“अपने को अच्छे के लिए बदलो …”

Swami ji said …

” Oftentimes we read or hear about the stories of great personalities – of how principled, disciplined and the epitome of perfection they were ; long before they gained prominence and success. If we learn from history, we learn from every day life situations too. When we see how our friends and acquaintances, who have worked hard, struggled and persevered early on in their life, have now moved ahead and are doing well for themselves.This more often than not makes one feel that he has ‘missed out’, that his chance is ‘lost’ and he is now doomed to drudge along in life no matter what he does. One can often hear people say – “If I had done this then ! if I had known better !”अगर मैंने ये किया होता …’ These words only express regret and repentance. Opting purely for this path, without changing for the better, is of no use and people begin to live their life in despondency and depression.”

” And, while it is true that one has erred by possibly not making the best use of his time or by bypassing great opportunities – it is also important to remember , that the time we have ahead of us , is even more precious than that which has passed by , and , if utilised in the right manner one can make up for his past mistakes.”

” Mistakes are often made when we do not know better ; but, we do repent, when we realise about our foolishness.The real tragedy of life would be to not begin improving ourselves when we are aware of our faults and shortcomings, and there is no better time to start than ‘now’.”

” However, we find this hard to accept. Often we are simply paralysed by the idea of the amount of effort we will need to put in to begin afresh. These ideas arise as we wrongly begin comparing ourselves to ‘others’. For example, a student could feel that there is no point in studying hard for an exam at the final stage, as he is convinced that even his best efforts will pale in comparison to that put in by the students, who had taken their studies seriously right from day one. People convince themselves that taking up exercise or yoga at a later age will be of no use for them, as only those who have had these healthy habits life long, could enjoy their benefits.”

” These wrong, ill – conceived ideas stem from the fact that we keep comparing ourselves to others and their successes. We feel that we have to ‘catch up’ wirh them and only then will our efforts to live a better life be ‘rewarded’.This is a wrong approach towards life in itself.The struggle to better ourselves must be a continuous process ; one that we must embrace and accept wholeheartedly. If an avid smoker decides to quit smoking in the last stage of his life – his decision might possibly not help him live longer , but, he would still have lived a few days of his life free of an addiction, feeling victorious that he had overcome his weakness. If an employee at a company decides to become a more sincere, dutiful version of himself, albeit at a time when he has been surpassed, and, that too deservedly, by his peers in the corporate ladder – does it render his efforts to turn into a new leaf useless? It is possible that he might not be able to ‘catch up’ with those promoted over him, but, he, nonetheless will become a more trustworthy and reliable worker.”

” Not all monks get enlightenment in a lifetime. Does that mean that their lives are wasted? Does that mean that their spiritual struggles have been for naught? Are they not already in a much purer state of mind than most in the world ? Do they not have a much better influence on those around them? God does not care about what we achieve – ‘every thing’ that we ‘get’ is what ‘He’ has planned in store for us. What God truly cares about is our ‘karma’ – and the struggle to better ourselves is ‘good karma’ in itself.”