HOW TO OVERCOME TENSIONS AND HAVE PEACE OF MIND – Part 1
There was a woman of ninety. She never felt upset over anything. She was never tensed, always serene and tranquil as the waters of a lake on a windless day, - always at peace with God, with those around her and with herself.
Someone asked her how she could be serene in all conditions and circumstances of life. She answered: “I think it is because I become a little child every night.”
“What is meant by that?” she was asked.
She answered: “Every night, I go to my silence corner. I look at my Beloved, Krishna. I place all my worries and anxieties and problems of the day, one by one, at his Lotus feet. If I am feeling guilty about something I have done, - I might have inadvertently hurt or caused grief to someone, - I ask for his forgiveness and then accept it. If I am worried about anything, I hand over the problems to him and let go of it. If I feel lonely or unwanted, I tell Him so and He enfolds me in His loving arms. Always, after letting go, a deep peace settles over me and tensions disappear.
It has been said that the natural role of twentieth century man is tension. Wherever I go, I find people who are tensed and nervous. Tension is more common in its incidence than the common cold: and certainly it is more harmful and injurious. Thousands of people the world over suffer from hypertension. Today, it seems true that we live in an age that is afflicted with tension.
How to overcome tension? An answer is given us by Sri Krishna in the Gita. Speaking unto his dear, devoted disciple, Arjuna, the Master says: “O Arjuna! Renouncing all rites and writ duties, come to Me for single refuge, and I shall liberate you from bondage to suffering sin! I shall give you the rest which your restless heart seeks.
In similar strain did Jesus speak to his people in Jerusalem: “Come unto Me, ye that are weary and heavy-laden, and I shall give you rest!”
Are not our hearts troubled and restless? O, for someone who will bring rest to our restless hearts! Are not our souls burdened? O, for someone who will lift up the burdens from our hearts and make them feel light and fresh, - light as the dropping dew, and fresh as the mountain-breeze!
Our hearts are burdened. As I have met you, my friends, from time to time, and gazed into the depths of your eyes, and gazed deeper into your heart, I have felt that your hearts are burdened. Today, I wish to say this to you: Why have you clung to your burdens all these years? Drop them! All you have to do is to turn the beauteous Face of Him whose word comes floating across the centuries: “I shall liberate you from all bondage to suffering and sin! I shall lift up all your burdens! I shall give you the rest which your restless hearts seek!”
If you analyze the situation, you will find that ultimately all the burden is borne by the Lord, not merely the burden of our individual lives or the nations, not merely the burden of the earth or the solar system, but the burden of all the universes, the galaxies and nebulae, huge star systems in the making, the entire burden is ultimately borne by the Lord. How foolish of us, then, to be carrying our little burdens on our weak shoulders!
There is an amusing little story told us concerning a villager, who travelled by the railway train for the first time. When he purchased his ticket, he was told that he would be allowed to carry only 20 kilos of luggage. He had himself with 30 kilos. What did he do? Part of the luggage, which weighed 20 kilos, he kept on the floor of the compartment, and the balance he carried on his head. There he sat on the bench in the railway compartment, bearing 10 kilos on his head. After sometime, the T.T.E. (the travelling ticket examiner) entered the compartment and was surprised to find the villager carrying load on his head. Asked the reason, the villager said: “Sir! I am permitted to carry only 20 kilos: that much luggage I have kept on the floor, the remaining 10 kilos I am carrying on my head!” The T.T.E was amused. He said to the villager: “Don’t you know that you and your entire luggage are being pulled by the railway engine? Whether you keep the luggage on the floor or carry it on your head, the burden is ultimately borne by the engine. You will have to pay for the excess 10 kilos of luggage!”
I am afraid many of us, in daily life, behave like the villager. We keep on carrying our little burdens on our shoulders, when we know that the entire burdens on our shoulders, when we know that the entire burden of the entire universe is being borne by the Lord. So let me say this to you, today: “Cast all your cares upon the Lord! Throw all your burdens at His Lotus Feet. And feel for once the joy of living!”
We pray everyday: “Thou art my father, Thou my mother art: I am thy child!” Have you ever seen a child carrying the burden of anxiety or worry? The child is care-free. He is free from all anxiety. We pray to God that we are His children. We live as anything but children. We do not claim our heritage as children of God.
