Hi
i faced a death experience like ramanamaharshi 5 years back. After that my life changed and i came to surrender gradually. Now i am facing a situation. I dont have anything to do. No significant work is coming in my way, other than normal daily activities . I dont understand why god is making me sit idle. Could you please explain to me the purpose behind sitting idle.
Rajesh
—RAJESH, INDIA
Dear friend,
I’m not sure what death experience you are referring to in regard to Ramana Maharshi, but whatever happened to you it sounds as though it produced a good influence that changed your life. Your present question is interesting in that you assume that it is God who is doing something to you. This is not so. It is our own karma, meaning our own self-initiated actions over many lifetimes, that determines what comes to us in life. God doesn’t “do” anything to us. Whatever comes our way does so from our own actions. With that understanding, then the present time for you may be one of a pause before you feel the inspiration to begin to move in a different direction.
I don’t think there is any purpose in sitting idle. If you are not asking for guidance during this time, and putting out the energy to draw it to you, it’s not certain that anything will come to you. It is we who must begin to engage in life, and not wait for “life” to come to us. During Paramhansa Yogananda’s lifetime in America, the country passed through a great econimic depression in the 1930s, when 25% of the population was out of work. Yogananda’s response to this, when he spoke with people who were looking for work during this difficult time, was to motivate them to action. He said, “If I were without work, I would stir the ether and never give up until I found a job!”
In other words, his advice to people was to engage in intense activity, generating more and more energy and magnetism, which would in turn attract the employment they were seeking.
I hope you soon find what your next step is. I would suggest that you take Yogananda’s advice and experiment with it in your own life right now. I think it will produce the results you are looking for.
In divine friendship,
Nayaswami Parvati
