Life is never always smooth for anyone, even for an Avatar (Divine Incarnation). It’s an ‘art’ indeed to take life as it comes in the most enthusiastic and positive way and this is called, ‘an Art of Living’.
Just take an example from everyday life, when you look at scene weather in real life or on television in a serial show, you do not react in the right way until you understand what is going on. The same is true in your own life. Everything is moving smoothly at an even pace and all of a sudden your life scene changes altogether. It could be an unexpected financial set back, death of a close one, you or your near one diagnosed with a dire disease and so on.
Before any of this happened you were quite happy and satisfied with life and enjoying it. But now after any of such unfavourable happening, things change drastically. Depending upon your position and the intensity of situation you may withdraw and become depressed and gloomy in outlook or just drag on life taking it as an unavoidable load on your head.
Well, it is easier said than done but what can you do, how can you be not affected by your circumstances and keep on enjoying life with the same vigour you had earlier?What is the way out, what can console you and not let you down even under such dire circumstances?
Yes there is something which if understood once can come to your aid immediately and let you keep going. At this point I am reminded of a beautiful thought of the great statesman Sir Winston Churchill, “If you are going through hell, keep going”. This thought means that if you stop while passing through a hell or hellish situation then you are unnecessarily going to prolong your sufferings. So keep going. But the million dollar question remains, “How?”
The ‘Truth’ can be your only Saviour!
Now let’s go back to what I said in the beginning that until you understand the scene you are experiencing you fail to react in the right way. You may get absorbed in a most worldly TV serial or motion picture and become utterly depressed and gloomy on watching a very serious episode full of suffering and sorrows.
Your eyes are wet with sad emotions and you can’t take any more of it. You switch off the TV and go out, watch fresh flowers in your garden or talk to your family members and all gloom is gone. So what came to your aid, what restored your joy and happiness? Well it is nothing but the ‘Truth’, truth that the scene you were watching a moment ago was not reality.
The same is true with this whole life. We all are on a big stage, the stage of life playing different roles for a finite time, living various scenes of happiness, sorrow, suffering and so on, with the only hidden purpose; self-evolution through purification.
It is a tragic fact of life that only hardship teaches, comfort does not. So only through hardships a human is purified and evolves over many life-death cycles to qualify to move to higher and better dimensions (worlds).
There is a Difference between Knowing and believing
We do read about such spiritual facts, but still not able to believe. And unless we believe firmly and the information sinks into our subconscious mind we fail to learn the art of living. In order to believe we need to get this information lodged firmly in our sub conscious. For that there are two things which can help. These are Breathing Exercises (Pranayama) and Meditation.
Breathing Exercises (Pranayama): These must be learnt from a true Yoga teacher. Only original Pranayama exercises as given by ancient sages are to be followed. Present day commercial minded teachers have modified the original exercises and these may do more harm than benefit. Regular practice of Pranayama helps in increased supply of oxygen to our whole body and brain. With plenty of fresh oxygen brain functions much better and we develop faster.
The excess Prana which gets accumulated in the body comes to our aid in times of distress and keeps us always positive and dynamic. It helps in teaching us the art of living.
Meditation: You don’t need to pay hefty fees to learn meditation, it’s so simple. Just read relevant articles written by me on this site. Meditation disciplines our mind and brings it under control of our intellect. A mind so controlled teaches one the art of living with much ease.
It is better to light a Candle
In the words of the greatest sage of our times Dr Tuesday Lobsang Rampa, “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”
So let us light a candle of hope and progress rather than keep cursingthe darkness of our ignorance.
“The right path is close at hand yet mankind searches for it afar” These are again the words of Lobsang Rampa and contain the whole truth. The ‘Past’ is gone and the ‘Future’ is uncertain and yet to come. Live the present moment fully that is the first step. The next is keeping in your bedroom a small statue of Laughing Buddha,which is nothing but a symbol of righteous living. Sit in comfort before this statue.
Start breathing exercises and meditate for even half an hour each day and soon you will become aware of ‘The Truth’ and be able to grasp the art of living! You will begin to live fully every single moment irrespective of the circumstances you are in.
Article by: Jyotirvid Pawan Kumar
