” Remain calm in all situations… If you try , you will …”

Swami ji said…

Most of us find it a challenge to remain calm, composed and collected during moments of stress, difficulties and unexpected, disconcerting developments – and the blame game begins from the moment we stop being calm. We lay the onus on someone else or something else for making us lose our calm and composure. It is always easy to hold something else responsible for affecting us adversely ; why something irks us or distracts us – and makes us agitated and lose our focus. When we struggle with something – a difficult task or some other complicated issue – we often become snappy and crib about how things are not working in our favour, or , how unlucky we are. In times of struggle a sour, discomforting side of our personality is revealed.

Life as we know loves to throw curveballs at us.
That is the nature of life.Yet despite knowing this, we are often caught by surprise and seem highly put off – sometimes furious, sometimes crestfallen – in stressful situations.We convey our displeasure openly and invariably speak condescendingly to others.

It is during times like this that we should try to see ourselves through God’s eyes and wonder how He would feel on seeing us behave like this. He would surely wonder as to why are His children so weak ! Wouldn’t He ? He would most certainly feel sad and possibly be even ashamed of our deplorable behaviour.

Yes, situations can often be demanding and frustrating, but, giving in to them is not the solution. Remember, it is only the weak who surrender. Even when we fail to see light in the tunnel ahead, we must have faith in it and let it guide us. We must simply have trust and continue doing what we believe is right – with a smile – and have faith that we will come out unscathed from disasters. By doing so, our faith becomes stronger. We believe more strongly in our principles and know that they will serve us well even in the most difficult times.The comfort of this knowledge is what gradually makes us free from the stress of life. And when we find ourselves in ‘dire’ situations again, we, with a knowing smile are able to tide through them, simply curious to know – where is it that God is leading us in our journey and what delights He has in store for us after this.

A calm, stoic mind can be developed only when we make the effort to stay true to our principles ; a self realised ‘guru’s teachings – and humbly plough through tough situations – accepting them for what they are, and not losing our cool – as a ‘guru’s’ words give us the strength to remain immune to the ups and downs of life.The so-called ‘problems’ of life should be seen as ‘opportunities’ to see the efficacy of these teachings and principles. A disciple will truly appreciate his ‘guru’s’ teachings when he is able to successfully apply them in his own trials and tribulations. It is only when we learn to successfully face ‘problems’ and overcome them early on in life – that we are we able to remain unaffected by them later on in life. It is only then that we can say that we have ‘grown’ and are ready to face greater challenges in life.

So, the next time we experience the first signs of a panic attack over some issue that is not to our liking, we must take a deep breath and think – ‘ If I can’t face this, how will I achieve the bigger things that God has set out for me ?’ After all, God too could evaluate our response at a time of crisis ! Failure on our part to remain calm and composed would only mean that we are not yet strong enough to move on to bigger, greater and better things.

The spiritual practitioner must maintain a sense of calm while facing day to day problems and challenges.The hours spent in meditation will most certainly enable him to keep his mind clear and his heart at peace in the most demanding situations. Like the storms that test a ship’s seaworthiness; the ‘troubles’ of our life are truly God’s way of showing us how far have we evolved spiritually and successfully developed the ability to control our mind and thoughts by not overreacting to the struggles of life.