FAITH IN GRACE

 Possiblity  with  Divine Grace

Ramana Maharishi mentions that God’s ways are inscrutable. In the prescence of the Sun,which is ever shining, some buds blossom,not all. The fault however does not lie with the Sun,though it is true that the bud cannot blossom by itself, it requires the sunlight to do it. Grace is thus recognised as a key ingredient for deliverance.

Faith and unconditional surrender helps us to receive Divine Grace. Whether it is meditation, prayer, introspection or self-enquiry, the route used would depend on a person’s temperament and inclination.

Psychiatrist Scott Peck who wrote ‘The Road Less Travelled’ reveals an interesting perspective to the aspect of Grace and healing. He points out that much as one examines,the workings of Grace cannot be ascribed to a set pattern. Try as we might to obtain Grace, it may elude us, yet it might find us when least expected. He talks of neurotic patients who, on an average, are easier to treat than those who suffer social behaviour disorders. Surprisingly, he also reports of cases of complete turnaround amongst psychosis patients, while those suffering from the milder forms of neurosis have made insignificant progress,despite prolonged treatment.

The element helping the revival process has been identified as the “will to grow” akin to earnestness and faith demonstrated by a spiritual aspirant. This concept again has an element of mystery shrouding it as evidence is rather inconclusive on the dominant role of parental nurturing and love.

Scott ascribes a lead position to the role played by Divine Grace, which in some cases operates throughout a person’s life. The remarkable survival stories of Jewish prisoners of war in concentration camps substanciates this. The assertion of Jesus Christ that “many are called,but few are chosen” can also be interpreted as “All of us are called by and to Grace, but few of us chosen to listen to the call.”

Grace transports one from the platform of understanding of Truth to its full realisation. Speaking of the unpredictability of Grace, Jesus is reported to have told Nicodemis, a believer in Christ as the true Messiah, amongst the Pharisees, a sect of non-believers, “just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it will go next, so it is with the Spirit. We do not know on whom He will next bestow this life from Heaven.” Suffice to say that we are vastly limited from the dimension of our minds to find answers to the ways and workings of the omnipotent force.

Ramana Maharishi said that to try and understand the nature of Self-realisation with the mind is presumptuous. Dependent as the intellect is on the light of the self, it is incapable of understanding the magnificence of the entire manifestation,of which it is but a limited part. It is like trying to measure the sunlight at it’s source by the standard of the light given by a candle.

Instead of limiting oneself to the intellect, the wise one opts for a path of devotion or inner reflection, conscious of a higher power. The door of Grace unfolds when the mind bows in wonder,reverence and gratitude to the power of the divine. 

Enjoy The Effort No Matter What The Effect

   

We have many desires and targets. We don’t always get what we 

want. Some of us are happy with what we get, and others remain 

dissatisfied.Still others don’t give up ; they keep trying. Which 

approach would be the right one ?

I would recommend another approach. You can have a desire.Put 

in your best effort to fulfil it.But make sure you enjoy the effort 

rather than its fruits. There are those who make the effort 

grumbling and are happy only when the desire is achieved.There 

are others who exhaust themselves making the effort to such a 

degree that they have no strength or enthusiasm left to enjoy the 

fruit. My method is : Enjoy the effort no matter what the effect.

My approach is to celebrate the march towards the destination. If 

the destination is reached,we will be happy.Even if it is not 

reached,nobady can take away the sense of thrill at having run 

the race,the delicious fatigue felt along the whole body. My 

happiness is derived not from reaching a goal,but from the 

struggle I wage as part of my attempt at reaching it.I am engaged 

in teaching the students now.Suppose I feel I will be happy only if 

they gave me a thundering ovation when I conclude my lecture. 

That means I am not fully enjoying my teaching, rather,my mind 

is set on a particular goal.That very concern may prevent me from 

giving my best to my teaching and thus act as a barrier to my 

attaining the goal.

