God does everything for the best

God does everything for the best

There was once a Minister to a King who was in the habit of declaring whatever happened was for one's good. One day the King cut his finger while slicing a piece of sugar cane. Seeing the bleeding finger the Minister said as usual "God does everything for the best". The King flew into a rage and said "Here I am suffering with the pain of a bleeding finger and you say God does everything for the best. Enough of your philosophy. Is this the way of consoling me? How can this be for the best when the pain is intense and real? The King immediately committed the Minister to prison. Even then the Minister said calmly "Even this sentence is for my best."

A few days later, the King went alone for hunting in a forest. When the hunting expedition was over the King was resting under a tree. Just then the servants of a certain tribal chief of the forest seized the King, bound his hand and foot. The King questioned them: "Why do you bind me? What are you going to do with me?" The tribesmen replied: "We are going to sacrifice you at the altar of our goddess Kali. It is the custom to offer her a human sacrifice once a year. The time has arrived. We have been looking out for a human being. We are fortunate in having found you." The King remonstrated: "Let me go, I am the King of the realm, you cannot kill me for the sacrifice." The tribesmen laughed and said: "We are glad that this year's sacrifice would be unique and our goddess will be highly pleased because we are going to offer as sacrifice a great personage."

The King was carried and duly placed on a sacrificial altar. Things were ready for the death blow; the priest noticed the bandage on his left hand forefinger. They removed the bandage only to find that a portion of it was cut. The priest said: "This man is not acceptable as a sacrifice to our goddess. A man with a defect in his body is not fit for sacrifice. Set him free."

The King remembered the words of the Minister uttered when his finger was cut "God does everything for the best." He realised that the injury to his finger alone had saved him from death. He at once hurried home and went straight to the prison to set the Minister free. He said, "I seek your forgiveness for the rash and cruel treatment accorded to you." The Minister said: "Your Majesty; you have done no harm. There is nothing to forgive." The King once again questioned: "Why did you say that my sending you to prison is for your good?" The Minister replied: "If I had not been confined in prison, I would have accompanied you when you went for hunting. I would have been in your Company. When the tribesmen came to know that you were unfit for sacrifice, they would have chosen me and offered me as a sacrifice. So God does everything for the best."

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YOU HAVE COME TO THE WRONG ADDRESS

An inspiring story I came across...

A Rabbi was delivering lectures on the Torah, the sacred Hebrew scripture, to a few young Jewish students.

One day, in the course of their studies, they came across a line which said, "The truly evolved person is he, who continues to smile in the midst of the greatest of difficulties." The young students had a problem accepting this statement at its face value. "If we are truly in difficulty, how is it possible for us to smile under such conditions?" they asked the Rabbi. The Rabbi took off his spectacles and looked at his young pupils thoughtfully. "To be perfectly honest with you," he said, "I myself cannot answer that question. The truth is that I, too, cannot smile when I am in the midst of difficulties. At such moments I seem to forget how to smile." Silence prevailed in the class, as the teacher and the students pondered over the issue.

The Rabbi continued after a pause, "However, I believe there is someone who can give you the answer."

He proceeded to tell his students of an old man who lived in their city, not far from the synagogue




He had been an abandoned child- an orphan. When he grew up, he had lost both his legs in an accident. His life had been a series of struggles, a saga of pain and suffering.

"And yet," continued the Rabbi, "he always wears a lovely smile! He is a wonderful human being. You must go to him and ask him to answer your question."

The students were amazed to hear of this brave man. In a group, they went and knocked at his door. The door was opened by the man himself, moving briskly in a wheel chair. He welcomed the young students cordially and asked them the purpose of their visit...

"Sir, it's this text we are discussing in Class," said one of them hesitantly. "It's all about how one must smile amidst the greatest difficulties in life.

The Rabbi told us that you were the best person to talk to." "Tell us please, sir," added another. "How do you continue to smile amidst so much suffering and pain?" The old man was genuinely surprised. "I'm afraid you have come to the wrong address", he said. "I am 73 years old, and in all these years, I have never had to face any difficulty. The Lord has always been good to me, and protected me in His mercy. How can I teach you how to smile in the midst of difficulties?" This was a man who lived in close proximity with God!

