Get empowered now not later
It is sad for me to see people around where I live falling sick in old age and getting restricted to their bedrooms, served by servants. All the pleasures of life have gone except watching serials endlessly. It is somehow passing time waiting for the inevitable death. Has God left us so helpless?
The answer is a big No with a capital N. What kind of system has God set for us? There are two kinds of acts we can do, which are spiritual and material. Most people, including the rich and powerful, limit themselves to material acts now and have done so in the past.
These acts have long fruition periods. Generally, what we have done in the past lives bring fruits in this life, and what we do in the present life brings fruits in future lives. Spiritual acts are different. They come to fruition almost immediately.
The following examples should convince you. Swami Vivekananda turned a devotee at a young age. He desired to attend the Parliament of Religions to be help in Chicago in 1893. Everything was arranged by God. Not only was he allowed to speak there, but when he spoke, he thrilled the delegates to such an extent that they could not stop cheering. Swamiji had been empowered by God to speak.
Goswami Tulsidas was an orphan. What did he do, which changed everything? He became a devotee. He was so overcome with emotion when he was writing the epic Ramcharitmanas that he thanked his worshipable Lord Ramachandra from his heart for empowering him to write such a spiritual text. If his love was overflowing, Meerabai’s love knew no bounds. She was given a choice between stopping worshiping her Giridhar Gopal and getting punished by drinking poison. We all know what she chose. And we also know what her Giridhar Gopal did? He made the poison harmless.
I can go on with these famous examples, but I have plenty of personal experiences as well to convince me about God’s unlimited ‘kripa’ (mercy) on His devotees. I am an engineer by education. I am a businessman by profession. So what has my Lord empowered me to do? To write spiritual texts. Is it believable? To my credit, I had desired writing and I took shelter of God.
What are we waiting for? God is waiting not for one but all of us. He has so much to give. Isn’t God the owner of everything we see or don’t even see? Nothing is lost. What God has asked us to do in a spiritual text like the Bhagavad-Gita is entirely practical. Why lament about the present and fear the worst? Aren’t we parts of God (15.7) connected eternally with Him? We may ignore Him, but His door is always open for us. Walk in and begin experiencing what God has promised: “I will provide what you need, and protect what you have.” (9.22) This includes health in old age. Ask me?
The writer is a spiritual teacher; Views presented are personal.
