With
our incomplete understanding, we find faults with the situations we are
in - we complain and grumble about them, wish to run away from them,
and hold them responsible for our misery. When we encounter difficult
circumstances, we tend to hold the outer world responsible for our woes.
But the enlightened souls inform us that the world created by God is
perfect in every way. The world is governed not by chaos, but by eternal
principles, and even though it may not seem so to us, God has made this
world perfectly for our purification. Therefore, circumstances do not
come in life by the throw of a dice; both good and bad situations come
to us for a divine purpose. "They are all arranged for our spiritual
evolution, to push us upward in our journey toward perfection," explains
H. H. Swami Mukundananda ji. Those who understand this secret are never
disturbed in difficult circumstances; instead, face them with serenity
and tranquility.
Grandsire
Bheeshma is a perfect example. He was a sage who had fathomed the
mysteries of life and death, and risen above the dualities of
circumstances. Serene in any eventuality, he had even consented to
taking the side of the wicked, if it served the Lord.
He
thus demonstrated that those who are surrendered to God simply do their
duty in all situations, without being affected by the outcome. Such
persons never lament because they accept all circumstances as God's
grace.
The
Chhāndogya Upaniṣhad explains why earthquakes, hurricanes, cyclones,
floods, and typhoons are created in the world by God, as a part of the
grand scheme of things. It states that God deliberately creates
difficult situations to prevent people from slowing down in their
journey of spiritual progress.
When people become complacent, a natural calamity comes along, forcing
the souls to strain their abilities to cope with it, which ensures their
progress. However, note that the progress is not the external increase
of material luxuries, but the internal unfoldment of the glorious
divinity of the soul over a continuum of lifetime.
Just
like the snowflakes fall slowly to the ground, with each flake in its
proper place, there is an inherent perfection in the design of the world
and the macro events taking place in it. Since this world is a
veritable form of God, it is perfect and complete like him. Apart from
this external world, there exists a subtle inner world that each of us
create within our mind - the world of our desires, attachments, and
aversions. If we learn to vanquish these afflictions of the inner world,
then the external objects do not sway us.
Life
is like a book that constantly teaches us lessons. It incessantly
pushes us to grow and evolve. Having come into this world, improve we
must, as the entire creation is geared towards it. Thus, trials are
adverse circumstances that God allows in our lives to
identify where we are spiritually and to
prepare us for where He wants us to go. Hence, those
who focus on inner refinement do not waste their energy in cursing the
circumstances.
