Sunday, June 21, 2015

It is Better to Light a Candle than Curse the Darkness

There are two types of people in the world. One are optimistic people & the other are pessimistic people. Optimistic people are always disposed to taking a favourable view of events or conditions in their life and always tend to expect the most favourable outcome in their life. However, pessimistic people are pertaining to or characterized by pessimism is their life or are having the tendency to expect only the bad outcomes; gloomy; joyless; unhopeful expectations in their lives.

Optimistic people are in fact more likely to be healthy in their body and mind. They are tend to feel more confident about life and more in control of her own destiny, and of course, will have an easier time with people. However, pessimistic people shall always be gloomy about their lives.

In the night when there is no light, you are not able to see anything in your room. But have you ever wondered whether there is any real existence or reality of darkness. Darkness is nothing but absence of light. You just lit a candle & darkness is gone. Darkness is just the absence of light & it has no real existence. Once a person saw in the dark that there is a snake in the room but on switching on the light, it turned out to be a rope only. So believing something to be something else is called ignorance. The person believing the rope to be a snake, was an ignorant person.

Same is with the philosophical truth of God & this world. As per the scriptures, God is the truth & has created this universe. He sit's in an invisible way in every nook & corner of the universe. This outer visible world is His creation, while He is there within this world in an invisible way. This whole world is changing all the time, while God is constant, & changeless. So to know God, we need to go beyond the thinking of this changing world.

Here below is a mantra / prayer from Upanishad which asks the God to take us from darkness of untruth which is enveloping our minds to reality of truth (God).

ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय ।
तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय ।
मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय ।
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

Om Asato Ma Sad-Gamya |
Tamaso Ma Jyotir-Gamya |
Mrtyor-Ma Amritam Gamya |
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti ||

Om Asato Ma Sad-Gamya - O Lord, Take me from untruth to Truth! Take me from Transitory Existence to the Reality (of Self, of God), The Truth is eternal and immortal.

Tamaso Ma Jyotir-Gamya - O Lord, Lead me from the Darkness (of Ignorance) to the Light (of Spiritual Knowledge), There lies the light of wisdom. Tamas is the darkness. Jyoti is the light. With light, darkness is dispelled. Darkness is death. The light is Truth, Bliss, Peace. The light is eternal.

Mrtyor-Ma Amritam Gamya - O Lord, Lead me from Death to the Immortality through purity of purpose.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti - O Lord, Let there be Peace, Peace, Peace.

But why it is so, that we cling to this visible world only & just forget the invisible God, who is the creator of this world. It is due to our ignorance only. In philosophy, it is said that we are clinging to Maya (visible world) & ignoring the God who is the real thing. So that's why, it is said that we should not cling to the unreal, untruth (Maya) & should turn our mind towards the God, who is the only reality & truth. Just like alighting a small lamp eats away all the darkness in the room, so just by illumining your intellect with the knowledge, shall lead you to the truth of God.

Now, why do we fall in to ignorance? It is all due to the Nature born "TamoGun" (mode of ignorance) which we put into practice in our lives. "Tamas" or "Tamo Gunn" is the mode of Nature which is responsible for ignorance, delusion, indolence, laziness and sleep in a person. We should not fall a pray to this "TamoGun".
Now here below is a verse from Bhagwat Gita which also tells us that in this whole creation, unreal has no existence, and the real (God) never ceases to be, So we should always turn our mind towards the God who is the only reality & truth.

"na-asato vidyate bhavo
nabhavo vidyate satah
ubhayor api drsto ’ntas
tv anayos tattva-darshibhih" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 16)

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna : The unreal has no existence, and the real never ceases to be; the reality of both has thus been perceived by the seekers of the truth.

So let’s seek truth by praying regularly to God. By such praying, God shall enlighten our mind & thinking by which real truth about this world & God shall reveal to us.
It is Better to Light a Candle than Curse the Darkness.

Jai Sri Krishna

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