In all of life’s situations, we have a choice of action. And action can be of various types—accepting, escaping, fighting, denying, cooperating, compromising, giving in, giving up, letting go, surrender, or total resistance. All actions are valid, and we need to choose our actions based on the situation. But if we were to choose any action without first accepting the situation or accepting the present moment, the NOW or the “what is”, then most of the actions that we would take would push us on a difficult and tortuous path. We might eventually accomplish much with our actions, but the costs are likely to be heavy. However, if we were to start with acceptance, and then take the necessary action, we will soon realize that the path unfolds with less resistance, and less difficulty. This is not a law or rule, but something which can be put to test daily, and something we can see for ourselves.
Everyone comes to earth with a destiny or a life path. Everyone’s life is guided by a divine blueprint, to which we are not privy. The highway of our life is riddled with choices, which take us away from our blueprint, but the purpose of those challenges and choices, is not to make us suffer, but is rather to strengthen our faith and trust, and to bring us back to the highway, a little wiser, a little more mature, a little more evolved and with a little more love and compassion.
Whatever problem we might face in our lives, whether we are a child, an adult or a senior citizen, the first and foremost thing we do as a reflex or knee jerk reaction, is to offer resistance. Acceptance is rarely our first tool to a problem. If we were to fail in an examination, or lose our job, or have a fallout in a relationship, or lose a loved one, what builds up instantly is resistance. Why did this happen to me? What did I do wrong? How could I have prevented this? Why me? Why now? All of us have asked these questions and resisted many of our challenges thus. It’s a rare individual who says “fine, life has given me this unpleasant situation. I accept, what is traditionally called ” prasad buddhi” or considering everything we get, as God’s prasad or gift. It is God’s will, and I will abide by it”. This reaction does come, but invariably it comes when we have run out of options and choices, not as a first reaction.
Someone falls seriously sick, someone’s child doesn’t make it to the university of his choice, someone’s child becomes a drug addict, someone has serious issues with their partner or parent, someone is struggling to make both ends meet——these are scenarios which we see ourselves and others encounter, almost on a daily basis. And yet, when they do occur, we get upset, hurt, angry, frustrated, depressed, sad, jealous etc. and we react with compliance or with rebellion. Or we go into denial or escape. Acceptance is rarely our first choice. But all these reactions we offer come from a place of bad vibration and is out of alignment with our spirit or soul. If we could come to acceptance first, it means that we accept God’s will or the will of destiny, and when we do that, our body-mind-spirit is in alignment and in balance with the universal laws and spirit. Life will then show us options that never existed before, and our life path will become smoother.
How do we know whether we are resisting or accepting God’s will? When we are in full acceptance of God’s will, when we in alignment with the will of destiny, it is like riding in a powerful car on the expressway. The journey is smooth and pleasant. When we resist, it is as if the car is breaking down or struggling, or as if we have taken a turn off the expressway, and gone into smaller and poorer roads, where we don’t have a clue where the road leads us, whom we will meet on the road, and whether we will have enough fuel to make it home. Resisting the Universe will always bring about suffering, discomfort, uneasiness, loss of money, loss of peace, loss of joy and unpleasantness,
First and foremost, we need to completely accept our situation, whatever that is. We have no clue why we have landed in this situation, it may be our mistake, or it might be karma, or our soul lessons, or God’s will or lessons for us to learn—-we really don’t know why something happens. But the fact that something unwanted or unpleasant has happened means that there is some strong cause or reason to it.
-P V Vaidyanathan
