A Prayer That Never Fails

by Vrinda Om

When you start accepting that you have only yourself to rely on, things start moving pretty quickly. Hope, zeal and enthusiasm become regular visitors, propelling you to new, unexplored shores. Raina’s story is filled with nerve, grit and a childlike faith that all is set right when you move with courage and belief.

When people approach me in the ashram, their hearts heavy with sorrow, grief, disenchantment and the monotony of life and its blows and shakedowns, I don’t have any great advice to dispense. It simply comes down to asking, ‘What are you committed to in life?’ My guru’s whole life is committed to being compassionate and truthful. His most practical advice has always been to the point. ‘It is by practice alone that you can override the tendencies of the mind.’

If you were to take a hard look at your life, you would realize that no matter how challenging your circumstances, it was your outlook that determined the quality of your experience. A life of happiness and gratitude is far superior to a life of misery and complaint, for in both states of mind, time moves differently. It

It is a unique perspective on life that we aren’t exactly at the mercy of events beyond our control; we can choose to respond in a positive, upbeat and cheerful manner. A life of merriment is a short life, while a life of sadness is a never-ending road. Which one would you like to walk down? Why not play with time, befriend it, so that it may pass like a gently flowing river, carrying us through different landscapes of life to our union with the Divine ocean? Let us learn to be merry, and in that merriment, unlock and unravel the secret of time. Swamiji would always say to me, ‘If we have to live, we might as well live gratefully and gracefully.’

There is nothing greatly wrong with me or my life, or most people’s lives. We have all just been living with an untrained and untamed mind, conditioned to be unhappy.

Meditation retreats and royalties from his books are his only sources of income, a negligible amount for someone from whose personal account over Rs 100,000 are autodebited every month to support children’s education, pensions to ageing couples and for expenses to run homes of families that have little or no financial support. Then there are the donations made anonymously to individuals and organizations. At the end of every financial year, he gives away all the excess in his account and starts all over again. No sane person does that. Not even for a moment am I calling this insanity; it is the highest form of detachment known only to a true yogi. Just like ants toil to gather food for the coming winter, Swamiji starts writing again to generate income, to nourish not just starving souls but bodies.

After seeing Swamiji’s life from such close quarters, I have arrived at the conclusion that while working on selfimprovement is a prerequisite, kindness and service to others is the natural curve of the spiritual path. What is the point of making it through a jungle infested with zombies, when everyone else who was with you got eaten or left behind? While you may be floating in peace, you cannot ignore the poignant cries arising from your neighbour’s home. We must stand up for the lost, the abandoned, the hurt and grieving, the poor and diseased, like my guru stands up for those who seek his divine umbrella.

However, to give up on yourself midway through this path would be a shame, for untold, unlimited and heightened levels of consciousness lie ahead. A consciousness that is unafraid and tireless in the pursuit of others’ welfare. An ever-present crystal clarity of thought, a new mindset, a new perspective and a new mind in the old body will soon manifest. ‘This new perspective is everything,’ says Swamiji, ‘Buddha called it vipashya, insight.’