Illustrations: Varun Vats, SSSU

- Heart2Heart Team

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You can write to us at : h2h@radiosai.org     

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Spiritual Questions...

These question and answers were emailed to me few days ago... I just wanted to share them with  you all.

Question1: Why are some people born more beautiful, or more intelligent, than others are? Why does not God give everyone equal beauty, abilities and talents?

Sri Sathya Sai Baba: It is not God's partiality or fault. It is the human  being who is responsible. His actions, thoughts and words are responsible for  all good and bad. It is the mind that creates the differences. Pleasure is an  interval between two pains. It is the way you look at things that  matters.
There is a vast ocean of talents 7and qualities.  All human beings have vessels to fill. Some people, through their actions, are  able to fill the vessels to the brim; some fill only half; others can fill only  a quarter, or less. They possess intelligence, beauty, talents, and etceteras,  according to how much they can fill their vessels.
You even judge beauty these days, as in Miss  India, Miss World. But, that is all physical beauty, which is transient. What is  important is the beauty of the atma (Self). 

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Question 2:How are good or bad actions carried into the next birth?

Sri Sathya Sai Baba: Swaasha (breath) carries the actions, for the  breath stops when a person dies. The body is still there after death and we call  it a corpse and burn it as useless. So, the body cannot carry anything with it,  just as a flower cannot carry its fragrance. It is a breeze that wafts the scent  of the flower and makes its fragrance reach you. Similarly, imagine a municipal  lorry, the breeze carries the bad odour to you again! In the same  manner, good and bad actions are carried by the breath and surround you in the  next birth like an invisible garland. The pattern of your life is then governed  by what the garland has good or bad scent.
That is why man must understand that everything  he does has a reaction, a reverberation and a reflection. It is he who writes  his own destiny by his actions. It is essential for man to live a good life with  good thoughts and good actions. Only through such a life can he realise the  divinity in him. The concept Aham Brahmasmi (I am Brahma = God) is  also incorrect, since it indicates duality. Aham (I) and Brahma (God) become separate. The statement ought to he Aham Aham (I am  I). 

 

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Question 3:Many people feel that Hindus worship countless gods. How did  this happen?

Sri Sathya Sai Baba:  India has a wonderful religious tradition. It has  something for everyone, to suit everyone's needs. Many people do not understand  this excellent idea and make derisory comments on our having too many gods. This  tradition has evolved to suit the needs of different people, just as we have  shirts of varying types and sizes to fit different people. With the ideal of One  God, there is only one shirt and, if it does not fit or if it is unsuitable,  people turn away from God. But, here, if someone likes Krishna, they can  worship Krishna; others can worship Rama, or Narayana, or Shiva, or even snakes and lions! What more do you need to propagate the  idea that God is in everything everywhere? That is why I often say don't worship  God as a picture, but worship the picture as God. This will slowly lead to the  realisation of God in you. That is where the Hindu spiritual path is  practical and good. 

 

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Question 4:Why does not God prevent cruelties in the world?

Sri Sathya Sai Baba: God is only a witness (saakshibhoota). He does not  act. Man acts according to the dictates of his intellect (buddhi) and  himself suffers the consequences of his actions (karma). There is neither  good nor bad for God. Take the knife as an example. A murderer uses a knife to  kill another man, a slaughterer uses a knife to slay animals, a surgeon uses a  knife to amputate, and a cook uses a knife to chop vegetables. If a magnet is  placed among all these knives, it will attract them all equally and not  according to the kind of tasks they perform. God is like this magnet. All knives  are the same to Him. However, the hands that wield the knives have to bear the  consequences of their actions, dependent on right and wrong. 
 

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Question 5:When we have troubles and are in difficulties and we pray to God, why  does He not take them away'? 

Sri Sathya Sai Baba: Troubles and difficulties are part and parcel of human  life. They are the results of your karmas. There is no point in praying  to God to wipe away all such troubles and difficulties. The right type of prayer  would be to ask God for courage and strength to bear all the difficulties,  problems and tragedy with equanimity. 

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Question 6: What is the difference between the politics of yesterday and those of  today? 

