Luck, Life and New Year

Luck, Life and New Year

We all wait eagerly for New Year to come and to fill our life with good fortune of health, happiness and prosperity. Generally every year we get a gift in a mixed packet, which contains, joy and sorrow, pain and gain, love and enmity etc. But sometimes, unexpected luck appears in life so suddenly that, it makes a story for all of us. And the lucky one becomes zero to hero overnight. 

Young and handsome Ashok Kumar was working as a lab technician in Bombay movies, completely unnoticed. One day when suddenly the leading lady Devika Rani disappeared with some actor, the director Himanshu Rai was put into great trouble. He hesitantly approached Ashok Kumar to play the lead role. That first film of Ashok Kumar, “Jeevan Naiya, 1936”, became such a hit, that Ashok Kumar became zero to hero overnight. 

This sudden appearance and disappearance of luck factor makes life interesting and unpredictable. How and when luck favors, and puts one up and other down in the chess board of life, we do not know. 

Referring about this luck factor, we get a very revealing verse, in Bhagwad Gita :- which says, in order to achieve the goal of all actions we need five causes. “The seat of activity (body), the doer (jivatman), various sense organs, functions of the organs of action, and the presiding deity, the fifth.”.

We may try to do our best in every possible way, but finally the success or failure depends on the divine helping hand, which we call luck, the unseen force. 

According to Upanishad, whatever happens in this world has a solid cause and effect theory behind it. Nothing happens by chance. 

The theory of destiny or luck explained in Bhagavad Gita and Upanishad is very logical, interesting, and based on inner revelations of profound wisdom of ancient sages. 

Our general belief is that, with hard work and with greater skills we can bring success and luck in life. To some extent this theory has some validity, but it does not work always. 

The unknown factor called destiny, or luck is explained in Indian philosophy, as a fruit of our past actions. Our past karma waits for its maturity, and influences our endeavors in present life, at a particular time, in a particular moment to make action a success or failure. Deposits of our past karma, lie deep within, and suddenly come into fruitation, in present life, in a particular time. We call it karma phalam, fruits of action. Karmic energy never gets lost. Unknowingly and slowly it gets matured, and when it appears in life we call it luck. Luck is nothing, but the reappearance of our past karmic account, which we have to pay back and settle, in this life. 

As a seed remains under the earth, hidden and unseen for some time, but carries great potentiality in it. In right time, it slowly appears on the earth, matures gradually, and when times comes, it bears fruits. Those fruits may be sweet and nourishing or bitter and poisonous. It all depends on the inner nature and quality of that seed. What we sow, we reap. The nature’s law is, what we give to life, life gives it back to us in ten fold. So it is always a wise policy, to nurture positive and constructive thoughts, speak only truth and kind words, and do service for well being of all. With that solid foundation of good karma, both our present and future will be secured, happy and meaningful. Opposite situations, like pain and gain, joy and sorrow etc appear in life with a purpose. They come to make us aware about the impermanence of life, and inspire us to act wisely. Then our action can be the path of our liberation. 

Albert Einstein said, “In the middle of every difficulty lies an opportunity”. Only when winds and waves flow high, we get an opportunity, to make ourselves good navigators, who can stay calm, focused and centered, and try to find out a right solution. 

Some struggle is always necessary for our growth and progress. In life when we pay back for our karmic debt, the best way to do it with dignified calmness, and with kindness in heart. Even for the wrong doer, we must be forgiving. Being reactive with anger and aggressiveness, things worsens. By holding back our anger, we feel suffocated. The only way to make ourselves free from all bondages, is to forgive, forget and go ahead. 

We are always being blessed by our creator. To have clean air, water and sun shine, to have disease free body, loving family and friends, to have a shelter and sufficient food to nourish our body; are they not great luck in life? Is it not wise to be happily contented and grateful for what we have, rather being stressed out and run for what we do not have? The lucky star is very much in our hand’s reach. 

We get confused to see, the fluctuation of appearance and disappearance of luck in life.  One can neither be always lucky or unlucky in life. This mixed fortune, can only be explained and linked to our past karmic theory. Only when we connect our present situation to our past karma, we get some convincing answer. Soul is immortal. So when body perishes, the soul carries its karmic result from one life to another. 

But man can be the master of his own life, and can be the creator of his own destiny. By being positive, creative and wise we can change our life and can make it shine like a lucky star again at this moment with our will power. Everything is possible. It all depends on our positive outlook, inner wisdom and strong will power. To be lucky or unlucky, ultimately it depends on our choice. We are the architect of our life and destiny.  

