3 hours Ago By Mata Amritanandamayi
Accept what you cannot change as divine will and you will find everlasting peace. Quite a few devotees sorrowfully tell Amma that even after many years of praying, their griefs and misfortunes have not let up. Most people pray either for the fulfillment of their desires or out of fear: “O Lord, grant me this desire!” Or “Please do not give me any of that!” Do such prayers not mean that they know better than God what is best for them, or that they are, in short, greater than God? Do they really believe that God—who created both them and the world and who has protected both all along—does not know what is good and bad for them? They think that praying means presenting before God a litany of their likes and dislikes.
Prayer is not an enumeration of one’s personal desires. This does not mean that we must not share our sorrows with God. We can certainly unburden our sorrows.
Doing so will give the mind some relief. But more importantly, we must strive to remember God with love. Spend at least a little time every day meditating on God, chanting our mantra, and singing bhajans.
If we go to temples, it should be to foster remembrance of God. Do not think that we will receive God’s grace just because we believe in him. We must act in accordance with our faith.
We will not recover from an illness just because we believe in the doctor, will we? Likewise, faith and effort must go hand in hand. Though God is within us, we are currently unable to experience His presence fully. But we can do so through devotion.
Prayer, meditation and constant remembrance bind the mind strongly to God. Then, we will always be able to experience His presence. Once, a man and his wife went on a cruise.
Suddenly, the sky became dark. Thunder resounded and heavy rains started lashing down. Strong winds began to buffet the ship violently.
Fearing for their lives, all the passengers started panicking. The man alone remained calm, in spite of all that was happening. But his wife began howling in terror.
He tried calming her, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not. Finally, he became angry. He took a gun out from his bag, pointed it at his wife, and said, “Don’t say another word.
If you do, I’ll kill you!” Seeing the gun, the wife nonchalantly replied, “Do you really think you can intimidate me?” The husband asked, “Don’t you feel even the slightest fear at the sight of this gun?” She said, “I know it’s a lethal weapon. But as long as it’s in your dear hands, I’ve no fear. I know that you’ll never hurt me.
” The man said, “Likewise, I know that this strong wind is controlled by God, whom I worship. I have the firm faith that He will never harm me. That’s why I’m able to face this grave danger fearlessly.
” Children, once we become aware that any challenge in life is God’s handiwork, we will be able to face any situation fearlessly. This does not mean that we should remain idle. We must do what needs to be done.
But we must accept what we cannot change as God’s will. If we can do that, we can live in this world peacefully. The writer is a world-renowned spiritual leader and humanitarian.
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