‘Life can never be cruel ! इस बात पर विश्वास रखो…’

Swami ji said… Many a times, one can hear people complain that life is harsh, life is cruel. They complain about the never – ending drudgery of work; backstabbing by people they meet in their lives; cruel twists of fate and a multitude of other ‘offences’ that life has committed on them. Agreed ! All these things do happen. And, while we may not really believe this to be true – instances and incidents which do not bring happiness – do happen to ‘all’ of us and with all of ‘us’. Even kings and saints suffer at the hands of life. Whether it was Ram or Krishna – even God had to ‘suffer’ on this Earth. Such is the law of ‘life’ in this world. But does that make life ‘cruel’? Does it make ‘life’ itself unworthy of our respect , appreciation and love ? Should we constantly be sulking, bear a glum face and complain loudly about the way life has treated us – in an unfair and unjust manner – from our perspective ? Life can be difficult and challenging. Yes, that is true ! But it is not cruel. It only reflects the ‘truth’ about us – clearly. What we experience on a moment to moment basis in our daily lives – is nothing but a reflection of our past ‘karma’. Every little slip, every little dip, every little bump – all are our own doing. There are no two ways about it. Yes, if we have hardships today, it is the result of our bad ‘karma’ of the past. And, if , we are in ‘luck’ today, it , too , is because of our ‘good actions’ of the past. Accepting this, surrendering to the theory of ‘karma’ might seem very difficult for quite a many of us to relate with and comprehend. To concede to this would mean admitting – that perhaps we were not ‘that good’ in our past lives – and, we, who refuse to see any wrong being done by us in the present lifetime – will most certainly find it difficult to swallow, that we could have done anything wrong, in our previous lifetimes. It would be frustrating for us too. It is possible that at a certain moment – just for an instant – we might feel – that we could have been a ‘dacoit ’ in our past life – when we come across some confounding and complicated situations. But , gradually, such flashes of the past, will also enable us to handle ourselves better in the present moment. We will be more accepting of our situation, and , that in itself will help us to overcome the feeling of helplessness and despair in alarming circumstances. And, we should also not forget that while our present condition is due to the result of our past actions – how we react to them today is solely in our control. Heroes are remembered not for the ‘good times’ that they had, but, for how they handled the ‘bad’. When alone and in pain, be it physical or mental – even then – we must not give up. Because, always remember – God is watching us. And for His admiration alone, we must stay valiant and brave. We must find a reason to smile and cheer up.That is how life must be lived. Life can be cruel – only when we want to make it cruel for ourselves – by being over ambitious, impractical and stubborn. Our never ending desires and our inability to realise them can cause a lot of misery in our lives. Our habit of refusing to see good in others ; letting ‘doubt’ replace ‘faith’ in us ; being unreasonable and arrogant in relationships – all of the above can make us undergo a lot of mental stress unnecessarily. But, we are willing to lose our peace of mind over things that are truly of no consequence to us – as we have made these inconsequential issues the focal points of our life. We openly express dissatisfaction at the state of things and people around us at random – causing ourselves unnecessary frustration and despair to ourselves.The earlier we accept the fact – that things don’t change – and, instead, it is, we, who should change the way we look at them – the better it will be for us – as we will feel much at ease and experience mental peace. At times we wish that life was not a struggle and that we could remain untouched by grief, sorrow and suffering. What we fail to understand is that – ‘ ‘दुःख’और ‘परिश्रम’ जीवन के लिए अत्यंत आवश्यक है , क्योंकि ‘दुःख’ के बिना हृदय निर्मल नहीं हो सकता और ‘परिश्रम’ के बिना मनुष्य का विकास नहीं हो सकता…’ Life is not cruel. It is just the way it was meant to be.