There was a woman of ninety. She never felt upset over anything. She was never tensed, always serene and tranquil as the waters of a lake on a windless day, - always at peace with God, with those around her and with herself.
Someone asked her how she could be serene in all conditions and circumstances of life. She answered: “I think it is because I become a little child every night.”
“What is meant by that?” she was asked.
She answered: “Every night, I go to my silence corner. I look at my Beloved, Krishna. I place all my worries and anxieties and problems of the day, one by one, at his Lotus feet. If I am feeling guilty about something I have done, - I might have inadvertently hurt or caused grief to someone, - I ask for his forgiveness and then accept it. If I am worried about anything, I hand over the problems to him and let go of it. If I feel lonely or unwanted, I tell Him so and He enfolds me in His loving arms. Always, after letting go, a deep peace settles over me and tensions disappear.
It has been said that the natural role of twentieth century man is tension. Wherever I go, I find people who are tensed and nervous. Tension is more common in its incidence than the common cold: and certainly it is more harmful and injurious. Thousands of people the world over suffer from hypertension. Today, it seems true that we live in an age that is afflicted with tension.
How to overcome tension? An answer is given us by Sri Krishna in the Gita. Speaking unto his dear, devoted disciple, Arjuna, the Master says: “O Arjuna! Renouncing all rites and writ duties, come to Me for single refuge, and I shall liberate you from bondage to suffering sin! I shall give you the rest which your restless heart seeks.
In similar strain did Jesus speak to his people in Jerusalem: “Come unto Me, ye that are weary and heavy-laden, and I shall give you rest!”
Are not our hearts troubled and restless? O, for someone who will bring rest to our restless hearts! Are not our souls burdened? O, for someone who will lift up the burdens from our hearts and make them feel light and fresh, - light as the dropping dew, and fresh as the mountain-breeze!
Our hearts are burdened. As I have met you, my friends, from time to time, and gazed into the depths of your eyes, and gazed deeper into your heart, I have felt that your hearts are burdened. Today, I wish to say this to you: Why have you clung to your burdens all these years? Drop them! All you have to do is to turn the beauteous Face of Him whose word comes floating across the centuries: “I shall liberate you from all bondage to suffering and sin! I shall lift up all your burdens! I shall give you the rest which your restless hearts seek!”
If you analyze the situation, you will find that ultimately all the burden is borne by the Lord, not merely the burden of our individual lives or the nations, not merely the burden of the earth or the solar system, but the burden of all the universes, the galaxies and nebulae, huge star systems in the making, the entire burden is ultimately borne by the Lord. How foolish of us, then, to be carrying our little burdens on our weak shoulders!
There is an amusing little story told us concerning a villager, who travelled by the railway train for the first time. When he purchased his ticket, he was told that he would be allowed to carry only 20 kilos of luggage. He had himself with 30 kilos. What did he do? Part of the luggage, which weighed 20 kilos, he kept on the floor of the compartment, and the balance he carried on his head. There he sat on the bench in the railway compartment, bearing 10 kilos on his head. After sometime, the T.T.E. (the travelling ticket examiner) entered the compartment and was surprised to find the villager carrying load on his head. Asked the reason, the villager said: “Sir! I am permitted to carry only 20 kilos: that much luggage I have kept on the floor, the remaining 10 kilos I am carrying on my head!” The T.T.E was amused. He said to the villager: “Don’t you know that you and your entire luggage are being pulled by the railway engine? Whether you keep the luggage on the floor or carry it on your head, the burden is ultimately borne by the engine. You will have to pay for the excess 10 kilos of luggage!”
I am afraid many of us, in daily life, behave like the villager. We keep on carrying our little burdens on our shoulders, when we know that the entire burdens on our shoulders, when we know that the entire burden of the entire universe is being borne by the Lord. So let me say this to you, today: “Cast all your cares upon the Lord! Throw all your burdens at His Lotus Feet. And feel for once the joy of living!”
We pray everyday: “Thou art my father, Thou my mother art: I am thy child!” Have you ever seen a child carrying the burden of anxiety or worry? The child is care-free. He is free from all anxiety. We pray to God that we are His children. We live as anything but children. We do not claim our heritage as children of God.
(Author: Sri J P Vaswani)
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