Everything in life happens according to Destiny, said Akkarakkani Srinidhi, in a discourse. Problems are faced by us because of our past karma, and if good things are a part of one’s life, that too is a result of one’s karma.
But often, we are unwilling to face up to problems and want God to get rid of them at once. A butterfly comes out of its cocoon only at the right time. We cannot tease it out. In the same way, a man has to face the difficulties of life, without expecting quick fix solutions to his problems.
Life has its ups and downs and just as we willingly enjoy the good things that come our way, so must we willingly bear our burdens. Can we lose heart simply because we have to face problems? Can we expect God to step in at the slightest sign of trouble in our lives? A child, first learning to walk, falls, picks itself up and then tries walking again. Do adults rush up to help the child every time it falls, and then make sure it never walks again, for fear that it will hurt itself?
Likewise, God too should not be expected to relieve us of all our problems, the moment we beseech Him, since difficulties and hurdles too must be faced by us. Instead, we must maintain our equanimity no matter what happens. We must neither jump with joy when things go our way, nor lose heart when things go wrong.
In the Mahabharata, Arjuna is inconsolable when his son Abhimanyu dies. Krishna is sorry that His advice to Arjuna, in the form of the Bhagavad Gita has been forgotten by Arjuna, in his anguish. No matter what happens, we must not give in to our emotions, but stay focused on the Supreme One.
