Swami ji said…
Shri Ram has always been a shining example of One who bore affection, compassion and love for all – irrespective of their status and state. His compassion and love for every individual was in no way affected – by the ‘physical’ fatigue ; the ‘mental’ exhaustion that He could have ‘suffered’ – during the days of hardship that He was destined to endure in His ‘human’ form. Armed with a disarming smile, love in His heart and patience to hear every one out – He conquered all – who were privileged enough to share His divine presence – with these rare and endearing qualities of His. Anger , rage and jealousy – were traits that were unknown to Him ; that He chose to keep far away from Him. His understanding of the devotion and pure love that Shabri bore for Him – made Him partake a ‘बेर ‘ unhesitatingly – that was first tasted by her, as she had wanted to check its sweetness, before offering it to Shri Ram.” ‘स्नेह ‘ और ‘प्रेम ‘ उनके हर भाव में दिखता था …वह दिल से सबसे स्नेह करते थे …”
At the same time we are also very well acquainted with Duryodhan – ” जिस ने अपना सारा जीवन ‘क्रोध ‘, ‘इर्ष्या और आवेश में बिता दिया … और ऐसे जीवन का उसे फल क्या मिला? दर्दनाक अंत …” It appears as though envy, hatred and constant anger had wiped out every trace of compassion and affection from his ‘being’ – making him impervious to human relationships. This is where we have to decide as to whose characteristics shouldn’t we draw strength from ?
Is the scenario in which we are living today making it easier for us to give into fits of rage – at times over the most trivial issues ? Are tough times around us ‘toughening’ us up literally – so much so that – ” क्या अब हमारे दिल में दूसरों के लिए स्नेह और प्रेम की भावनाओं के लिए जगह ही नहीं है? हम क्या भूल गए हैं कि प्रेम और स्नेह दिल में उत्पन्न होते हैं ? “Are we becoming so cold hearted – that compassion is gradually becoming a distant emotion – not very easy for us to nurture in our heart ? We don’t pause to think for a second before getting angry or about its consequences – both , on us and on others – but – ” हर किसी के लिए अपने भीतर करुणा रखना हमें बहुत मुश्किल लगता है …हम यह भूल जाते हैं की अपने भीतर करुणा और स्नेह रखने से हमारा ही फ़ायदा होता है, क्यूँकि हमारे व्यवहार में और निर्मलता आएगी…” दया का भाव” – develops a certain softness in us ; an understanding of the
difficulties that others are going through. We begin to transcend the barriers of – ” क्रोध का आवेश …” and a certain melt – down in our earlier hard hearted approach will be discerned by us.There is a major shift in our way of thinking ; in our attitude and behaviour towards those who we had earlier felt were not worthy of any ‘करुणा ‘ from our end. Resentment for others in the past that had made us say negative things against them – not only makes us feel small, but, is also regretted by us in the present time. We feel that we need to be more responsible with our actions and words for others in the future. Haven’t our elders always said – ” जोश से नहीं, होश से काम करो… गुस्से में हम कुछ भी कह दे ते हैं और जीवन भर पछताते हैं …”
Can a spiritual seeker seek God with a mind that was seething with rage till a few minutes back prior to his meditation ? The heart and mind will certainly take time to calm down from their earlier agitated state. The mind finds it difficult to prevent the images of anger from replaying over and over again in it. A mind that is calm , at ‘peace’ – and not in ‘pieces’ – will only be able to focus on God. A heart that is pure and suffused with ‘ स्नेह और प्रेम’ for God – will only be able to resonate with the syllables of the ‘गुरु- मंत्र ‘ – not a mind that is filled with the impurities of anger , fury and ill – will for others. Remember that flowers bloom when rain – drops fall from the clouds on them – and not due to the thundering sound that is made by the clouds.
Dedicated to Swamiji Ajay Jain ji 