The Divine Lifestyle (7a)

[Guest guest]

I WILL NEVER COMPLAIN AND HAVE NEVER COMPLAINED(Chapter 7)Nobody

has ever been spared of suffering and pain during their existence. The

lives of the richest or the most successful people have often been

sprinkled with periods of uncertainty, pain and suffering. Let us

analyze our pain. It can be caused from three sources, i.e., our own

personalities, the result of our interaction with the world and the

influence of the environment. Our thought pattern and formation forms

the matrix of our attitude which in turn determines the nature and type

of personality. All problems can arise due to our misapprehension of

truth and the false values we possess. Hence, an agitated mind filled

with over-anxious thoughts of the future or deep regrets of the past

dampen and hamper any progressive potential.The second source

comes from an outer influence in the form of friends and relatives or

anyone whom we have to interact. The misunderstanding between us and

the people we interact can generate problems and place barriers on our

path. Envy or jealousy distorts the reality and thereby stains

perceptions and colors view. Interactions with people with false

pretences often precipitate arguments and leave us with a bad taste.

This, too, can tire us with unnecessary restlessness forcing us to lose

our inherent peace.The third source of distress can come from

the environment; natural calamity like a typhoon or an earthquake can

bring its share of flood of pain and suffering.At the end of

every prayer meeting or bhajans, we normally chant three times 'Om

Shanti Shanti Shanti...' or 'Om Peace Peace Peace.' These three prayer

invocations are supposedly to send waves of peace to these three

possible sources from where our distress can be born and generated. One

will be to pacify our restless mind with peace, the other will be to

send waves of peace to all around us so that others experience peace

during their interactions with us and the third, a silent prayer of

peace to the uncontrollable forces of nature so that all five elements

which constitute creation are appeased.The threshold of

enduring pain has certainly been lowered over time. Moans and groans of

complaints are often generated in the present breed of people. A slight

problem between the husband and wife pops out the divorce papers. Extra

piece of work out of the normal routine will generate waves of

frustration. Stressed people find their way to the couches of

psychiatrists who have in recent years mushroomed all over at a rate

unprecedented in any period in history. The suicides rate shamelessly

reported by medical journals at a time when mother earth has been

blessed with the latest technological advancements and scientific

achievements are youth, at the prime of their lives taking this drastic

step. Capacity to cope with life, leave alone endure life's discomforts

has rapidly diminished.Hence, the attitude to never complain

signifies the maturity and dexterity of the mind as well as fortitude

and perseverance of focusing on the intended goals of life. However,

there are some who, to a question of 'How are you?', will open the

flood gates and try to drown everyone with tales of their miseries.'He

who shouts and swears and advertises his worries to everyone he meets

and craves for sympathy, such a one can never be a devotee. Such men

are miscalled devotees. They make earnest men lose faith in Godly ways.'(Sathya Sai Speaks Vol II, Chap 3 - pg 16)Bhagavan

narrates his own personal experience which happened a long time ago.

There was a time when a car was sent to transport Bhagavan from

Prashanti Nilayam to a nearby home where a wedding was to take place.

Bhagavan had promised that He will attend the wedding and bless the

couple. The driver sent by the father of the bride accidentally slammed

the car door too soon and hurt Swami's toe. The pain was unbearable but

Swami did not show or complain to anybody at the wedding ceremony. As

soon as the wedding ceremony was over, the bride's father who drove

Swami home had noticed Bhagavan actually limping as he earlier got down

from the car, enquired and Swami explained the incident. The father of

the bride was stunned and when asked why Swami never told of this

misfortune back at the wedding, Swami replied, 'If I had told you, you

will make a fuss and spoil everybody's happiness and joy. The couple

will get disappointed and soon the whole festive mood of the occasion

would be altered.'Swami said 'that the toe will heal soon' comforted the host and sent him back.Making

an issue out of very small pin-pricks of life are symptoms of someone

in dire need of attention and sympathy. The limelight for such people

must always be focused on themselves, and every action of such

individuals is to increase the intensity of this limelight so that the

focus gets sharpened.A more recent example would be when

Bhagavan fell in the chariot which was carrying Him during a sports day

in the year 2001. The nature of the dramatic incident was revealed

during His Ponggal discourse on 14th January 2001.Swami

remarked that He hurt as He fell inside the chariot. He finally made

His way to the stage despite the terrible pain He was suffering. As He

sat on the erected platform in the field along with other distinguished

guests, He noticed that blood was oozing from the wounds inflicted

during the fall. He slowly got up and casually enquired how everyone

was and inched Himself to the bathroom where He used His white

handkerchief to wipe away the blood. He washed the handkerchief Himself

and returned to His seat without giving anybody the suspicion of what

was happening. He did this a couple of times as blood continued to

ooze. He bore all pain and despite the great discomfort continued doing

His duty, even to the extent of walking down the dais to take

photographs with His students, in the field. All actions were

accompanied by His usual big radiant warm smile. What a beautiful

demonstration of the maxim 'Bear all and do nothing'. Capacity to endure pain and possess sufficient empathy to appreciate the sentiments for others is indeed a divine quality.Choking

