What is the usual reaction when things go wrong? One blames luck. This is gross ignorance. Don’t we know what luck, destiny or fate is? This is the accumulated result of deeds done by us in the past, both good and bad. These come to fruition at their appointed times. So, when things go wrong, one must blame the self. Yes, it is difficult to connect a bad happening to a particular act of ours, but there is one thing that we can be sure of — the blame lies with us and no one else. Divine authorities who oversee this system do not make mistakes; they do not ever punish someone for someone else’s fault.

If we are really to accept the punishment and the system under which it is meted out, we have made progress. Now we are ready to ascertain the cause behind and what can be done about it. As stated earlier, it may be difficult to pinpoint the cause but there is one thing that we can be certain of — we broke some rule of the material nature. For example, there is a setback in our health. Then, we in all likelihood have violated the instructions of the Gita, in which it has been stated, “Eating, recreation, activities and sleep should all be appropriate.”

Once we own the responsibility for whatever has gone wrong, we are ready for the next step. The next step is to ask ourselves, “Why did we not follow the guidelines for good health?” Either we were not aware of them or we intentionally flouted them. If there is lack of awareness, it is time to make ourselves aware of them. If we have been intentionally disregarding the rules for good health, then, we need to think hard to find its root cause — “What is wrong with us such that we have become our own enemies?” Such introspection will bring us to the realisation of our faulty natures, which get ingrained in us over a long period.

Such faulty nature is the result of fate, which has two sides to it. The first part brings rewards and punishments due to accumulated karmas. Examples of rewards are success in business, landing a very lucrative job, a brilliant scientific discovery, etc. Examples of punishments are being stricken with a terminal disease, failure in business, losing one’s job, etc. These happen at their appointed times, and affect one’s life in a substantial way either in a positive or a negative way.

The other aspect of fate is faults in nature. Examples of such faults are: Being lusty in matters of eating, sensuous enjoyments, power, fame, etc; being greedy; and given to readily getting angry. Lord Krishna has characterised these as gates to hell. (16.21) The fault of being jealous is still worse; one goes to lower species. The egoistic feeling is very difficult to be rid of, and is a very common defect in nature. Then, there are habits of getting anxious or fearful helplessly. They take away peace of mind and are primary causes of painful depression common to modern man. Are we prepared to deal with them? Most don’t; one decides to live with them, because the effort to be rid of them appears to be too daunting. Few try but give up, and learn to accept them.

God had foreseen this. Therefore, He has given us solutions. As regards the fate due to bad deeds, God promises to help in successfully getting out of trouble, if one develops God consciousness. (18.58) Details of becoming God conscious are covered in great detail in the Gita. God has solution for faulty nature also. One needs to surrender to Him. (7.14) Again, one can get the necessary guidance in the Gita, and can gradually tame/ rectify one’s faulty nature.

The conclusion is: Don’t blame fate; do something about it. God has not made us helpless. There are always solutions but are we prepared to listen to God and follow His instructions?

Bishnoi is a spiritual writer and can be reached at spiritual@ajitbishnoi.com

Writer: Ajit Kumar Bishnoi

Source: The pioneer

What is the usual reaction when things go wrong? One blames luck. This is gross ignorance. Don’t we know what luck, destiny or fate is? This is the accumulated result of deeds done by us in the past, both good and bad. These come to fruition at their appointed times. So, when things go wrong, one must blame the self. Yes, it is difficult to connect a bad happening to a particular act of ours, but there is one thing that we can be sure of — the blame lies with us and no one else. Divine authorities who oversee this system do not make mistakes; they do not ever punish someone for someone else’s fault.

If we are really to accept the punishment and the system under which it is meted out, we have made progress. Now we are ready to ascertain the cause behind and what can be done about it. As stated earlier, it may be difficult to pinpoint the cause but there is one thing that we can be certain of — we broke some rule of the material nature. For example, there is a setback in our health. Then, we in all likelihood have violated the instructions of the Gita, in which it has been stated, “Eating, recreation, activities and sleep should all be appropriate.”

Once we own the responsibility for whatever has gone wrong, we are ready for the next step. The next step is to ask ourselves, “Why did we not follow the guidelines for good health?” Either we were not aware of them or we intentionally flouted them. If there is lack of awareness, it is time to make ourselves aware of them. If we have been intentionally disregarding the rules for good health, then, we need to think hard to find its root cause — “What is wrong with us such that we have become our own enemies?” Such introspection will bring us to the realisation of our faulty natures, which get ingrained in us over a long period.

Such faulty nature is the result of fate, which has two sides to it. The first part brings rewards and punishments due to accumulated karmas. Examples of rewards are success in business, landing a very lucrative job, a brilliant scientific discovery, etc. Examples of punishments are being stricken with a terminal disease, failure in business, losing one’s job, etc. These happen at their appointed times, and affect one’s life in a substantial way either in a positive or a negative way.

The other aspect of fate is faults in nature. Examples of such faults are: Being lusty in matters of eating, sensuous enjoyments, power, fame, etc; being greedy; and given to readily getting angry. Lord Krishna has characterised these as gates to hell. (16.21) The fault of being jealous is still worse; one goes to lower species. The egoistic feeling is very difficult to be rid of, and is a very common defect in nature. Then, there are habits of getting anxious or fearful helplessly. They take away peace of mind and are primary causes of painful depression common to modern man. Are we prepared to deal with them? Most don’t; one decides to live with them, because the effort to be rid of them appears to be too daunting. Few try but give up, and learn to accept them.

God had foreseen this. Therefore, He has given us solutions. As regards the fate due to bad deeds, God promises to help in successfully getting out of trouble, if one develops God consciousness. (18.58) Details of becoming God conscious are covered in great detail in the Gita. God has solution for faulty nature also. One needs to surrender to Him. (7.14) Again, one can get the necessary guidance in the Gita, and can gradually tame/ rectify one’s faulty nature.

The conclusion is: Don’t blame fate; do something about it. God has not made us helpless. There are always solutions but are we prepared to listen to God and follow His instructions?

Bishnoi is a spiritual writer and can be reached at spiritual@ajitbishnoi.com

Writer: Ajit Kumar Bishnoi

Source: The pioneer