If one is not blown around by these ordinary energies and is centred … being calm, then one would experience another sacred force, which would make one see the beauty of both success and failure. We would understand the meaning of being centred, which generates calmness in us. This calmness is neither the result of success nor can it be snatched by failure.
Let our centre not be energised by greed, worry....
This man’s presence triggers my memory of a student, who asked me this question. ‘I love your workshop. Lots of people ask questions on interpersonal relationships; on how to be winners; on how to go about setting goals; on how to deal with stress….; but my question is a spiritual one. This question is worrying me, not from the types of worries which people are tormented by. Mine is a spiritual worry…… who was I in my previous birth? Swamiji, I am sure you know of a Buddhist technique which helps us go to our previous birth. Is it true?’
Yes. I do make attempts to find answers about previous birth.
‘Please tell me who was I in my previous birth. This ignorance makes me miserable,’ Said the man.
Why do you want to know about your previous birth? You have enough to know about the present birth. Why burden yourself with the past or the future? But the man persisted.
I told him that I would teach him the technique and stated that in his previous birth he could have been a rat. Having known that it would become extremely difficult to kill one, fearing it could be his great grand difficult to kill one, fearing it could be his great grand child. Neither could he be comfortable with it.
Why do we complicate life? Life is simple, but we have complicated questions. Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, ‘Forgetfulness is also my glory.’ Nature in its infinite wisdom has given us the gift of not remembering the previous births. Please respect it.
Swami Sukhabodhananda is the founder and chairman of Prasanna Trust. He is a respected spiritual leader who is often referred to as the ‘Corporate Guru.’