Sri Sathya Sai Baba: The present state of affairs can be described as the state  of jumps and bumps. Now, take the example of your body and limbs. Each limb is  important in forming the composite whole. All the limbs joined together make up  the body, which is the deha (body, person). Similarly, in the desha (country, nation), every aspect should be tended to, just as one takes care  of every part of the body. 

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Question7:The view that women should not take ups Brahma vidya (spiritual  knowledge), nor chants the Omkara. Is this correct? Also, in ancient  times, were spiritual sadhanas (endeavours) forbidden to women?

Sri Sathya Sai Baba: Brahma vidya and chitta shuddhi (spiritual  knowledge and purity of consciousness) do not depend on whether a person is a  man or a woman. All have an equal right to benefit from Brahma vidya provided only they are able to take it up with discipline and dedication. At  no time have there been any taboos against women. Lord Vishnu (the  Preserver) taught Bhu Devi (the Goddess Earth) the glory of the Bhagavad- Gita. Parameshwara (Shiva) taught Parvati the Brahma  tatva (divine essence) through the Guru Gita. Ishwara (Shiva) initiated Parvati into yoga shastra and mantra shastra (science of yoga and science of mantra). The Brihadaranyaka  Upanishad mentions Yajnavalkya teaching Maitreyi the Brahma  vidya. So, women in ancient times were not denied the pursuit of  spirituality.
The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad mentions Ciargi and Maitreyi hasking in the splendour of sannyasa (renunciation) and brahmacharya (celibacy, chastity). Madaalasa  Chudaala and others were able to receive Brahma jnana (divine wisdom)  while in the grahastha (householder, i.e. married) stage of life. Even  today, there are many that belong to this vast category. It is sheer absurdity  to deny women the right to earn Brahma jnana. But, in worldly matters, it  is necessary for them to maintain certain limitations in the interests of dharma (righteousness) and loka kalyana (the good of the  people/world). For the sake of safeguarding morality and for the social health  of the world, women have to accept some restrictions. This is not to say that  there is any fundamental inferiority in them.
Even pundits acquire their jnana through the reverential homage they pay to the feminine deity Saraswati. The divine patrons of learning, prosperity and wisdom are all feminine: Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati. This should show the reverence  paid to women.  

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God is Now Here...

 I came across this expression today -


“God is no where" can remain unchanged; there is no need to confront or contradict
that expression. The only thing necessary is to read the letter "w" in
"where", in conjunction with the previous word "no", so that it
becomes, "God is now here!" The negative suddenly becomes positive!
Similarly, by merely unifying your vision towards God, the distinctions
and differences you see in the world disappear and the many becomes
One. Great devotees from all the religions have realized this truth by
their unwavering faith won through the purification of the mind.
- Divine Discourse, Vidya Vahini.

It is so true - similarly, many issues we face in life can be turned positive by just changing our views on it.  Moreover, many individuals are busy trying to prove or not prove the existence of GOD.  But that is not the issue in the spirituality. 

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Where to find God

Today I came across this quote -

"You find God the moment you realize that you don't need to seek God" Source: The Power of Now : A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, Page: 122

We are always in search... searching the materialistic  things and searching for God as if he is separate from us.  We forget or do not believe that we are part of God.... Some of us do meditation... what is the purpose? what are we trying to achieve / accomplish? Through meditation we try to understand God, speak to God and understand ourselves? What do we understand about ourselves? - That God is within us - We are Him / Her .... Indians say "God is Hirudaya Vaasi" God lives in our hearts.  That is why many religions say - "See God in Other living beings" - God lives in every living being.

Therefore, we need not seek God... we need to understand ourselves, seek us... in order to understand or find God.

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Love is the way...

It is our nature to expect everyone to respect and love us.  As humans we believe we own everything and every body owes everything to us.  But, in all this, we forget that we must see "Love" in others in order for them to see " Love" in us.

The quote ...

“What you would desire others to do for you, you should do for others. You should respect others, as you want to be respected by them.”

Comes to my mind.  When we start to see "God" / "Love" in everyone and start respecting others, what we expect from others will automatically come to us.  Life is a two way street.. not One way.....

This is something came to my mind when I sat down quietly today.

Just wanted to share..