Playing football is one kind of joy,winning is another kind.The 

problem is we identify joy exclusively with winnng. Classical 

musicians(like Pd.Hariprasad Chourasia) are so absorbed in their 

performance that for all practical purposes, they are unmindful of 

the audiance,the applause at climatic points, or the money they 

will receive from the organisers at the end.What they enjoy is 

their involvement in bringing the art alive,not the end result in 

the form of ovation or payment. So enjoy the process.Enjoy the 

travel.Enjoy the endeavour.

Ensure that you will be working smart,not just hard.Don’t go 

fishing in the bathtub.Don’t try to work up lather in a running 

stream.Instead,fish in a stream,and work up lather in a bathtub. 

Set and evaluate your goals,estimate the quantum and quality of 

efforts to be invested in attaining the goals,calculate the ROI 

(return on investment)quotient carefully,and then,if you are 

convinced the ratio is satisfactory,go ahead and work towards 

your goals.That is smart work,intelligent effort.

Failure is a fact of life.In all competative contexts as in sports,for 

example,one side has to lose.So why not enjoy the effort rather 

than exult at success or mope at failure ? I think it is better 

mental discipline to celebrate the success rather than brood on 

the losses. It is definately a healthier strategy for the future for 

anyone wishing to continue in competative endeavours.

There is also a spiritual lesson in every failure.Failures are 

necessary to remind people of their essential human 

vulnerabilities.An unbroken string of successes can create pride 

and a sense of invincibility about oneself in a high achiever. 

Remember the bragging,”I am the greatest” that comes out of the 

mouths of wrestlers and boxing stars ? As the common maxim 

goes,such pride always precedes a great fall. Surendering to the 

Lord is an act of bhakti — devotion, and surrender happens only 

in a spirit of humility. 

Practise before preaching

The Story Goes …  Along a great river a huge tree had fallen into it,so large was the tree that a man could easily walk onto it and fish for his meal. It came to pass that one day a great sage had chosen this space to collect his food for the day.After a long period of time,he finally caught a fair sized fish and placed it carefully on the log beside him.A passing man,his wife & two children saw this and the man approached him,asking for the fish to feed his hungry family.Instead of giving the fish,the old sage happily offered to teach the man how to catch his own fish,but was quickly rebuked.For the young man informed the sage that he was not interested in learning a craft,but simply wanted to eat.The old sage stood fast in his resolution and sent the man on his way.

He soon after caught another mid-sized fish.The young man hurried back onto the log and again asked the sage to relinquish just one of the fish,for now the sage had more than enough.The old man,now perplexed,began to wonder if it would not make sense to give this young man a fish,for,in fact, he did have more than enough. As he contemplated this dilemma, a great light appeared at the end of the fallen tree.

The light spoke to him in such calm and beauty, that the sage was immediately convinced, that he was in the prescence of a great and wondrous teacher, who had come to share a gift forall humankind. The light spoke,”old sage, allow me to express a thought,that if followed, will change your life for all time to come. First, tke from your pocket the sharpening file you carry with you, and as we speak, sharpen the hook you have tied to your line.Sharpen this hook like no other in the world.Make it so sharp that when the fish takes it into it’s mouth it will feel no pain. Then when you are ready,pray with me the following - I call on the creator to help me search out the oldest fish in the river that is ready to leave this dimension, and guide it to my line, for I have sharpened my hook so well, that it will feel no pain, and together we will fulfill our journey.”

With this, the sage cast his newly sharpened hook into the water and within seconds he pulled unto the log a great fish. Before he could begin to celebrate, the light spoke again, ” if one were to look on the shore, he might find string of lighter weight. Thereby, allowing the sharpened hook to to fly further into the depths of the water, allowing for greater chances for an older and larger fish to co-operate in the journey.” Following this advice, the old sage was again rewarded by the landing of a fish of such size, he had never seen. Thinking this was as good as it might get, the sage was again  brought to the focus by this great light. And this time,it was suggested that each time he threw his line into the water, as he released the line, he let his wrist extend to the fullest, thereby allowing the flow of the hook to reach dominion never reached before.

