Tag: Mind

— by Acharya Ratnananda

Long Long Ago, and Far Far Away, a group of saints and sages met to find out ways to establish a violence-free society. “God has provided us with all the facilities to live in peace…then why should people indulge in violence and violate His intentions? Why not appeal to Him to banish violence in human affairs.”

However, before such an approach could be adopted, they wanted to unravel the mystery behind conflicts. One wise lady then said that the basic cause of all the conflicts was a feeling of worry. It was worry that created fear, and it was fear that promoted wrong actions, and wrong actions generated conflicts. The best way then, to prevent conflicts, was to prevent worries!

All our problems could be solved, if God gave us the power to overcome our worries (which often overtake our wisdom!). This solution found instant acceptance with all the wise ones, and an intense prayer followed. The Divine appeared in response to their prayers, but laughed at their request!

“My dear children,” said God, “you are asking for something which is impossible even for me to grant.” To the shock of the entire assembly, God continued, “You are all worried about solving your own worries, but have you ever considered, that I have more worries to face than all of you? Your worries have only one-track, which is much simpler! However, I have to face two-track worries – much more complex!” The entire gathering was shocked and confused at this revelation that even God suffered from complex worries unknown to themselves, and appealed to the Divine for enlightenment.

God smilingly continued, “Worry is an illness that affects both good and bad people, with the difference that good people worry about the welfare of others, and bad people worry only about their own welfare. For example, while a righteous person prays to prevent robberies, the thief prays to me to prevent being caught. I have to answer both their prayers! My problem is how to reward the former and reform the latter, and make both of them happy! It is really a two-track worry!”

The saints had to humbly accept when the Divine said, “I advice you all to go back and solve your worries yourselves, and leave me to solve mine. However, since you have all come to me, I cannot send you back empty handed. Hence, I grant you the strength to face your worries. Solve them yourself if you can, or approach a realized Master to help you in your endeavor.”

This story from the Upanishads reveals that we are mostly responsible for our worries, which affect us directly or indirectly, and it is our own responsibility, with the guidance of a realized Master to either solve them or at least shelve them. Do the work on hand, but keep the worry in abeyance. This is one way to deliver us from the all pervasive disease of worry!