“’श्रद्धा’ के साथ ‘सब्र’ भी होना चाहिए …”

Swamiji said…

” ‘True devotion is unwavering. Real belief is persistent.’ And, God on seeing His ‘bhakt’s’ devotion, yearning for His ‘darshan’, responds to his call in the most magical manner. Didn’t ‘He’ reward
‘Shabri’s’ ‘shraddha’ and ‘sabr’ who had waited year after year, patiently, for the glorious ‘darshan’ –
‘दर्शन’ of Shri Ram ! Such is the reward of ‘सब्र’ – patience – and complete surrender of one’s fate and self to God, that brings one closer to the ultimate Supreme Bliss. ‘Shabri’ mein Shri Ram ke liye jo ‘shraddha’ thi, joh ‘sabr’ tah unke darshan praapt karne ke liye, vaisi hi ‘shraddha’, ‘sabr’ aur ‘samarparn’ ka bhaav, hum sab mein ‘ Parampita Parmeshwar’ ke liye hona chahiye!’ “

” Man, for reasons known to him, looks upon God as more of a problem solver. He believes God to be a ‘Supreme’ being who can give him wealth, happiness and fulfil his desires.Thus, man has the utmost respect, undulating love and deep reverence for His Maker. But what happens when man suffers? What goes on in his mind when his ‘wishes are not fulfilled’? Doesn’t he begin to doubt the abilities of his Creator? Does not his faith begin to waver?”

” Can we men, being of many moods and needs, tell ourselves honestly, that our feelings, faith and veneration for God remain constant,and, do not vary with the swiftly changing dates on the calendar and the twists and turns of life, when things do not take a shape as definite as the one perceived by us? Our attitude towards God, on not being granted a wish, could be as abysmal as that of a servant whose master does not pay him on time? The servant’s master is ‘God’ for him, but only till the day the servant does not receive his wages on time. Does he then not besmirch the master’s name? Does he not think of leaving work immediately?”

” We must ask ourselves – Does not the Almighty treat us as his ‘children’? Has he ever made us feel that we are inferior must be servile ? We are his creation. And, while we only realise later in life that all those times we felt betrayed or held back was only because the all knowing God gives us what we desire – at the ‘right’ time and only ‘that’ what is ‘right’ for us.”

” An unbreakable bond can be formed between us and ‘Him’ when we repose unabiding ‘ shraddha’ – faith and belief in Him – that ‘He’ is by our side; watching over us, every living moment of our lives.These values once firmly ingrained within us are our constant companions till the last breath of our lives…so much so that when we bow our heads, it is not in tokenism; but, an honest expression of gratitude; when genuine emotions of pure, divine love and respect – for ‘Him’ – flood our inner being.”

” Impatient that we are, most of us are in a tearing hurry to know about every ‘sukh’ that awaits us; about every positive occurrence and blissful incident that awaits us at every crossroad of the journey of our life. If we had our way, we would be happiest to see the original blueprint of our life, drawn and placed before us, highlighting the heady moments of success and fame, keeping ‘dukh’ and everything unpleasant and untoward at an arm’s distance from us. But, again, life is not a bed of roses. Bright, sunny days are followed by dark, grey days of thunder and lightning. And, so is life, a kaleidoscope of changing colours and situations…But, we tend to forget this, as we treasure the sight of the graph of our lives take an upward curve, and, to see it plateau could be our worst nightmare. We expect God to manoeuvre us through the ups and downs of life in accordance with our wishes. We begin to lose confidence in Him when ‘bad’ days greatly outnumber ‘good’ days.”

” ‘Kunti’, in the ‘Mahabharata’, is said to have told Shri Krishna to ensure that He would always give her some problem or the other to face, as she found it easier to remember Him in difficult times, than when she was not faced with a problem.This is how we too must face the difficult , or , the supposedly ‘unfulfilled’ time of our lives. Thus, Instead of being distracted in the gratification of an achievement, we will stay more focussed on the Almighty Himself, in the hope that he brings our dreams to reality.”

” Do not only the hungry appreciate the value of food? Do not the thirsty truly savour a drop of water? Similarly, God gives us what we truly need at just the right time. Never too early, never too late. Just like the rains need to arrive at the right time for a crop to harvest successfully, God also sends his blessings at the right time so that they have the best impact on our lives. It is only we who need to be patient and gain the ‘wisdom’ to see the miracle of His timing.”

” Ultimately, the hard times are a test ; a test of our ‘love’ for – and ‘belief’ – in the Almighty. Love that is unselfish, selfless is the purest love. We must strive to overcome the fears that ‘माया’ – the material world – instills in us and look beyond.We must have complete faith and trust in God’s divine plan for us, place ourselves in His hands and wait patiently to see our fate – the magic unfold in a particular lifetime.”