|| Shri Hari ||

Special Grace of God in Miseries

There is nothing more helpful than pain but difficulty lies in the fact that we cannot return the good done to us by pain.  We shall ever remain indebted to the pain since the poor pain is not immortal.  The poor pain does not survive eternally,  it dies soon after doing favor to us.  We cannot perform last rites of pain nor can we offer it oblation as it departs,  we’ll ever remain indebted to it.  Therefore when we suffer pain,  we should feel that God has showered His grace on us.  Big or small,  whatever form of pain comes then we should dance and think well of it.  There have been very few people in this world who could understand this type of God’s grace.    Mother Kunti understood it, therefore she demanded a boon from God.

‘Vipadah santu nah shashvattra tatra jagaduro |

Bhavato darshanam yatsyaadapunarbhavdarsharnam ||

    (Srimad Bhagavata I/8/25)

‘O’ great teacher of the world !  the miseries should come at every step in our life so that we may be able to have Your vision (darshana) which enables us not to come to this mortal world again’.   

Mother Kunti understood misery as her dear relative,  because through this one gets the vision of God.  Therefore the misery has been proved as the mother of God’s vision.  Thus,  the coming of misery is a joyful occasion for an aspirant.  To experience happiness on the arrival of misery is a very high spiritual means for an aspirant. 

If an aspirant wants to achieve God-realization, then he should transcend pleasure and pain -  

‘sukhadukhe same krtva’ (Gita 2/38).  

Establish equality in pleasure and pain.  

One desires happiness but it is not come, on the other hand,  one  does not desire misery but without invitation it comes.  Therefore the misery does not come on desiring it, rather it comes only through the grace of God.   There is acceptance in pleasure,  but lack of acceptance in pain.  That in which there is desire or acceptance,  it becomes impure.  That in which there is neither desire, nor acceptance,  that thing is received only by the pure grace of God.  One who keeps enmity with us,  gives us pain,  we cannot provide any benefit (return) to him.  He will not accept our help.  He becomes happy by giving us pain.  If a person becomes joyful without any effort from our side,  then how nice such a thing is !  Therefore, in future we should determine firmly that we have to remain joyful and happy in every type of situation.  Favorable situation may come or unfavorable situation may come,  we have to remain joyful because it is God’s gracious gift to us. 

Narayan !  Narayan !!  Narayan !!!

From article in 'Kalyaan Kalpatru' by Swami Ramsukhdasji from Gita Press, Gorakhpur