Soon the accumalation of fish was so vast that even the sage had become proud. He again, became aware of the young man, thinking that surely he would be begging for food again. However, as he focused his attention on him, to his surprise, the young man was now skillfully sharpening his own hook.

The moral, my friends, is do not try to teach another man something he must know on some level. Instead, go about sharpening your own hook. For perfecting the art you know, will enhance humankind. Become so clear on your journey, that as opposed to being the teacher, you remain the consumate learner. For in so doing, all those around you, will want to share this learning and will watch as you perfect this journey you call life.

Concentrate solely on sharpening your own hook so well, that those needing light on their path, will enter your light, in that they may follow a leader, as opposed to one who speaks with a loud voice and little knowledge. 

PUSH ME ON…

FRIENDS…

TRY THIS ATTITUE IN YOUR LIFE…

YOU CAN GET MORE FRIENDS…..

Boy and Tree

There was one time a very young boy, who used to spend time playing by a tree.

One day he got bored and he said to the tree, “I’m bored, I’ve played with these toys too many times!”

The tree replied, “OK, you can climb up on me and play on my branches.”

The boy got really happy with this suggestion and he had a lot of fun playing and sitting high up, on the branches of the tree.

When
he started school, he spent more time away from the tree, but one day
he came back to it, and the tree was overjoyed to see its young
companion, and it encouraged him to climb on, but he refused.

“My clothes are going to get dirty if I climb up on you.”


So the tree thought for a while, and said, “OK, bring a rope and tie it to me, and you can use my branches as a swing.”

The boy liked that idea, so he did that too, and would come back every other day to sit for a while on that swing.

Whenever he used to get hot, the tree told him to rest in its shade.

As he got older, and moved on to college, times became harder on him
and he ran short of food, so he went back to the tree which he had
stopped visiting for a long time.

The tree recognised him
immediately and welcomed him, but he was hungry and complained to the
tree, “I don’t have any food to eat, my stomach is cringing with
hunger.”

So the tree said, “Pull down my branches and take off the fruit, and fill yourself up.”

The young guy didnt even hesitate, but jumped up and tore off one of the smaller branches and ate to his fill.

Over the weeks, he tore off all the branches and ate all the fruit.
After the fruits had all gone, he went away and didn’t come back to the tree.

When he reached his middle ages, he came back to the tree and said to it, “I have been very successful in life.

I have earned a lot of money, I have a huge house and I have found a great wife.

Now I want to travel and see the world.”

The tree was now very old, but to help its long time companion, it
didn’t wait, and said, “Bring a saw, cut off my trunk and make a boat.
Then you will see the wonders of the world.”

So again, without hesitation the man cut down the tree.

The same tree which he had played on, ate its fruit, laid in its shade; he cut it down and made a boat.

As soon as it was finished, he sailed away and wasn’t seen by his people again.

One day, an old man, walked past the tree.

It hadn’t recovered from the time he had cut it down. He went up to the tree, but didn’t say anything.

He felt the tears coming down from his eyes.

This time the tree spoke in a faint voice, “I’m sorry. I don’t have a
trunk for you to climb, nor fruit for you to eat, nor branches of shade
for you to lie in. All I have now are my deep roots.”
The old man whispered, “That’s fine. Tree roots are the best place to lie down, snuggle up and sleep after a long life.”

The tree symbolizes our parents, and the boy symbolizes us.

The moral of the story is that we make use of our parents like tissue,
and use them all up, and don’t even give thanks, but they stay with us
till the very end.

Sacrifice

The idea of complete self-sacrifice is illustrated in Mahabharata and narrated by Swami Vivekananda in his Karma Yoga lectures.

