Vedanta Sandesh |
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Prabhu iccha
Further to a question as to how should one go about accepting a negative situation as ‘Prabhu iccha’ or the will of God, Poojya Guruji wrote back about the exact implications of this beautiful word. He says, when a situation comes without or inspite of our efforts then it is accepted by one & all as prabhu iccha, the will of God, for the simple reason that we know that we have not done anything consciously to bring it about. It is right that we can easily accept cordial situations as will of God, but the real test of our understanding of the word is only at the time of getting unfavorable situations. The difficulty is two-fold. One, our lack of complete understanding of this beautiful word, and second, our wrong understanding about the role of religion and God vis-à-vis the situations in life. When a situation comes it is imperative that we accept it with equipoise & equanimity and respond intelligently. As intelligent response calls for a balanced mind it is extremely important that we discover some ways & means to bring this about, the word prabhu-iccha does this wonder. Whether we like it or don’t we have to anyway accept the situation and carve our way through it alone. The word prabhu iccha implies that we don’t waste our energy in fretting or fuming but rather in finding our way out. It is acceptance of a fact, convenient or inconvenient. Negative reactions dissipate our energy, and this further affects our response. If somehow we can retain our balance then half the war is won. The word prabhu iccha helps to bring about that mental availability. The word prabhu iccha also has the fragrance of the awareness of the presence of God and surrendering of the basic doership to him. With this awareness also comes an intrinsic optimism that when this is the will of God himself then ultimately it will have some good in it. This further helps us to remain positive and thus act intelligently rather than react helplessly. The real reason behind this question is however the wrong understanding of the role of God in our lives. After some prayers or religious practices we expect only favorable things to happen to us. When this does not happen then we start thinking, how can God be so insensitive, harsh or even sadistic. Why should this happen to me? They start doubting the very practicality of these devotional practices, religion or even God. Change this attitude at the earliest. Start looking at religion not as a way which helps us to change situations outside, without even having worked for them, but as a package which helps us to bring about such a positive frame of mind wherein you can respond to any situation with greater wisdom, poise & enthusiasm. Become a maker of your destiny, exhort the scriptures. The benevolent God has blessed you with all the necessary tools & potential. If success comes don’t let arrogance touch you, and if failure then don’t let it disturb you, learn from your possible mistakes and act on. If you still cant do anything about it, then learn to accept it as a fact of life, learn to see the brighter side of any situation and tread on. |