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philosoraptor
22 April 2013, 06:47 PM
So many times in life, I have enjoyed and suffered the fruits of my karma. I am well-educated, live comfortably, am well-respected by my peers, and am increasingly happy with the sadhana I have been working on. That being said, I have observed that when I am put into times of adversity, invariably for situations I cannot control, I am constantly plagued by thoughts of worry regarding providing for family and children. These thoughts become very intrusive, even during my morning puja, japa, and sandhya vandanam. I am reminded of a verse spoken by Queen Kunti in the Bhagavatam in which she prays for more and more troubles to occur, because by experiencing them, she will think more of Sri Krishna. I am humbled to admit that while I spend more time *trying* to think of Sri Krishna during material difficulties, the quality of my meditation is worse, especially during acutely stressful situations. There is no logic worrying about situations one cannot control. It would seem that in such situations, one should let things play out as they are going to be and focus on meditating on The Lord. Yet I continue to feel that my mind is like the proverbial lamp in a windy place, and I can't help but think that material distress is invariably more of an obstacle to my spiritual sadhana.

I am curious to know if other devotees have come to similar conclusions, and what strategies, if any, they employ to restore the quality of their sadhana.

ShivaFan
22 April 2013, 07:28 PM
Namaste

I am a very simple person, I do not really have stress per say as I turn to the simplest of things, such as an orange fruit. The orange can become a very simple sadhana or moment of complete "grounding in the immediate reality" where the present is here and now and totally happy, because the Divine presence is perceived in every atom of the universe and certainly shines like light in that orange when offered and enjoyed.

I offer the orange to Siva, then when enjoying the orange I think of Hanuman leaping at the Sun as if it were a fruit.

This may sound silly to some. But let me give the example of a Vaishnava I once knew who was a devotee of Krishna. He came to a state of Bhakti very advanced in nature by spending one hour in sadhana with an orange in his hand.

If the physical body is under stress, I remember that it is the outcome of the five elements ether, air, fire, water and the earth. So I go to a place where all is found before the eye, a beach or a lake. Ether is there, air, the sky above, fire in Surya, water, and I am sitting on the Earth. In such a place the body is happy because with sadhana the stress can gone like majik into the greater body of all this around you with contemplation and a little meditation.

Om Namah Sivaya

jignyAsu
23 April 2013, 08:31 AM
Very practical question and I think most of us are in the same boat. For one I think that logically distress cannot be an obstacle as otherwise dependency on God will then be extended to dependency on wealth also. As for me, in distress I am not bothered with a broken sadhana as much as with me being disturbed by distress..this exposed my weakness. I know that it is easier said than done but to be indifferent to the material ups and downs is the ideal... otherwise its temporary at best.

The basic requirement as per Gita is to be Samam (same) to material duality. I think this cannot mean that we should laugh during times of distress as it is meant for all aspirants. This means that the duality should not interfere with our performance of spiritual duty. No matter what the material situation is, our daily schedule starting from worshipping Narayana till the end of the day should not change.

Even this may be manageable. Some of my relatives, mostly old, have been having some rough times recently. Some are even bedridden with ailments so deep that going to the temple or even worshipping at home is not possible. Sorry to have gotten a bit unpleasant here but I do think that the sadhana/mindset we choose should be continued at all times in all situations.

I am working on constantly remembering that I am a servant of Hari which may be possible in all these situations. Even relying on chanting or meditating seem to be dependant on good health etc and so for me that's temporary though very useful. More specifically I am an unworthy servant ("poruL illAda adiyEn") wherein I am warning Hari that I am going to the worst servant He has ever seen (and I have proved it very well :p).

Just by substituting "I should" by "this dasan should" has had a great impact on me. With this my mind has been more receptive towards spiritual thoughts.

Rest is totally His grace...I believe that He will never give me more distress than I can handle. I am afraid to speak much in these topics as often times I have fallen short of my ideal.

anirvan
24 April 2013, 05:57 AM
Very difficult questions,still more difficult to practice:

Nature/prakriti always creates obstacles for spiritual growth.this the constant obstacles throughout my spiritual journey. you indulge in sensual pleasure,no obstacle will come.but if you are steadily growing in sadhna, constant irritation will come till you gave up sadhna.

Its called yoga-khsema.only saranagati will help,Lord helps his true devotee out of such trap of maya.

Secondly in those period,we have to continue the sadhna as routine,as a order from Lord,though we are not getting any good feelings.This is the only practical way of conquering prakriti.

with practice and practice,we can go to a advanced state where we can really become DETACHED TO ALL WORLDLY STAGES.

philosoraptor
28 April 2013, 08:40 AM
Pranams. Jai Sri Krishna. Thank you for your answers.

Interesting deduction - material distress cannot be an obstacle to spiritual progress, for otherwise spiritual progress would be dependent on material fulfillment. The latter is not an acceptable conclusion. Then again, in Hindu culture we do wish each other all the best from a standpoint of material happiness, whether it is at weddings, birthdays, etc. We have social institutions in place in which regulated material enjoyment is accepted, such as householder life. Could we say, perhaps that that, for the neophyte devotee, some material progress, enough to give one time away from earning wealth, is helpful to pursue regulated spiritual activities? In that case, we could also say that for the more advanced devotee, material progress becomes an obstacle because of the increasing time spent to earn and enjoy wealth. This clearly means that I am a neophyte (though I knew that already), but perhaps I should be experiencing more humility at the thought that material distress does not make me more spiritually inclined.

When I think about my situation, I am bothered not so much by wealth issues, as I am by professional dissatisfaction. My last two employment situations have been with people I subsequently discovered to be less than honorable. On the other hand, I was well-compensated and had a schedule in which I could devote time to my sadhana. I'm angry and feel like I've been taken advantage of by "bad guys." Most of my professional colleagues see me as an honorable person and would agree with my conclusions. I have other employment prospects in which I can be materially compensated for honest work by quality employers, but these would be busier and give me less time for sadhana. It's hard for me to see this as the Lord's mercy on me. It seems more likely that I am suffering for offenses committed in previous lives or previously in this life. A correct reaction on my part would be to be happy that I am now experiencing these reactions, for that means that these sins are getting cleared away. Yet, I am angry at the fact that I must leave my clients, with whom I have developed close professional relationships, that I am feeling taken advantage of, and that I am now having to change my employment standards to something other than what I trained for, simply to support my family. I wonder if the root cause of my problem is attachment. I am attached to the idea that I was supposed to do a certain kind of work, that I am an honest member of my profession and I that should be fighting back against the unscrupulous individuals who took advantage of my talents. I think of myself as a morally upright person professionally and am offended when I am deceived or exploited. It's important to be a morally regulated individual, but is this really a spiritually-healthy attitude? Perhaps I should be more calm when I am being abused or mistreated. But how to develop that calm, when one is so upset that one finds it difficult to meditate peacefully?

Eastern Mind
28 April 2013, 12:33 PM
Vannakkam:

I'm incredibly hesitant to jump in here, but .....

There are no simple answers for these dilemmas. I got along with most everyone when I worked by being cordial. Yes, there were times when one feels abused, or not really respected, but that's life. It's the instinctive nature of people to live or create a stratisfied society. Humility went a long way. So did keeping my mouth shut.
I think anyone expecting perfect harmony all the time is being unrealistic with themselves, and the human condition. God Siva is within all.

Aum Namasivaya