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10 Guidelines from God

This is something I recieved via email - very touching and beautiful...

Effective Immediately,
please be aware that there are changes YOU need to make in YOUR life. These changes need to be completed in order that I may fulfill My promises to you to grant you peace, joy and happiness in this life. I apologize for any inconvenience, but after all that I am doing, this seems very little to ask of you. Please, follow these 10 guidelines

1. QUIT WORRYING:
Life has dealt you a blow and all you do is sit and worry. Have you forgotten that I am here to take all your burdens and carry them for you? Or do you just enjoy fretting over every little thing that comes your way?

2. PUT IT ON THE LIST:
Something needs done or taken care of. Put it on the list. No, not YOUR list. Put it on MY to-do-list. Let ME be the one to take care of the problem. I can't help you until you turn it over to Me. And although My to-do-list is long, I am after all... God. I can take care of anything you put into My hands. In fact, if the truth were ever really known, I take care of a lot of things for you that you never even realize.

3. TRUST ME:
Once you've given your burdens to Me, quit trying to take them back. Trust in Me. Have the faith that I will take care of all your needs, your problems and your trials. Problems with the kids? Put them on My list. Problem with finances? Put it on My list. Problems with your emotional roller coaster? For My sake, put it on My list. I want to help you. All you have to do is ask.

4. LEAVE IT ALONE:
Don't wake up one morning and say, "Well, I'm feeling much stronger now, I think I can handle it from here." Why do you think you are feeling stronger now? It's simple. You gave Me your burdens and I'm taking care of them. I also renew your strength and cover you in my peace. Don't you know that if I give you these problems back, you will be right back where you started? Leave them with Me and forget about them. Just let Me do my job.

5. TALK TO ME:
I want you to forget a lot of things. Forget what was making you crazy. Forget the worry and the fretting because you know I'm in control. But there's one thing I pray you never forget. Please, don't forget to talk to Me - OFTEN! I love YOU! I want to hear your voice. I want you to include Me in on the things going on in your life. I want to hear you talk about your friends and family. Prayer is simply you having a conversation with Me. I want to be your dearest friend.

6. HAVE FAITH:
I see a lot of things from up here that you can't see from where you are. Have faith in Me that I know what I'm doing. Trust Me; you wouldn't want the view from My eyes. I will continue to care for you, watch over you, and meet your needs. You only have to trust Me. Although I have a much bigger task than you, it seems as if you have so much trouble just doing your simple part. How hard can trust be?

7. SHARE:

You were taught to share when you were only two years old. When did you forget? That rule still applies. Share with those who are less fortunate than you. Share your joy with those who need encouragement. Share your laughter with those who haven't heard any in such a long time.. Share your tears with those who have forgotten how to cry.. Share your faith with those who have none.

8. BE PATIENT:
I managed to fix it so in just one lifetime you could have so many diverse experiences. You grow from a child to an adult, have children, change jobs many times, learn many trades, travel to so many places, meet thousands of people, and experience so much. How can you be so impatient then when it takes Me a little longer than you expect to handle something on My to-do-list? Trust in My timing, for My timing is perfect. Just because I created the entire universe in only six days, everyone thinks I should always rush, rush, rush.

9. BE KIND:
Be kind to others, for I love them just as much as I love you. They may not dress like you, or talk like you, or live the same way you do, but I still love you all. Please try to get along, for My sake. I created each of you different in some way. It would be too boring if you were all identical. Please, know I love each of your differences.

10. LOVE YOURSELF:
As much as I love you, how can you not love yourself? You were created by me for one reason only -- to be loved, and to love in return. I am a God of Love. Love Me. Love your neighbors. But also love yourself. It makes My heart ache when I see you so angry with yourself when things go wrong. You are very precious to me. Don't ever forget.......

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Faith Vs Trust

I had an uplifting day today.  Went to hear a talk by Mr. Dato Jegatheesan who had come from Malaysia.  He is one of the leaders of Sai Organization, and a dynamic speaker.  What interested me most is that he was also once like me questioned everything and anything about life and God.  I also liked his approach on life and how he explained everything with reasons.


