AIDs, Cancer, IBS, Diabetes, Cardiac-diseases, Hypertension, Chronic Back-pains, Adult-Acne, Sinus, etc are epidemic lifestyle diseases across the world today. But from a Higher standpoint, these are all only symptoms of a much bigger epidemic called "F.A.S.T."!
F.A.S.T. - Fear.Anxiety.Stress.Tension!
Body is susceptible to diseases. That is physical and natural. But, how much that disease manifests and affects us is directly proportional to how much we suffer from F.A.S.T.
So, today Shankara says "Why Worry?"
The first thing to note is: Worry is not a response. Worry is a habit.
We are not worrying because of the economy, the job, the relationship, the person, the maid, the car, the obesity, the wrinkle, or anything. We are worrying because we can't not worry! That is why we see that even after retirement, when sometimes there is everything one can ask for, one still worries! If there is nothing to worry about in one's own life, one worries about neighbours, country, news, everything!!
We are in fact so used to worrying that if everything goes alright, we get worried as to why there is nothing to worry about! I remember that right before a mega-event when I told someone that everything was done and alright, she said "oh! that's strange! i feel worried now…!"
You see, how ingrained this worry-syndrome is in our system? And when we worry, we not only harm our physical health, but we adversely damage our spiritual strength too!
A person who worries has no rights to call himself/herself an atheist or a devotee. One who knows that the Lord exists, will never worry. Think!
So, Shankara reprimands such ridiculously thoughtless people amongst us by rhetorically saying, "My dear mad fellow, Isn't there a God for you?" "वातुल किं तव नास्ति नियन्ता"
This is one of those expressions that each of us must keep in our hearts at all times. It is like the ultimate lift-me-up for all of us who live a life infested with F.A.S.T.
After all, what are we worried about? The family? The money? The society? The world? The Future? Are we really responsible for any of these?
Do we even realise that we are not even taking care of our own body by ourselves? Who digests the food in the stomach? Who ensures that the heart beats? Who even ensure that the blood clots when we get a cut? Me??? I can't even run my own body, and I believe I have to run the family, the office, the life, and so I am worried!! God must be laughing at such stupidities.
Story: There was an old woman in a village who owned a rooster-cock. Every morning, the rooster would crow at sun-rise, and the whole village would wake up hearing it. One day, the old-woman had a quarrel with the villagers and decided to leave from the village forever. When the villagers heard this, they got WORRIED! They couldn't sleep or work or eat, and suffered terrible anxiety. Finally, they had a peace-meeting with the old-woman asking her not to go, because: If you take your rooster and leave, how will the sun rise in our village!!! :)
It is funny, but how are we different from the Villagers? THINK!
We too believe that every sun-rise in our lives, whether it is the new job, the promotion, the relationship, the property-issue, or whatever, depends on some or the other rooster in the world! Not realising that the Sun and the Skies and the Earth are all illumined by Him, who made the rooster!! THINK!
It does't mean we have nothing to do or that we can sit back in idle faith. Our intelligence and abilities are His gift to us. So Act Intelligently. Put your best foot forward always. But then, sit back and watch what happens!
It is important to realise that we MUST do our best in every situation. But having done our best, we MUST also leave the rest to Him. Finally, it is He who we and our world belongs to! To worry in spite of Him is to insult Him. THINK.
We teach our Balavihar kids a song which is also my personal favourite: "My God is so great, so strong and so mighty…there is nothing my God cannot do!!"
He who makes the Sun rise, the birds fly, the children grow, the breath function, will he not be able to handle our little problems? Why worry?
It is said that in the Mahabharata War, there were total 18 Units (called Akshouhinis) of warriors - 7 on the Pandava side and 11 on the Kaurava side. If we calculate the technical figures of each Akshouhini, we realise that there were almost 3.8 Million Warriors on that Battlefield! Can you imagine that many people assembled in one single place? Even a gathering of that magnitude can be stressful!! And this wasn't a pleasant gathering! It was a WAR. Just think of the tension afloat in the atmosphere. Amidst such a situation, there was only one man in the entire battle-field who was smiling. It was Krishna!!
He never worried. Why should we?
If I see even a trace of agitation, stress and anxiety in my personality, it means my anchoring in the Higher is weakened. It means my faith is losing grip. It means I am forgetting Him who smiles as my very own Consciousness in my very bosom.
What to do and how to get rid of the worry habit?
Shankara will answer that tomorrow!
Quote for Today:
"Without God, I can't. Without me, God won't. God + Me = We Can, We Will"- Gurudev
"After we have done all we can to Make It Happen, we need to then just Let It Happen." - Guruji
PRACTICE FOR TODAY:
1. Take any old visiting card and write on its blank side: "वातुल किं तव नास्ति नियन्ता"
Keep it in your wallet or at your altar or work-desk. Read it every time you are getting into F.A.S.T.
2. Every day, light a small lamp in front of the Lord of your heart, and resolve not to let worry overshadow your faith.
3. End your day with a short bed-time prayer, leaving all worries in the hands of God and SLEEP PEACEFULLY.
TODAY'S REFLECTION IS BASED ON VERSE 13 OF BHAJA GOVINDAM.
