“‘थकान’ काम से नहीं, नकारात्मक सोच से होती है …’

Swami ji said …

“More often than not, we, as well as others find great comfort in complaining vociferously about how exhausted, tired and fatigued we feel all the time. And, to a certain extent we could be right, if we were to look at it , purely from the physical labour and hard work that is put in by us to meet the requirements of our day to day life. But, have we ever asked ourselves – ‘ What exactly is it that makes us feel tired so often ? Is it purely because of the ‘work’ that we do – the nature of our work , that makes us feel tired , or , is there something else that makes us feel so ! Our elders would wisely say -‘थकान कभी भी काम के कारण नहीं होती है…’ and we can’t really dispute what they said as they used to work very hard to make ends meet.”

” It has been said – ‘ Work is worship’ – and that is the way we must look at it – be in a state of eternal gratitude to God for enabling us to earn our bread and butter by blessing us with an opportunity to work ; by giving us good health so that we are able to work and an alert mind to absorb knowledge that can be applied by us. WouId we actually like to lead a life of inactivity ; not work ; not have a goal or task at hand to attend to. A life devoid of work , a profession or lack of talent – would not be worth living and to just live aimlessly would itself be a monotony. Work we must for our survival and self dignity by throwing ourselves completely into it – body , mind and spirit. Yes, it can be understood, if, once in a while, we did complain of physical tiredness on returning home after putting in long hours of hard work or after weathering an otherwise physically demanding activity or a challenging sport event. But , if , we were to look at the lifestyle adopted by most of us in the present time, we would not be wrong in saying that more than physical tiredness, it is the weight of all the anxiety, fear, disappointment and dissatisfaction – the mental pressure that we create in our mind – it is this that tires us the most. Rather than directing our energy into the successful fruition of our work, we waste it by focusing on negative thoughts.”

” Is the mind over burdened with us becoming over ambitious? Is the thought -‘ There is too much to do in a short time !” weighing us down. Too many desires to be fulfilled. Too much to be achieved. Are we realistic and practical while working ? Or are we building castles in the air knowing somewhere deep within us that what we are striving for is not attainable. What do you think will be the state of our mind when it bears the unwanted stress and pressure that is exerted on it from all sides? And for what – for some more money , fame and name.“

“ The rush that we are in to attain everything is bound to create stress for us. Stress is counter productive. It is our enemy as it gives birth to negative thoughts , disturbs our minds, feeds on our health, affects our physical prowess and mental ability. Unrealistic targets, greed, impatience, envy – all lead to stress. “थकान ज्यादातर चिंता, निराशा, भय और असंतोष के कारण होती है… ज्यादा काम के वजह से नहीं होती है…’ One begins to buckle physically and mentally under the self created stress as he fails to manage the time on his hand, leading to delay in completion and submission of his work , thereby leading to further unwanted problems. Half the purpose is lost If we don’t enjoy our work and like what we do. Our approach and attitude towards our work is what matters the most.”

” The spiritual practitioner, in particular , should be wary of letting the mind fall prey to these dark, stressful emotions for they distress the mind, weigh heavily upon it and tire it out. Can a mind covered in such darkness of stress and tension ever allow divine light to illuminate it ? We need to urgently clear the mind of all the clutter that crowds it making it dull, ineffective and less focussed. It fails to give priority to work which should be done first as it wants to do everything at the same time, worried about its outcome in the future.To escape from stress one must learn to live in , and ,focus on the present moment.”

” In life, we are bound to feel overburdened and overwhelmed by circumstances. Everything seems important and urgent ; logic does not come to our rescue. During such times, we must take His name, begin our work with faith in Him, pray to Him to accept the fruit of all that is done by us and the sense of calmness that descends on us then, enables us to work with a fresh and balanced mind.”