When we pour water at the base of a tree, it reaches all parts of the tree. It will grow fast and yield fruits. If we water the branches instead, the tree will neither grow nor bear fruit. Our time and effort would be wasted. Try to live in the present moment. Merely thinking of your family will not benefit either them or us. All we have is this moment. If we act intelligently, our future will undoubtedly be safe and secure.
Amma isn’t saying that you shouldn’t think about the future. However, worrying about what is going to happen is like going off to sleep under a tree inhabited by a venomous snake. How can one get any sleep if one is constantly haunted by the prospect of being bitten by the snake? Our lives, too, are like this. We worry incessantly about the future.
While planning, an engineer is wholly focused on the blueprint. During construction, his attention is fully on construction-related activities. We can likewise decide on the future we would like, and then act wisely in the present moment. Surrender all problems to the Supreme. Suppose we hold a cup of coffee. It won’t be too difficult to hold it up for a while. If we had to do so for an hour, our hand would start to ache.
If we did so for the whole day, we would probably need to be admitted into a hospital. Similar is the case with our thoughts and emotions. If we do not unburden ourselves of them, we might not be able to think or act intelligently. We might even lose our mental balance. Prayer and meditation are means of unburdening the mind. Meditation ushers in material prosperity, spiritual liberation and peace.
If we row a boat tethered to the shore, we won’t reach anywhere. Therefore, we must let go of the thought of ‘I’ and embrace the thought of ‘You.’ Let us offer ourselves wholly to God, imagining ourselves to be a pen or brush in His hands. We must cultivate such an attitude of surrender.
This does not mean that we need not strive. All our efforts are limited. What fulfils them is divine grace. When we reach home after a long journey, we might say, “We had a pleasant journey.” But while travelling, how many vehicles passed in front of and behind us? Just a moment’s inadvertence on the part of one driver could have caused our death. What saved us and brought us home was grace alone.
We do not think about the future generations. Our ancestors were not like that. Their livelihood was wholly dependent on nature alone. Like those who milk the cow only after its calves have drunk their share, our ancestors fulfilled their needs only after ensuring those of the future generations. And today? Everything is for me and me alone... such is our attitude. The longer we put off waking up and acting, the darker our own future will be.
The writer is a world-renowned spiritual leader