will overcome all the obstacles by His grace and that His devotees shall never perish. Trust Him, and the mind becomes peaceful instantly, making it fit to face all the ups and downs of life. In fact, this is the only purpose for which all problems have been created – to bring out the attitude of total surrender within us unto Him.

Kunti Devi’s prayer to Lord Krishna was, “O Lord, give me only sorrows and miseries. Then alone I will always remember Thee!”

Thus when our surrender becomes complete, He, the Infinite and the Eternal, makes us recognize our total identity with Him. This is the only way to rise above all problems at all times, just like all problems of the dream end permanently when one wakes up.

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T