Challenges are a Blessing

When you are fighting with your back against the wall you get creative, look within and think of the higher consciousness. You tap into your inner resources and give your best.
Challenges are a Blessing

Pain is an integral part of life. The world consists of pairs of opposites—pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow, and honour and dishonour. How you face these fluctuations is in your hands. This is the greatest gift bestowed on human beings. You can choose not to suffer. You can be a victim or victor, you can succumb to the challenges or rise above them. Life is like a game. Sometimes you win, at other times you lose. You have to be able to take it in your stride.

If you depend on the constantly changing, unpredictable world, you will get crushed by it. Learn to be self-reliant. The world will bow to you. Spiritual development is inversely proportional to your dependence on the world. The more you lean on it, the less you get. The less you need the more you get! Vedanta helps you become independent of the world and enables you to gain more of the world. An Enlightened Master is totally independent, yet has the world at his feet!

There are three states of balance—restless, fragile and steady. The worst state is when you are like a cone on its apex, totally dependent on external factors. You need everything to be just right for you to be at peace. The intermediary state is when you are like a cone on its side—calm by yourself but the slightest fluctuation creates long spells of mental agitation. Be like a cone resting on its base. Nothing will topple or overwhelm you. You will be unruffled irrespective of what the world offers. As Oliver Wendell Holmes said, ‘For him in vain the envious seasons roll, Who bears eternal summer in his soul.’

Challenges are a blessing. When you are fighting with your back against the wall you get creative, look within and think of the higher consciousness. You tap into your inner resources and give your best. Every challenge is an opportunity to grow. A tennis player hones his skills when he plays against better players.

A cricketer improves with exposure to international players. The key is to build inner reserves. The loss of `10 lakh may be insignificant to a billionaire but can drive a cabbie to bankruptcy. Vedanta says you are already an infinitaire! The problem is that you do not know it. Gain knowledge of your real worth. The fluctuations of the world will no longer traumatise you. They will only amuse and entertain you. India is rich with spiritual knowledge. Help yourself to it. Study it, reflect over it, experiment with it, absorb it and live it.

Assess the people and situations around for what they are, not what you would like them to be. Then you will not have unrealistic expectations or the consequent disappointments. Defer decisions when your mind is clouded. Consult a clear thinker who will throw fresh light on the matter. Develop a sense of humour!

The spiritual path does not demand a change of lifestyle, wardrobe or location. You do not have to move away from family, friends or career. It only calls for a change of attitude. Move from the mindset of taking to giving. The law is—give you gain, grab you lose. Base your life on serving, adding value to others, and offering your talent to a larger cause. See the miraculous results it brings.

When you have a conflict with the people you love most you tend to blame them. Look within. It is your selfishness that is the cause. You expect people to dance to your tune, you make demands and impose restrictions on them. This makes them want to break free. The interaction with them becomes stressful and conflict-ridden and eventually, you lose your loved ones. Learn to be self-sufficient. Then you will no longer depend on them. Love them for what they are. Accept them with their faults and idiosyncrasies. You will enjoy their presence but not miss them when they are gone. When you stop making demands, they will love you dearly.

Objectivity is the secret of enjoyment. You are able to enjoy tragedy, murder, and horror on screen because you know you are apart from it. Similarly, you are an actor on the stage of life. Play your role to the best of your ability, wholeheartedly, excitedly. Exit when the time comes. You are your Self. You have nothing to do with the roles you play. You seem to have lost your identity. Understand who you are. The world will lose its sting. You will enjoy the roles and retreat into an oasis of Bliss when your part is over.

Visit vedantavision.org to enrol for the course, ‘Overcoming Life’s Challenges’, by Jaya Row. WhatsApp 9820138429 for queries.

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The New Indian Express
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