Inspiring Glimpses in life

Inspiring Glimpses in life

Explaining the reason of feeling peaceful energy in holy places, Paramhansa Yogananda said, “There is great value in visiting places, where saints lived. Such places are forever permeated with the vibration left there by the divine souls, who walked those grounds; there vibration will remain, until this earth is dissolved.”

The truth of his saying can be experienced, only when one visits holy places, with unbiased, open and receptive heart. But when and how it happens, is difficult to explain. But the truth is, vibrations of such places can create such powerful impact in mind, which can change perception in seconds.

I had such experience, when I visited the ancient holy city of Benaras (Kashi). With a strong faith to be liberated, people travel from distant parts of the country, just to die in Kashi dham.

After offering puja at Vishwanath temple I decided to attend Ganga arati at Dashaswamedh ghat, in the evening. Every evening that glittering show with lights and chants attracts thousands of people from all over the world.

I was lucky to view that spectacular show, though it was very tough to push through the tremendous crowd. 

After that, we decided to see the beauty of all ghats, city lights, and silently flowing Ganga river in the darkness of night. We got into a boat, which was already full with other passengers.

After viewing the gradual fading lights of many ghats at the river bank, when finally we reached at the last Harish Chandra ghat, it was totally dark outside. There, a complete opposite view drew my attention. I could see, in the total darkness in that silent place, only few flickering flames were coming out from almost a finished burning pyre. Not a single soul was there to witness those last flickers, except a thirsty dog, who was standing nearby, and was licking water from the river bank.

The whole environment threw a magic spell on my mind. In seconds, I was totally drowned into my inner silence. It was so deep, no noise could penetrate it. Sitting with everybody, I was alone in my deep and peaceful silence, totally undisturbed. Later, on my return journey, that inner stability helped me to pass through the same terrible crowd with a smiling face and undisturbed mind. I realized that, it is not the outside situations, but what really matters is our inner attitude and stability, and when that gets reflected outside, it makes outside pleasant or unpleasant to us.

This time while visiting my son in California, I visited two beautiful temples in Encinitus, and Lakeshrine in L.A. both these temples and hermitages were founded by Paramhansa Yogananda to disseminate the universal teachings of Kriya yoga, sacred spiritual science originating millennium ago in India.

Both these places have beautiful meditation gardens, which attract thousands of people from all over the world. In Encinitus the spectacular view of unlimited horizon, where the perfect blending of the Pacific Ocean with the blue sky has taken place, makes one stand still and speech less. Heart fills with reverence and gratitude’s to have an opportunity to view such marvelous painting of God in the vast canvas of nature.

Atop the bluff, Swami Yogananda used to sit and meditate for hours together. When local surfer saw a Sadhu, with a long flowing hair and orange robe meditating there for day and night, they named that point as Swami Point. In this hermitage, he spent many years, in divine commune and expressed his direct experience with God through his writings.

Lakeshrine temple in L.A has its different charm. The shining lake in the middle, with picture perfect swans in it, the whole place looked like a hidden paradise to find peace and clarity. We were charmed to see the beautiful garden landscaped with trees and flowers around the world. Benches dotting the ground, statues of deities from different religions, welcomed visitors of all religion to come, sit, relax, meditate and enjoy moments of silence.

We stopped at the Dutch wind mill chapel, where services were formerly held. We saw the house boat, where master lived and meditated for hours.

As we entered and sat in the small meditation hall, I prayed to feel the presence of master's blessings. Without much effort, my mind calmed down, all diverse thoughts disappeared.  With one pointed concentration, I could feel lightness in my body. As if I was slightly lifted up from the ground and was very slowly being cradled with motherly affection. It was also an unusual experience, of being and not being together. In Banaras my consciousness was withdrawn inside, in inner silence; and here my consciousness was lifted up from the ground reality.  I realized, whether I withdraw myself in inner silence; or fly high in the freedom of bliss, the message is the same.

The message was, to witness and participate with life, not from the worldly plane. Miseries are felt, only when we get sucked in by worldliness. Inner stability is more powerful than situations. Only by lifting our consciousness up in our blissful nature, or diving deep in silence, we realize, life is a passing shadow. Nothing to be disturbed about it, it is like flickering flames, waiting to be blown off by time. I know, those inspiring moments like pole star will light up and guide my understanding through the dark patches of life, and I will successfully share my courage, clarity and confidence with all.