It is easier to have faith in God and love him when everything is going right in our lives but how can we continue to have faith in him when things are not right in our live. I am going through a very tumultuous period in my life and would like to know how can I practice love and devotion towards God ?
—anvita, india
Dear Anvita:
Let’s ask ourselves this: if I am married and have pledged to remain so in “sickness and in health” what does it mean to abandon our commitment when things are not going well in my life or in the relationship?
As God remains untouched by evil or suffering, so our own souls, made in the image of God, are ever free. One who seeks to live with faith in God and with love for God should strive to remain even-minded and cheerful under all circumstances. It is our very nature to be free and untouched and it is, by contrast, the very nature of this world of maya (duality) to ever fluctuate between pleasure and pain, happiness and sorrow, and success and failure.
This world, our bodies, our lives are the interplay of light and darkness: God’s dream. We must learn to play our part well and see “life as a play upon a stage.” Being happy all the time is the soul’s nature.
Deepen your faith and love for God by remaining centered and even-minded no matter what. Meditation is the greatest tool for entering into the state of Being wherein we feel untouched by life’s ups and downs. Meditation opens us to the grace of God, which is to say the divine presence, wherein we find comfort, confidence and courage. Think of all the great heroes and saints who have overcome troubles and afflictions in the contemplation of the God within them and in the play of life’s challenges (as forms of grace and blessing). Easy? No! Worthwhile? Absolutely!
Study the lives of great saints; meditate with those more advanced, perhaps, than yourself. Pray for wisdom, for strength, for courage. Practice “japa,” for chanting is half the battle! Change your attitude for the better, and your life will change for the better! Be a super [conscious] Hero!
Think of many people whose challenges are perhaps far greater than your own. Help others and you will feel better about your own challenges. Draw your strength from God and Guru. You receive only the tests that you can handle and which will make you stronger and wiser. For them, therefore, affirm gratitude!
Joy to you!
Nayaswami Hriman