Dato’ J. Jegathesan was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1944. Dato’ is a title conferred by the Malaysian Monarchy to honor prominent citizens, similar to the title Sir, conferred by the British Monarchy.Jegathesan was also an agnostic because no one could answer the question, “where is God?”. He used his charm, devastating humour and silver tongue to slash the religious beliefs of his family and friends. June 1976 was a turning point in his life. He had a profound spiritual experience and he began to read about religion - Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Taoism, the major religions of Malaysia. Guided and motivated by Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba and HIS urgings that a HINDU MUST BECOME A BETTER HINDU, A CHRISTIAN A BETTER CHRISTIAN, etc. HIS call for Service to Humanity and Unity of Faiths, his living room became an Inter Faith shrine.

In his talk today, he mentioned that he wanted to start a project for youths - called HOPE - meaning
Honour Ones Parents Everyday.  He went on to talk about how the today's youth get merged in media and materialistic life and forget the beings who brought them to this world. I also believe that in order to understand on self spiritually, it is important to respect elders and parents.  When we start doing this automatically we become humbled and undertake humility.

He also spoke about Faith & Trust / Surrender...  Many of us call ourselves as we believe in God and God will save us from whatever problems we are facing.  But, when put our faith or trust in God to a test, how many of us will pass this? He narrated this interesting story to illustrate his point.

A man who is an ardent devotee of God and who is always looked up by the spiritual and religious organization once went hiking and accidentally slipped and fell.  Luckily he held on to a branch at 1000 ft high.  With no hope he starts to pray to God - " Oh God, please help me, as a honest and truthful devotee of you, I pray to you.".. Well, God heard his prayers and replied, " My dear son, let go of the branch and as you fall down I will hold you in my arms and save you"... ..
So what do you think the devotee did? .... he looked down and then looked up and asked God " Are you kidding me? , stop joking, where the rope? throw it!"....

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Life , God and Universe...

I am sure that I am not the only one questioning the life and everything that we see... " What is life, what is universe? what is the begining and ending of all this? ... What is God? What is Super Natural? Where did we begin? How did we begin? etc.. etc...

Every religion has one thing in common - that is there is God, he / she is omnipresent and nothing but love.  From what I understand - according to Hinduism, we are all part of God.  In that what is meant by self is the " inner self" or known as " spirit, Athman".... The "Athman" is part of God and it has no birth or death.  Also,  when we meditate - according to many school of thoughts meditation is concentration - concentrating on something / some object.  However, I was listening to a lecture on Bhagavat Gita - in that the speaker explained meditation from a different point of view which was interesting.  He said -

When we pray - we talk and God Listens... But
When we Meditate - God talks and We Listen...

Well, how does all this tie into the questions I was asking before?  -
What is life?
Well in Hinduism, there is not just one purpose of human life, but four:

Dharma - fulfilling one's purpose
Artha - prosperity
Kama - desire, sexuality, enjoyment
Moksha - enlightenment

I'll try and learn first and then explain these in another post : )

what is universe? what is the begining and ending of all this?, Where did we begin?, How did we begin?
Hindu religion is the only one of the world’s great faiths dedicated to the idea that the cosmos itself undergoes an immense, indeed an infinite number of deaths and rebirths. This is better explained in this post (Source)

What is God?

As I mentioned before, all religions beleive that there is God and form and method of worship differs religion to religion. In general Hinduism considers God not just as the Supreme All-powerful Gigantic One. For Hindus God, as is, is beyond any attributes of form, color, shapes ... That is, God does not have any specific form or name. In this state God is referred to as nirguNa brahman (attributeless god). However God takes forms as perceived by humans and this perceived form is called saguNa brahman (god with (good) attributes). These forms could range from calm to fierce to yogic (1). Each form has its significance. For example when one is depressed and sees the form of God Strong and Powerful, the seeker feels the moral boost that God would definitely be the support for the right thing. ( source )

Well in my point of view - If God is part of Athman... then He / She is within, within me... So in order to understand God - I need to Understand myself... Correct?

Well, that is what I am trying to understand with this blog - As I learn and understand I'll share my experience with you all ( whoever is reading ) this blog... It is a form of Discipline for my self :)

Well... till my next post - live , love and enjoy life....

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