by Smt. Mandira Lahiri
While going through the journey of life, we all go
through favourable and unfavourable circumstances. Our mind laps up all the good things and
rejects all the so-called bad things. How we react to an unpleasant situation
is the main thing to be observed. Losing our temper, screaming, becoming hyper….
does not solve the problem. Instead if we keep our anger at bay, stay calm and
maintain a normal body language, then we might be able to find a solution. A peaceful mind, a relaxed heart and body help
us to take the correct decision. Once we are able to overcome the hurdle which
was bothering us…. a wave of peace, joy and contentment washes our being.
When I was in school, our first period used to be
Moral Science. Invariably one of the nuns of the school would come to conduct
the class. Now I realize that the
lessons imparted during that period were invaluable. Some of the things which
were often reiterated in class are as follows:
·
“Goodness begets goodness.”
·
“As you sow so shall you reap.”
·
“What goes around comes around.”
·
“Treat others the way you want them to treat you.”
·
“Don’t try to change the world just change yourself.”
·
“Each and everything that we get in life is our own
earning.”
Such impactful lines! If only we could practice them in our daily
lives. Inflated egos, resentment,
negativity, friction cause so much pain and sorrow. The sad part is that most
of us know what needs to be done, yet we still do not implement what needs to
be done.
Great wise men often talk about surrender. They say,
when we surrender to the Lord with our heart and soul, then most of our
problems are taken care of. For this we
need constant reminders. In fact, a Guru’s handholding helps us to tread the
path of surrender.
Few months ago, I came across an article published in
The Speaking Tree edition of the TOI dated July 25, 2020, written by Echart
Tolle. Here are some excerpts from the
article which are very impressive:
“Surrender is the simple but profound wisdom of
yielding to rather than opposing-------the flow of life. The only place where
you can experience the flow of life is the Now, so to surrender is to accept
the present moment unconditionally and without reservation. It is to relinquish
inner resistance to what is. Inner resistance is to say “no” to what is,
through mental judgement and emotional negativity. It becomes particularly
pronounced when things “go wrong” and we all know that things “go wrong” quite
often. It is precisely at those times that surrender needs to be practiced if
you want to eliminate pain and sorrow from your life. Acceptance of what is,
immediately frees you from mind identification and thus reconnects you with
Being. Resistance is the mind.”
“Surrender is a purely inner phenomenon. It does not mean that on the outer level you
cannot take action and change the situation. In fact, it is not the overall situation that
you need to accept when you surrender, but just the tiny segment called the
Now.”
“For example, if you were stuck in the mud somewhere,
you wouldn’t say, “Okay, I resign myself to being stuck in the mud.”
Resignation is not surrender. You don’t need to accept an undesirable or
unpleasant life situation. Nor do you
need to deceive yourself and say that there is nothing wrong with being stuck
in the mud. No. You recognize fully that you want to get out
of it. You then narrow your attention
down to the present moment without mentally labeling it in any way. This means that there is no judgment of the
Now. Therefore, there is no resistance, no emotional negativity. You accept the “isness’ of this moment. Then you take action and do all that you can
to get out of the mud. Such action I
call positive action. It is far more
effective than negative action, which arises out of anger, despair, or
frustration. Until you achieve the
desired result, you continue to practice surrender by refraining from labeling
the Now.”
Here I would like to mention about an incident which
took place nearly two and a half decades ago. A saintly person one of our close
acquaintance, once invited my husband to visit his native place. My husband
happily accepted the proposal. He had a
very fruitful trip. That saintly person told him about a guideline to be
followed in life which would make our lives far easier and more joyful. He pointed to a piece of rag which was clipped
to a clothesline and told my husband that if we become like the rag and let the
wind -that is- the Divine will maneuver our lives—then there will be no
tension, hence we would be able to lead a stress free and peaceful life.
Several years ago, I saw a film called –`The Three
Idiots’. There also, the hero of the film kept telling everybody to repeat---
`All is well’ — not only when things were hunky dory but also when things went awry.
Sri Sri Babathakur would often tell his devotees to
become a tiny kitten in life. He would elaborate on this and say that the
mother cat holds her kitten by the scruff of its neck to carry her from place
to place. The kitten surrenders to her mother completely. In the same way, we
should also surrender ourselves to the Divine mother. Come what may, just fold
your hands and bow down before The Almighty and accept whatever comes your way.
So now the question is how do we incorporate these
precious lessons in our lives? I feel
this is possible through constant remembrance, through prayers, by reading our
Guru’s books, by listening to His discourses, by attending Satsangs, by
listening to or singing His revealed Bhajans, by doing anything that relates to
our Guru will make things happen miraculously. This will make each and every cell
of our body resonate with inner peace of surrender.
I shall end my piece with a prayer from the book, `The
Science of Oneness’, as revealed to and narrated by Sri Sri Babathakur, where
he explains about the process of complete surrender of life to Sadguru. He
says, “Once a man gets to know his True Identity, he would have a smooth
sailing to absolute Perfection.”
`Hail Guru! Hail Divine Mother! Hail Divine-Self! The
embodiment of Truth, Knowledge (Consciousness), Bliss, Love and Peace Absolute.'
‘Oh Guru, the Supreme Divine-Self! I take refuge in
Thee; I surrender to Thee wholeheartedly; be kind to me, be gracious and
blissful to me. Take me as Thine own, make me as Thine own and mould me in Thy
all Divine Essence, so that I will become perfectly one with Thee. Please do
reveal in my heart and being and take away completely my ego and the sense of
individuality, so that I can realize Thyself as myself and myself as Thyself.
Since Thou art the Self of all, Thou art the Self of mine. When I realize Thee
as myself and myself as Thyself alone and none else, there remains no duality,
no reality of difference between myself and others, between me and the
universe, between the universe and the Absolute, and between myself and the
Absolute as well. This is possible only by Thy grace alone.'
‘Salutations to the Sadguru. By merely remembering Him or reflecting on
Him, one receives spontaneous Knowledge. By attaining Him, everything is attained. Sri Guru by His power of Self- Knowledge,
burns up all the Karmas accumulated through countless lives.’