Focusing on the problem rarely helps matters. Instead, it only wastes your time and energy as you go over it repeatedly in your mind. Instead of dwelling on the problem, get your mind off it.
Your life is a manifestation of the thoughts that go on in your head. Your life is a mirror of dominant thoughts that you think. Your mind thinks thoughts and the pictures are broadcast back as your life experience. You can change your life by changing the pattern of your thinking. If you want to change things, change the channel and change the frequency of your thoughts.
There was a professor of economics who was discussing the theory of demand and supply with his students. At the end of the session, he asked demand and supply with his students. At the end of the session, he asked the students, “Can you name anything, any product or service of which he students, “Can you name anything, any product or service of which the supply always exceeds the demand?” he supply always exceeds the demand?”
Even before the others could apply their minds to the question, one student shot up like an arrow and said, “Sir, I can tell you one thing of supply always exceeds the demand. That thing is ‘PROBLEMS’. at thing is ‘PROBLEMS’. Their supply is unlimited, even when our demand for them is NIL.”
He was right. Wasn’t he? The pathways of our life seem to be strewn with problems and challenges. There is hardly a day when we don’t handle some problem or the other. It is as if they are waiting in a never-ending queue outside your door; barely have you handled one problem when another immediately rears its head. Getting caught up in a problem isn’t just frustrating -- it can literally stress you out. He will automatically free us frustrating -- it can literally stress you out. He will automatically free us from our worries, and take care of all our ‘concerns’ and ‘problems’.
I remember when I was a schoolboy; a holy man visited the town in remember when I was a schoolboy; a holy man visited the town in which I lived. And I was very fond of meeting holy men. I used to go and sit at their feet, get their blessings, listen to their teachings. And when I took leave of this holy man, I said to him, “Please, give me a teaching.”
Do you know what he said to me? And the teaching that he gave me was in a few simple words. He said, “Sher bano kuta nahin bano. ” - Be a lion, do not be a dog.
I was thoroughly bewildered. I couldn’t understand the meaning of those words. I told him hesitatingly, “Sir, I am lion already because I am born in the sign Leo, but what do you mean by saying, be a lion do not be a dog?”
Problems do not come to us by accident. They are deliberately thrown in our way by a beneficent Providence for our own good. Instead of worrying about them, let us turn to God in prayer and place all our burdens at His Lotus Feet. This will give us an immediate feeling of peace and relaxation, enabling us to tackle the problems and perplexities of life in a spirit of calm surrender
The holy man explained, “You may have seen if you throw a ball at a dog, the dog will run after the ball, but if you throw anything at the lion, fire a bullet at him, he will not care for the bullet, he will not care for the ball, he will come and take hold of you. He goes to the thrower, not to the thrown.”
We are all the time thinking of that which has been thrown to us, we think of circumstances and conditions of life, the changing vicissitudes of life, the changing phenomenon, the passing shows of life. We do not think of Him, who has thrown all these things at us! ho has thrown all these things at us! We do rower, who has thrown all these things at us! We do not concentrate on Him from whom it has come, the giver, the thrower who has thrown all these things at us!
I read an anonymous statement which said: Focus on God puts you in touch with the Infinite so that your mind can grapple with the finite successfully. Therefore, empty your mind of all worry and anxiety. Renounce everything; throw out everything; don’t think of anything but meditate on Him; concentrate on Him; think of Him; dedicate all your work to him. Shift your focus from the problem to the Lord! Resting your mind in the Divine Presence, as it were, focuses the mind, energizes and vitalises your intellectual abilities so that you are able to give your best to the situation at hand.
Problems do not come to us by accident. They are deliberately thrown in our way by a beneficent Providence for our own good. Instead of worrying about them, let us turn to God in prayer and place all our burdens at His Lotus Feet. This will give us an immediate feeling of peace and relaxation, enabling us to tackle the problems and perplexities of life in a spirit of calm surrender.
Remind yourself, again and again, of the beautiful lines “O heart, why do you worry? So what if difficulties have come your way, the remover of difficulties is not far away.
By Dada J P Vaswani
