Day: December 30, 2023

Swami ji said…

If we are honest with ourselves, it might not be possible for us to deny the fact – that we take life for granted. We feel entitled to all the goodness, happiness and wonder that comes along with it. Somehow, we are certain deep down, that the package of life which is unwrapped by us, layer by layer , every day of our life – will reveal something exceptional, unexpected, something magical – that will take our breath away. If we had our way – we would expect the best from life – every single day of our lives. We would hate to see anything burst the bubble – even if it is one of make believe – in which life as visualised by us can only be rosy and comfortable – minus the thorns and suffering. After all , it is our ‘right’ to have some expectations from life – we tell ourselves, convincingly.

So busy are we expecting the best from life – that a simple thought – that maybe life too could be expecting something from us – completely slips our mind. Here, too, we, need to be completely honest with ourselves once again. Can we actually be so impractical and so far placed away from reality that the thought that we also owe something to life doesn’t come to our mind ? Or, do we deliberately turn our eyes away from what life is trying tell us? That – it too expects something from us. Nothing much. Some simple acts of kindness towards one and all – from us. Formation of some good habits – one, in particular, of doing small, good deeds – regularly, unfailingly. Haven’t we grown up hearing our elders say – ” तुम जैसा दूसरों के साथ करोगे, वैसा ही तुम्हारे साथ होगा…अच्छा करोगे तो अच्छा…बुरा करोगे तो बुरा…”

We might not even be aware of the far reaching consequences that one good deed could reap. One noble act done by us for someone else, sometime back in the past, could come to our rescue, in a do – or – die situation. It could unknowingly help us overcome a major crisis ; assist us in tiding over days of dilemma and darkness – through that ‘someone’ else’s intervention and help in the present time. Many of us might be able to recall such instances in our life – when everything appeared to be going downhill – and all of a sudden – a saviour had appeared from nowhere and made it possible for us to see the Sun – when all we could otherwise see were dark clouds. There could be days when we end up feeling utterly helpless – as maybe our plans for the future had fallen awry – like a pack of cards , and , there is no one out there to support us – and, yet, again , some good soul emerges from the shadows and offers his shoulder as a pillar of support – and reignites the flame of self – belief, self confidence in ourselves – to begin anew, afresh. On seeing our lives take a turn for the better again, we are left wondering as to – why and from where did these particular individuals come all of a sudden ? These good samaritans are those very individuals who had been at the receiving end of our good deed in the past and have stepped forward – in the present time – to return the debt of the good ‘karma’ that they owed us.

For a minute, let us pause and reflect – Is it difficult for us to do good deeds, good acts ? Does the thought of doing good deeds – comes naturally to us – or , we do so while thinking of the possibility of being rewarded sometime later on – by that ‘someone’ – who would want to return the favour done by us, for him – either, in this lifetime or the next – that makes us do good ‘karma’? Is it some sort of a business deal that we are trying to broker here? A barter system? No. More than anyone or anything else – it is we – the doers of good ‘karma’ that benefit the most. Good deeds done by us – need nothing more than a pure heart, a clean, clear mind, good intent and a generous soul – when we don’t want good things to happen only with us – but with everyone else around us – known or unknown to us. We become magnanimous and are no longer confined by the egoistic words – ‘I’ and ‘me’ – but begin to give more importance to ‘we’ and ‘us’.

Many of us fall prey to vices; become habitual offenders. Lying without batting an eyelid; indulging in fraud – if not checked and corrected in time – can turn into ugly habits, and, yet it comes as no surprise to see millions of us take this deceitful, dishonest path. So, then, why should it take us long to get into the habit of doing good ‘karma’? After all, we don’t need to enter into a partnership or alliance with any ungainly element while doing good deeds. Is it very difficult to take care of old parents with genuine love ? Do we have to pretend to love them? Is it too big a sacrifice to forego parties and pleasure time in order to be with them; take care of them? Are we too busy to find those few seconds in the morning to offer prayers to the Sun God; thank Mother Earth for feeding us; sustaining us? Recalling and focussing on the divine instructions of one’s ‘guru’ and implementing them effectively in our everyday life will enable us to be conscious of the fact – whether what we are about to do next – is it a good deed or not …” Kya iss ‘karma’ se hum ‘jagdish’ ke aur sameep ja rahe hain ya nahi ?”