circumstances sometimes come not in a trickle but in a torrent. We run

to temples and prayer houses for relief when this happens and often

wonder why God continues with His merciless punishment. Swami's love is

the same for all, even for those who engage in bad actions.'These

suffer not because of Swami's anger, but because only through suffering

do their minds turn inwards in self-enquiry. And only through

self-enquiry will they be free of the illusion that separates them from

God.'(Conversations with Sathya Sai Baba - pg 100)Our

experiences in our life are dependent on the type and nature of the

relationships we have. Our mind is always preoccupied with enhancing or

preserving those possessions which guarantee comfort and happiness. The

mind is so entangled with the various toys of living that it loses its

potency to acquire any dynamism to enquire about Life. Toys are

snatched by a concerned mother from her playful child so that his mind

can concentrate on his studies. Likewise, nature sometimes snatches

away our job or creates unpleasant pain so that mind suddenly brakes

and jolts to redirect his enquiry into the nature of Life. If we

reflect back very seriously, the philosophical questions on life have

been raised during tiring circumstances. Such an enquiry raises our

awareness and matures our outlook.'People

suffer because they have all kinds of unreasonable desires and they

yearn to fulfill them, but fail. It is only when attachment increases

that you suffer pain and grief. If you look upon nature and all created

objects with the insight derived from inner vision, then attachment

will slide away. Attachments to nature have limits, but the attachments

to the Lord that you develop when the inner eye opens, has no limits.

Enjoy that reality, not the false picture.'(Teachings of Sri Sathya Sai Baba - pg 95)The

etiology of suffering is revealed here. In all such cases, attachment

seem to be the root cause of the pain and suffering. In fact, a scan

through all our suffering will show that the underlying thread for our

unbearable pain is because of our attachment. To the modern educated

man of science, this philosophy may appear terribly hollow and totally

unscientific. In haste, he might reject the idea and justify a thousand

examples to show that his anger towards this logic is righteous. A

mother losing a child in car accident suffers unbearable pain. A hand

amputated due to cancer brings its share of misery. Retrenched worker

is at a loss how to feed his hungry children. The pain of the jilted,

the cry of the homeless, the hunger pangs of those stricken with

poverty, provide all ample evidence that the philosophy thundered out

by the scriptures cannot be depended upon for solace and comfort.It

might be so to a hasty reader who has not been initiated to this subtle

science but the philosophy is complete in its diagnosis of the problem

of pain. The pain of the mother is because of her attachment to her

deceased child. The loss of the job pains the worker as this implies

the added burden of seeking newer pastures other than the usual comfort

zone experienced thus far. The pain of the jilted heart is due to her

attachment to her lover. These are not physical attachment as the

daughter was not glued to the mother nor was the job pasted on the

worker. Attachment only means a mental identity with the object. The

memories of laughter and the smile of the dead child continues to play

like a reel tape in the mind of the grieved mother. Many continue

playing such tapes, rewinding and listening each time to the same tunes

that people once played. The players have ceased their roles only

leaving behind memories of their lives for us to faintly recollect. No

amount of worry can bring back the past. To continue living in the

present pain of the past is unprofitable and a waste of time.Continuous

worry will also dampen the evolution of the deceased as they too will

imbibe the negative vibrations of worry and depression. It is the same

with broken relationships or lost of jobs. Stand apart. Listen to the

reel tapes playing in your mind. Are you not tired of the same music?

How long would you want this melancholy to drown your real self? These

are sharp questions to stop the reel tapes.Bhagavan

here is cajoling us to slowly drop these false attachments as

individuals, at some point, have appeared and played a part in our

lives. When their roles finish, they pack up and leave us to continue

this unstoppable march to our tombs. Like a passing twig floating in

the river that meets for a brief moment, another fallen twig, in life

too we gain a few and lose a few, but amidst these experiences, the

call is to constantly keep our gaze on the reality which is the Lord.The

attachment to that permanent screen, upon which all movies project,

will provide a steady and unshakeable foundation to play all roles with

confidence. The one in costume plays his part knowing well that the

curtain call will strip him away of his gear. That inner vision of this

reality will confer great joy and with such an eye of maturity, all

roles one has to play will be performed with ease.'Regarding

people suffering : They are being tested. But it should not be called

so. It is Grace. Those who suffer have My grace. Only through the

suffering will they be persuaded to turn inward and make the enquiry.'(Conversations with Sathya Sai Baba - pg 110)Hence,

when we suffer, we gain the grace of God. In the first instance from

the perspective of students in Standard 5, they must suffer sitting

through the trials and tribulations of preparing for examination before

they graduate to Standard 6. The readiness to meet the challenges of

Standard 5 and go through this tiring period only means that the

students are ripe to go to a higher grade. It is in higher grade that

the learning will become more intense and challenging, thereby an

opportunity to increase knowledge and awareness. This itself is Grace.Grace

must mean abundance in all aspects of living and life. Hence, here

Bhagavan beautifully using language of the mystics, says that the

result of all those who are suffering is grace. Hence to those of us

who are suffering, instead of continuing the habit of complaining, let

us be happy that the process is conferring us Grace.This thought is enough to continue our battles in life disregarding failure or success. Who has not failed? A quote says that 'the greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing that you will make one'. How apt!- to continue -(From : THE DIVINE LIFESTYLE by DR SURESH GOVIND,With the consent of Sathya Sai Central Council of Malaysia) Visit : Sai Divine Inspirations : http://saidivineinspirations.blogspot.com/ Sai Messages : http://saimessages.blogspot.com/ Love Is My Form : http://loveismyform.blogspot.com/