F.A.S.T. - Fear.Anxiety.Stress.Tension!
Body is susceptible to diseases. That is physical and natural. But, how much that disease manifests and affects us is directly proportional to how much we suffer from F.A.S.T.
So, today Shankara says "Why Worry?"
The first thing to note is: Worry is not a response. Worry is a habit.
We are not worrying because of the economy, the job, the relationship, the person, the maid, the car, the obesity, the wrinkle, or anything. We are worrying because we can't not worry! That is why we see that even after retirement, when sometimes there is everything one can ask for, one still worries! If there is nothing to worry about in one's own life, one worries about neighbours, country, news, everything!!
We are in fact so used to worrying that if everything goes alright, we get worried as to why there is nothing to worry about! I remember that right before a mega-event when I told someone that everything was done and alright, she said "oh! that's strange! i feel worried now…!"
You see, how ingrained this worry-syndrome is in our system? And when we worry, we not only harm our physical health, but we adversely damage our spiritual strength too!
A person who worries has no rights to call himself/herself an atheist or a devotee. One who knows that the Lord exists, will never worry. Think!
So, Shankara reprimands such ridiculously thoughtless people amongst us by rhetorically saying, "My dear mad fellow, Isn't there a God for you?" "वातुल किं तव नास्ति नियन्ता"
This is one of those expressions that each of us must keep in our hearts at all times. It is like the ultimate lift-me-up for all of us who live a life infested with F.A.S.T.
After all, what are we worried about? The family? The money? The society? The world? The Future? Are we really responsible for any of these?
Do we even realise that we are not even taking care of our own body by ourselves? Who digests the food in the stomach? Who ensures that the heart beats? Who even ensure that the blood clots when we get a cut? Me??? I can't even run my own body, and I believe I have to run the family, the office, the life, and so I am worried!! God must be laughing at such stupidities.
Story: There was an old woman in a village who owned a rooster-cock. Every morning, the rooster would crow at sun-rise, and the whole village would wake up hearing it. One day, the old-woman had a quarrel with the villagers and decided to leave from the village forever. When the villagers heard this, they got WORRIED! They couldn't sleep or work or eat, and suffered terrible anxiety. Finally, they had a peace-meeting with the old-woman asking her not to go, because: If you take your rooster and leave, how will the sun rise in our village!!! :)
It is funny, but how are we different from the Villagers? THINK!
We too believe that every sun-rise in our lives, whether it is the new job, the promotion, the relationship, the property-issue, or whatever, depends on some or the other rooster in the world! Not realising that the Sun and the Skies and the Earth are all illumined by Him, who made the rooster!! THINK!
It does't mean we have nothing to do or that we can sit back in idle faith. Our intelligence and abilities are His gift to us. So Act Intelligently. Put your best foot forward always. But then, sit back and watch what happens!
It is important to realise that we MUST do our best in every situation. But having done our best, we MUST also leave the rest to Him. Finally, it is He who we and our world belongs to! To worry in spite of Him is to insult Him. THINK.
We teach our Balavihar kids a song which is also my personal favourite: "My God is so great, so strong and so mighty…there is nothing my God cannot do!!"
He who makes the Sun rise, the birds fly, the children grow, the breath function, will he not be able to handle our little problems? Why worry?
It is said that in the Mahabharata War, there were total 18 Units (called Akshouhinis) of warriors - 7 on the Pandava side and 11 on the Kaurava side. If we calculate the technical figures of each Akshouhini, we realise that there were almost 3.8 Million Warriors on that Battlefield! Can you imagine that many people assembled in one single place? Even a gathering of that magnitude can be stressful!! And this wasn't a pleasant gathering! It was a WAR. Just think of the tension afloat in the atmosphere. Amidst such a situation, there was only one man in the entire battle-field who was smiling. It was Krishna!!
He never worried. Why should we?
If I see even a trace of agitation, stress and anxiety in my personality, it means my anchoring in the Higher is weakened. It means my faith is losing grip. It means I am forgetting Him who smiles as my very own Consciousness in my very bosom.
What to do and how to get rid of the worry habit?
Shankara will answer that tomorrow!
Quote for Today:
"Without God, I can't. Without me, God won't. God + Me = We Can, We Will"- Gurudev
"After we have done all we can to Make It Happen, we need to then just Let It Happen." - Guruji
PRACTICE FOR TODAY:
1. Take any old visiting card and write on its blank side: "वातुल किं तव नास्ति नियन्ता"
Keep it in your wallet or at your altar or work-desk. Read it every time you are getting into F.A.S.T.
2. Every day, light a small lamp in front of the Lord of your heart, and resolve not to let worry overshadow your faith.
3. End your day with a short bed-time prayer, leaving all worries in the hands of God and SLEEP PEACEFULLY.
TODAY'S REFLECTION IS BASED ON VERSE 13 OF BHAJA GOVINDAM.
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