After the battle of Kurukshetra the five Pândava brothers performed
a great sacrifice and made very large gifts to the poor. All people
expressed amazement at the greatness and richness of the sacrifice, and
said that such a sacrifice the world had never seen before. But, after
the ceremony, there came a little mongoose, half of whose body was
golden, and the other half brown; and he began to roll on the floor of
the sacrificial hall. He said to those around, 'You are all liars; this
is no sacrifice.' 'What!' they exclaimed, 'you say this is no
sacrifice; do you not know how money and jewels were poured out to the
poor and every one became rich and happy? This was the most wonderful
sacrifice any man ever performed.'

But the mongoose said, 'There was once a little village, and in it
there dwelt a poor Brahmin with his wife, his son, and his son's wife.
They were very poor and lived on small gifts made to them for preaching
and teaching. There came in that land a three years' famine, and the
poor Brahmin suffered more than ever. At last when the family had
starved for days, the father brought home one morning a little barley flour, which he had been
fortunate enough to obtain, and he divided it into four parts, one for
each member of the family. They prepared it for their meal, and just as
they were about to eat, there was a knock at the door. The father
opened it, and there stood a guest.

Now in India a guest is a sacred person; he is as a god for the time
being, and must be treated as such. So the poor Brahmin said, 'Come in,
sir; you are welcome,' He set before the guest his own portion of the
food, which the guest quickly ate and said, 'Oh, sir, you have killed
me; I have been starving for ten days, and this little bit has but
increased my hunger.' Then the wife said to her husband, 'Give him my
share,' but the husband said, 'Not so.' The wife however insisted,
saying, 'Here is a poor man, and it is our duty as householders to see
that he is fed, and it is my duty as a wife to give him my portion,
seeing that you have no more to offer him.' Then she gave her share to
the guest, which he ate, and said he was still burning with hunger. So
the son said, 'Take my portion also; it is the duty of a son to help
his father to fulfill his obligations.' The guest ate that, but remained
still unsatisfied; so the son's wife gave him her portion also. That
was sufficient, and the guest departed, blessing them. That night those
four people died of starvation.

A few granules of that flour had fallen on the floor; and when I
rolled my body on them, half of it became golden, as you see. Since
then I have been traveling all over the world, hoping to find another
sacrifice like that, but nowhere have I found one; nowhere else has the
other half of my body been turned into gold. That is why I say this is
no sacrifice.'

Advise…

                                                

Time is like a river . . .

You cannot touch the same water twice, because the flow has passed and will never pass again. Enjoy every moment of life.

- For those who are already 45, start practicing..

- For those almost 45, get ready.

- For those where 50 is a long way off, help your parents do it.

For Those Over 50 Years Old :

1. Focus on enjoying people, not on indulging in or accumulating material things.

2. Plan to spend whatever you have saved.

You deserve to enjoy it and the healthy years you have left..

Travel if you can afford it. Don’t leave anything for your children or loved ones to quarrel about. By leaving too much, you may even cause more trouble when you are gone.

3. Live in the here and now, not in the yesterdays and tomorrow’s. It is only today that you can handle.

Yesterday is gone, tomorrow may not even happen.

4. Enjoy your grandchildren (if blessed with any) but don’t be their full time baby sitter.

5. Accept physical weakness, sickness and other physical pains. It is a part of the aging process. Enjoy whatever your health can allow.

6. Enjoy what you are and what you have right now. STOP working hard for what you do not have.. If you don’t have them, it’s probably too late.

7. Enjoy your life with your spouse, children, grandchildren and friends. People, who truly love you, love you for yourself, not for what you have. Anyone who loves you for what you have will just give you misery. And you probably know that by now.

8. Forgive and accept forgiveness. Forgive yourself and others.

Enjoy peace of mind and peace of soul.

9. Befriend death. It’s a natural part of the life cycle. Don’t be afraid of it. Death is the beginning of a new and better life.

So, prepare yourself not for death but for a new life with the Almighty.

10. Be at peace with your Creator.

For … He is all you have after you leave this journey on Earth.