In moments of distress, going into a panic mode seems almost unavoidable. Pessimism is a result of our material consciousness. Our spiritual insight can guide us towards optimism, writes AJIT kumar bishnoi

We are told day in and day out that our thinking should be positive. But, is being positive that easyIJ let me cite examples of situations in which staying positive can be very difficult. A family member has been admitted in the ICU of a hospital. Doctors are non-committal about the chances of survival of the patient, who is on 72-hours watch. How positive can you be, thenIJ

Your child is unusually late in coming back from school. There is no communication from the school. What kinds of thoughts would be crossing your mindIJ Will they be positive or can they be anything but negativeIJ A family member has gone on a trek on a famous mountain. Suddenly, communication breaks down and there is no news of him for several days. Can you stay positive during the waiting periodIJ

There has been a terror attack in the city to which your family member has gone on a business trip. Internet connection is off. The media is reporting several deaths with no more details. Again, can you think positivelyIJ lastly, a heavy snowstorm is on the way and there are strong possibilities of power lines getting snapped. Houses may get damaged. What are the chances of staying positiveIJ

We have just one mind and one intelligence. Either we can be positive or negative. We cannot force our minds to become positive just because we have been instructed to do so. WhyIJ Because our intelligence says that the probability of something seriously going wrong are very high. How can we fool ourselvesIJ We can, maybe, try to assure someone else but we will know in our hearts that things can turn out to be pretty bad. We know that negativity is bad for us but can we distance ourselves from reality as we perceive itIJ

I will admit that trying to be positive is a very healthy habit, and it should be inculcated. There is a way. Before the Kurukshetra War, lord Krishna asked Draupadi about the advisability of war as she was to lose all five of her sons. Draupadi was shocked by such a question. The lord then explained to her the big picture of souls having fixed lifespans, war or no war. It is only when we go to the spiritual level we can somehow or other make ourselves positive otherwise it is humanely impossible,

How does faith in God help in being positiveIJ let us go back to our examples. When we see the big picture, ie at the spiritual level, there is a strong possibility to become positive. In the first example, a person is seriously or critically sick. What are we supposed to thinkIJ Nothing except to pray for the patient’s recovery. We are completely forbidden to speculate about anyone’s life. If we can do this we will stay positive. In the next example, if a child is late in coming, we are supposed to get very active in trying to locate him. Again, thinking of the worst is not allowed. One must keep high hopes that the child will be soon located, which happens in most cases.

In the third example, one must assure oneself that break in communication does not mean the end of life of a dear one. Again, lifespan is not a matter of our speculation. Mostly, such persons get lost and get in an area where connectivity is not there. Ultimately, they come back. A terror attack does not wipe out a city; only those die whose time was up. And in the last example, one has to steel oneself to tolerate some suffering which is not unusual in this material world.

When one sees the big picture, i.e. at the spiritual level, one will realize that we worry or fear unnecessarily in about 99% of the cases. This is the fault of material consciousness. Therefore, if one wants to think positively, he must come to the spiritual platform by doing spiritual practices. Yes, it is not easy to get attracted to them but are they not infinitely better than worrying yourself sick, I mean mentally or even physically. Get connected to God somehow or other and become positive.

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