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Dissolving the bitterness of life… January 17, 2008

Posted by tharinid in Inspirational stories.
1 comment so far

Time for another Sai Inspires story, and this is the way it goes…

Once a young man came to a revered teacher, who was seated under a tree near a beautiful lake, and asked for the solution for his unhappiness. After some minutes of conversation the old master kindly instructed the visitor to put a handful of salt in a glass of water and then to drink a few mouthfuls.

“How does it taste?” the teacher asked. “Awful,” said the apprentice after he had spat out the revolting liquid a few paces away. The teacher chuckled and then asked the young man to take another handful of salt and put it in the lake. The two walked in silence to the nearby lake and when the youngster swirled his handful of salt into the lake, the old man told him, “Now drink from the lake.”

As the water dripped down the young man’s chin, the master asked him again, “How does it taste?” “Good!” he replied. “Do you taste the salt?” asked the Master. “No,” said the young man. The Master sat beside the troubled youth, took his hands, and said,

“The pain of life is pure salt; no more, no less. The amount of pain in life remains the same, exactly the same. But the level of ‘pain we taste’ depends on the container we put it into. So when you are in pain, the only thing you can do is to enlarge your sense of things. Stop being a glass. Become a lake.

And you can become a lake where you broaden your outlook; when you stop looking only at yourself and your own miseries. Look at life as a whole and the many things without which you would not be what you are today – your friends, family, hobbies, nature around you.

When you are confronted with a problem, you see only the problem and ruminate over it endlessly which only makes the situation more tragic. Think of previous instances when things were better. Look at all the blessings that God has filled your life with about which you never give a thought.

Never compare yourself negatively with others. You are a unique person and if you have the faith, God will provide what you need. When you have a pain in your life, put it in front of GOD – then it will surely lessen. Do not put it in front of yourself – as you cannot see beyond it.

God is Infinite. Tap this source, with confidence.

The young man left, and his viewpoint on his problems had totally changed. As the saying goes:

Tell your problems how big your God Is.

The power of Penance January 4, 2008

Posted by tharinid in Divine Inspiration.
1 comment so far

Every action in our life leaves certain impressions on us. Action, not just in terms of actual doing, but action within thoughts as well. These impressions are called sanskaras. We have accumulated sanskaras through all the lives we have taken so far, and they determine how we will act now. And the way we act now will give rise to fresh impressions/sanskaras. As long as we are clouded by these impression, we can never be completely free, and hence completely happy.

This is the gist of some passages in the Discourses. And so, there arises the question….how do we get rid of these impressions? How do we stop them from forming?

There are many ways, as was listed out in one of the chapters, but one of the ways really caught my imagination and made a lasting impact. The power of penance. Or Repentance.

Quoting…

“The unwinding of sanskaras can be brought about through penance. This consists in augmenting and expressing the feeling of remorse an individual feels after realising that he has done some wrongful act. Repentance consists in mentally reviving the wrongs with severe self-condemnation…Such penance unwinds the sanskaras that are responsible for the action.” 

This has been a truly magnificient revelation for me. When you have done something wrong, and utterly utterly despicable, recollecting it and reliving it with remorse is the hardest thing possible. Every part of you wants to shy away from this act and you prefer to forget, you want to escape and avoid the unpleasant pricks of conscience. But to make such penance a willful and self conscious exercise takes a lot of stamina from a person. Moral stamina. And in that act, you have liberated yourself from the clutches of that mistake.

And as with all things, there is a certain way of doing it. Once again, quoting…

“Penance should not be like the everyday repentance, that follows everyday weaknesses. It should not become a tedious and sterile habit of immoderate and gloomy pondering over one’s own failings. Sincere penance does not consist in perpetuating grief for the wrongs, but in resolving to avoid in the future, all those deeds that call forth remorse. If it leads to a lack of self respect or self confidence, it has not served its true purpose.”

Obviously, this is a gem that I will retain all my life!