Children, sraddha is an essential quality in any field of life. We must become aware of every thought, word and deed. We must also be aware of how we walk, sit and look. Most of us spend all our time thinking of what is already over and of what is yet to come.
Caught up in too many matters and problems, the mind is utterly scattered. As a result, we are unable to focus sufficiently on anything and succeed in it. In the mad rush to fulfil our desires, we do not do anything properly.
Amma remembers a story. Any patient occupying one particular bed in the ICU of a hospital would die on Sunday at around 11 a.m. The doctors were perplexed. Some even began to believe that an unearthly force was responsible for these deaths.
Finally, an expert committee was formed to look into this phenomenon. The next Sunday, a few minutes before 11, doctors, experts, nurses and hospital authorities waited with complete focus in the corridor outside the ICU where the deaths took place. A few held rosaries and were chanting. Others were praying.
At 11 sharp, a cleaner who worked only on Sundays entered the ICU, removed the plug connecting the patient to the life support system, and plugged in his vacuum cleaner. Thus, the mystery behind the Sunday deaths was solved.
Action done without alertness is adharma. It can bring us and others sorrow. There is no point in blaming God for our suffering. Doing so would be akin to driving carelessly, colliding into something, and then blaming the petrol for the accident.
Even a single thought has infinite inherent power. Each thought is like an atom in the atomic bomb. One bad thought is enough to trigger a thousand bad thoughts within a short time. Thoughts then become words and actions and sow destruction.
In the same manner, when bad thoughts first come we are often not aware of them. In a short span of time, they transform into an irrepressible force. We lose our discrimination and leap headlong into bad actions. These thoughts even transform our character.
We must always remain alert, like a soldier on a battlefield or a student in the examination hall. Training ourselves to do what needs to be done in every moment, with perfect attention, will transform that action into a great spiritual discipline.
If we continuously maintain this awareness within ourselves, we will be able to gain peace and happiness in our lives. If we don’t do what is called for at the required time, then all our actions will go to waste.
The alertness that we demonstrate even in small matters helps us attain great things. One who is mindful of the goal will be alert in every thought, word and action. Work done with total awareness will take us swiftly to God. If we live ‘today’ with awareness, ‘tomorrow’ will become our friend.