|The Divine Tests| |History of Kodaikanal| |The Ways of the Lord are inscrutab

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Dear group OM SAI RAM

 

|The Divine Tests| |History of Kodaikanal| |The Ways of the Lord

are inscrutable|

 

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The Divine Tests

It is funny how we suddenly remember God when our lives are

threatened. I remember praying profusely when the plane I was

traveling started to rock in very turbulent weather. I was not alone.

 

Someone sitting not far away from me was mumbling incoherently and

his hands were clasped tightly together in prayers.

 

A woman next to him whipped out the holy Quran and started reading.

I think it was a test to our faith. I know that because twenty

minutes later, when the pilot announced that the worse was behind

us, everything went to normal. The man, who I thought was a devout

Muslim, ordered a stiff drink to calm his nerves. The danger was

over and now he could go back to his bad old ways. He would probably

not remember God again until he faces another dangerous situation.

You would think an experience like that would turn one into a better

person. The difference, as a friend said to me, depends on how you

have learned your lesson. He nearly died when a car hit him while he

was bending to pick up his shopping bags.

 

He laid down looking at the night sky and he could see his past

flash before his eyes. He said, in that tiny space of time, he saw

his sins swishing past him to point accusing fingers at him. "It was

as if my whole life was packed into this horrible moment and I was

forced to watch all the mistakes I had made in the past. I vowed to

correct myself if I ever survived the accident," he told me.

 

He survived, although he now says that he is living a 'corrected

life,' I have my doubts. One does not need to have a close brush to

death to fall flat on one's back. When I flunked an examination

during college days, I felt like I was hit by a physical blow. The

flash came and I saw myself playing soccer and doing everything else

besides concentrating on my studies. I also had a vision of myself

as a lay about who had to scrounge for a living. Although I staged a

remarkable recovery, the experience has taught me many lessons. We

know that the mind packs a much bigger punch than a closed fist

could ever have. The other day a younger relative called to ask me

if I could pull a few strings to help him secure a job he had

applied for. I said I could not because my contact had left the

company.

 

"What would I do now?," he asked me in desperation, "There is a long

list of applicants." I did not need time to think about it but said

readily," just pray."

 

He thought I was being sarcastic. I told him again, "Pray. There is

nothing you can do about it." I think he was annoyed because he put

the phone down without saying goodbye. Well, I am not sure what

would happen to his job hunting. Perhaps he would not get it just

because he did not have the right attitude. Talking about attitude,

I can recall an incident that happened sometime ago. A man, who has

been overlooked for a promotion for many years, suddenly turned to

God and started to pray regularly. It took a few more years but he

eventually got the job he wanted. Someone sent him a card, which

said, "Your prayer has been answered."

 

He looked at the card thoughtfully and then said, "Yes, but maybe I

was due for promotion anyway." I am not sure how one would react to

such attitude but this is a common reaction with many people. We

abandon God when we think we don't need Him anymore. That is the

worse mistake we could ever make.

- by Karima B

 

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