Learn To Make Your Sorrows Sacred

 

Treat all difficulties as divine surgery. Please do not think that i am trying to rationalize all misfortunes that befall us. Only when we are faced with problems do we wake up and try to find solutions that enable us to recover from them. That process releases new creative energies. We see possibilities we never thought existed. At that moment, our mind functions at its optimum level of alertness.

Let us realize that by giving us sorrow, God is only trying to improve our ability to think differently. We should learn to make our sorrows sacred. We should treat experience of any kind as a master guiding us and teaching us. Our book of life should be the best scripture.

Only when a seed loses its identity, does it become a plant. Similarly, won’t a sapling become a fruit laden tree only when it loses its identity of a sapling? The Almighty has ensured that a new state of being is possible only by losing one’s previous state of being.

People in Tibet celebrate a festival for which they create beautiful artistic patterns just like our Rangoli with a great deal of effort.

They devote their energies to this work for several days, and single-mindedly create this beautiful work of art and skill. After finishing the pattern, they look at it with reverence in their hearts, and bow down to it as an expression of divine. Then, in a swift movement, they wipe it off. Effort lasting many days vanishes soon after the worship.

Now, the aim of this tradition and ritual is to train people to rise above attachments.

Just as the pendulum swings between two extremities, life too alternates between joy and sorrow, loss and gain, victory and defeat. One should learn not to be unduly affected by either of the extremes. That is the state of detachment. One should learn to live with what life gives you at every turn. When life gives you summer, bask in it. When it is winter, build snowmen. It is not what you have, but how you use what you have, which determines the quality of life.

Don’t be caught up with questions like what is fair and what unfair. If one extends this logic, one can say it is so unfair that birds can fly while human beings can’t, or that it is very unfair only women get pregnant and not men.

Start living life in a meditative way. Start becoming more and more loving. Learn to think and feel from your heart. For the heart of education is the education of the heart. Whenever you meet someone, silently give loving vibrations and a prayer for their well-being. If you are sitting under a tree, just feel the shade blessing you and giving you divine guidance. Take the earth as God’s lap. Touch a flower with love and you will feel that something starts flowing in you. Take a bath and feel the divine hand strengthening and purifying you. Your response to life will be uplifting.

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Word Meanings:

1.] Sorrows: दु: ख,  शोक,  a feeling of deep distress caused by loss, disappointment, or other misfortune suffered by oneself or others.

2.]  Sacred: धार्मिक, पवित्र, connected with God or dedicated to a religious purpose and so deserving veneration.

3.]  Divine: दिव्य ,  of, from, or like God or a god.

4.]  Rationalize:  युक्तिसंगत ,  attempt to explain or justify (one's own or another's behavior or attitude) with logical, plausible reasons, even if these are not true or appropriate.

5.]  Misfortune: दुर्भाग्य, bad luck.

6.]  Befall: घटित होना, (of something bad) happen to someone.

7.]  Thought: विचार किया, an idea or opinion produced by thinking, or occurring suddenly in the mind.

8.]  Existed: अस्तित्व में

9.] Optimum : अनुकूलतम, most conducive to a favorable outcome; best.

10.] Alertness: मुस्तैदी, सजगता, the quality of being alert.

11.] Treat: इलाज, व्यवहार करना,  behave toward or deal with in a certain way.

12.] Experience: अनुभव, practical contact with and observation of facts or events.

13.] Scripture: इंजील, वेद, the sacred writings of Christianity contained in the Bible.

14.] Sapling: पौधा, a young tree, especially one with a slender trunk.

15.] Laden: लदा हुआ, heavily loaded or weighed down.

16.] Almighty: सर्वशक्तिमान, having complete power; omnipotent.

17.] Ensured: सुनिश्चित, make certain that (something) shall occur or be the case.

18.] Devote: समर्पित, give all or a large part of one's time or resources to (a person, activity, or cause).

19.] several: कई, more than two but not many.

20.] mindedly: मन से, With the mind

21.] reverence: श्रद्धा, deep respect for someone or something.

22.] swift: तीव्र, happening quickly or promptly.

23.] wipe: पोंछ,clean or dry (something) by rubbing its surface with a cloth, a piece of paper, or one's hand.

24.] vanishes: गायब हो जाती, disappear suddenly and completely.

25.] tradition: परंपरा, the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the fact of being passed on in this way.

26.] ritual: अनुष्ठान, संस्कार, a religious or solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order.

27.] attachment: आसक्ति, आसक्ति, an extra part or extension that is or can be attached to something to perform a particular function.

28.] extremities: हाथ-पैर, the furthest point or limit of something.

29.] alternates: वैकल्पिक है, occur in turn repeatedly.

30.] unduly: लहरों से, अत्यन्त, to an unwarranted degree; inordinately.

31.] extremes: चरम सीमाओं, reaching a high or the highest degree; very great.

32.] detachment: अलगाव, अलग करने की क्रिया, the state of being objective or aloof.

33.] bask: मजा लेना, आनंद उठाना,  गरमाना, lie exposed to warmth and light, typically from the sun, for relaxation and pleasure.

34.] determines: निर्धारित करता है,  cause (something) to occur in a particular way; be the decisive factor in.

35.] caught: पकड़े गए, intercept and hold (something which has been thrown, propelled, or dropped).

36.] Extends: विस्तार, cause to cover a larger area; make longer or wider.

37.] guidance: दिशा निर्देश, मार्गदर्शन,  advice or information aimed at resolving a problem or difficulty, especially as given by someone in authority.

38.] strengthening: को सुदृढ़, वृद्धि, make or become stronger.

39.] purifying: सफ़ाई, remove contaminants from.

40.] uplifting: उत्थान, inspiring happiness, optimism, or hope.