We must be respectful and grateful to the Lord for all that He does for us. For, only He knows the big picture, writes AJIT KUMAR BISHNOI
What is the cosmic set-up? There is God — the omnipresent, the omnipotent and omniscient. We learn from Bhagavad Gita that God is everything (7.19), i.e. He is the Master of the universe. Then, there are gods and goddesses — special souls, who oversee the divine arrangement under the superintendence of God. (9.10) They reward and punish us souls according to our karmas. We should not forget grahas like the Sun, the Moon, etc. They affect our lives.
We, souls, come next. We remain in this position in the hierarchy eternally, except some souls maybe promoted to the level of gods and goddesses for exceptional karmas. Wise persons realise their limitations. These facts indicate that we should seek help from God, who is forever prepared to help. Not only the higher authorities, we need generous help from the material nature also. The material nature is extremely important to us for existing well in our material bodies.
Let’s look at this from another angle. When we are born, we are helpless. We need parental care to survive. When we grow up and get married, onus falls upon us to have a good family life and grow a support group consisting of reliable people around us.
God has provided the material nature for exploitation, not in the way some are presently doing, i.e. ignoring the needs of the climate, polluting the atmosphere, water bodies, etc. We are supposed to cooperate with others to co-exist well. Instead, we choose to be narrowly selfish, i.e. one rule for me and another for the rest. The result of such behavior increases the degree of difficulty for us to live in this world.
Gods and goddesses, who oversee the workings of the material creation, deserve our respect for the task they have been entrusted. They occupy a very important position in the creation. Lord Krishna has spoken several times in The Gita about them and has counselled to please them. (3.11-12) Somewhat similar is the situation with the grahas. We can gain a lot by acquainting ourselves with their movements and positions. When they are favourable for us, we benefit. Contrarily, if the movements of the grahas are unfavourable, the ill effects on us individually can be counteracted somewhat by worshiping the unfavourable grahas. Similarly, wearing particular stones depending on the birth date of an individual is helpful in many cases.
Next we come to the system, i.e. how everything functions. There are guidelines for us souls, which have been clearly laid down in scriptures like The Gita. (16.24) We must be dutiful, follow dharma and use all our unique resources including goodness, mental ability and others for the common good. We must contribute to the common pool, because it is for our benefit. We should never try to become masters, because there is only one Master, i.e. God. We must be respectful and thankful to the Lord for all He does for us. We need God for showing us the direction we should be taking, because only He is aware of the big picture. Only He can pinpoint our exact role in the present life. And the fastest way to improve the quality of our lives is by serving the God and His system.
Therefore, let us accept God wholeheartedly and take His shelter as He has instructed. (18.62) Then, we will be really selfish, i.e. we will do ourselves unbelievable favour. Yes, we should do that.
Bishnoi is a spiritual writer and can be reached at spiritual@ajitbishnoi.com