Collect Your Worries & Fear in a Box
On at a pleasant cool night, everyone in the apartment
block had gone to bed after a nice dinner, and there was silence. Early in the
morning, the police came with a search operation at the Apartment. Their
announcement about this was followed by gunshot.
Hearing all this, a person sleeping in the building
next door got up shivering. His wife tried to calm him down. Finally, the
police arrested the man in search of whom they had come and went on their way,
but the man the neighbouring building was still scared. Finally, he decided to
confess his fear and asked me, “Why am I feeling so fearful and scared..?”
I explained to him in a comforting tone that fear is the absence of love. One has to bring light of love to the darkness of fear. You can’t do anything with darkness directly. You can’t destroy it by action of will or throw it away. You have to bring the light of love.” “But my wife is a loving person.” he said. “Your wife may be a loving person, but are you receiving and validating that love in your heart? The flowers are beautiful, but the question is whether you are receiving and validating it or you lost in your worries,” I asked. You are no longer sensitive; you are highly sentimental, reacting to what is, from the framework of your likes and dislikes. Being sensitive is being available to experience “what is” as what is. Most of the people are not living and thinking deeply. “Do you mean to say, one should accept life as it comes and not change it,” asked the man. I said, More than accepting, see things as they are. Be free to see what is, and in that freedom one is not bound. When you see it, then you see the elegance in imperfection and from that space you will do or act on what is needed. This will not be out of conflict but out of harmony.”  The following week he came to me and said, “ It certainly works. Most of my worries and fears have been solved, but still there are about 25% existing. What shall I do..?” I said, “Put them also into an imaginary box that you will open only on the last Saturday of the month; till then do not worry about it. Open that box once a month on the last Saturday and scan through the worries. You will find that most of them will be solved if one stops worrying.” Apply the technique of one to 20. Write out 20 ways to solve your problem. Then, apply those ways. If you are calm, most of the problems will be solved, and if you are creative, any remaining problems also will be solved. Any problem remaining unresolved even after all these, will make your life humble and challenging. Discourse : Swami Sukhabodhananda
Source : Speaking tree
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This
title may kindle your curiosity, and some of you may wonder how there can be
just a single solution to the various, and often intolerable, problems in the
world.
I do not have a magic wand
Let
me warn you. I do not possess any magic potion or instant cure. I can only
give you something to work on, the seeds of a solution.
Once,
a hungry person went to a shop to buy apples. Instead of apples, he was given
seeds to plant, that would grow into trees yielding apples in abundance.
Similarly, I can give you seeds of thought that remove all your problems –
only if you work on them.
The Nature of
Problems
Let
us first focus on problems. If we analyse and observe, we will find that
actually situations in life are what
become problems. If you are comfortably sitting in your own house and begin
to feel hungry, the hunger does not pose a problem. There is food in the
kitchen; if not, you just go to a restaurant. But if you are in a remote
place and food is not available, or you do not have enough money to buy food,
then hunger becomes a problem, because you don't know how to deal with it.
Inability to deal with Situations
Whenever
there is an inability to handle the situation, then that situation becomes a
problem.
Firstly,
if you don't understand the situation, it becomes a problem. Secondly, you
may understand it, but find no remedy, it becomes a problem. Thirdly, if the
remedy is there, but it isn't within reach, then also it becomes a problem.
Finally, everything may be within reach, but if you don't know how to make
use of it, then, of course, it remains a problem.
Human
beings have a peculiar ability – whatever we touch becomes a problem. It is
like the Midas touch – whatever he touched turned into gold, whether it was
his clothes, his food or even his own daughter. Even the fulfillment of his
wish became a problem!
Categorising the Problem
So
what should we do? The very first thing is to look at the given situation
objectively and assess why it is a problem. At this stage itself we may find
that the situation is simply a situation and not a problem at all. However,
if it still continues to appear as a problem, proceed to categorise it. It
could be any of the following kinds:
•
A factual problem like a financial crisis, a disease of the body, or even a
leaking roof.
•
An imaginary problem like the fear of a
car crash, a bleak view of one's career, or visualising a serious illness
from the symptoms of a common cold.
•
A subjective thinking problem based on strong likes and dislikes, prejudices,
attachments and so on.
Identifying the Solution
The
next step is to find the solution. If it is a factual problem, you can do the
following:
a.
Sit quietly with a paper and pen.
b.
Write down the situation that is posing the problem.
c.
Jot down all possible solutions for it.
d.
Shortlist the most practical solutions.
e.
Further shortlist and pick the solution that is within your capability to
implement.
f.
Allow it to happen – implement it.
For
example, if you want to go from Hyderabad to Mumbai, list out the alternative
ways of travel - by air, foot, road or rail. Strike out the impractical ones
such as travelling by foot. If air travel does not fit your budget, strike it
out. Now your alternatives are down to road and rail, and you can choose
based on availability, personal comfort and timing.
Once
you have found a solution, relax and allow it to happen. There are some
people who worry even after they are seated in the plane: "I hope the
pilot is well trained. I hope there are no hijackers. The weather seems bad.
What if there is a storm?" There is no point in worrying about things
over which we have no control. Dispel these worries and relax.
Right Thinking - the One True Solution
If
it is an imaginary problem, right thinking will reveal that it is not a
problem at all. It simply dissolves into thin air! The fear of a car crash or
ill health is only in our minds. I alone can remove the problem from my mind with
the help of right thinking
Vedanta says that all problems arise from lack of right thinking alone. It remains the root cause of all our bondage, sorrow and problems. It is said: 'avichara krto bandhah vicharena nivartate – bondage caused by lack of thinking, is removed by proper thinking.' Hence, right thinking is the one solution for all our problems. Source : Swami Tejomayananda |
