God
is our first and last resort in asking for boons and blessings. We present to
Him a daily shopping list of wishes and seek that He grants us exactly what we
want. Our list of wants and desires is never ending and always renews itself
automatically on a regular basis. God is kind enough to grant us what we want,
yet we are not appreciative of what He gives us and we whine to Him habitually.
Our whining takes form of more and more wishes. We seek the latest and best in
the market – of mechanical toys and electronics and cars and homes and clothes,
health, wine, women, song, wealth, a little more wealth, some more wealth and then a lot more wealth.
It
is better to ask of God than to fall at the feet of man. When we seek from others, we are in a
vulnerable position and can be blackmailed by them in various ways. We are
forced to compromise our ethics, principles, morals and beliefs by the other
person on whom we depend on. When this happens on a regular basis, we suffer
and we are forced to rethink our strategy and we start seeking from God. When
we pray to God, we are granted what we want without the ugly physical,
emotional, mental and financial blackmail we undergo at others hands. So we
grow bolder and seek more and more from God.
Many
a times our wishes are granted at once and we suffer because we are given. We
must learn to ask of God in the right way. This little story drives home this
point:
A
man was lost in the forest and was wandering around all morning trying to find
a way out. The sun was high in the sky and he was lost, thirsty, hungry and fed
up of life. He spotted a huge tree at a distance and walked towards it. This
tree was unusually attractive with a large canopy of leaves and shade. Colourful
birds sat on it and were twittering away. As he neared the tree, he could feel
a cool breeze move through the tree and around it. He sat down beneath the tree
and felt much better with the coolness. A thought came to his mind: how nice it
would be if I could have a long cool drink of water! Lo and behold, a pot of
cool, crystal clear water appeared in front of him. He picked up the pot and
drank deep of the water. His thirst was quenched and he felt much better. Then
he thought: what if I had a meal of hot delicious food! Lo and behold, a large
plate of fresh cooked, fragrant food appeared in front of him. All the items
were his favourites. He fell upon the food and ate his fill. His hunger
satisfied with a large, heavy meal, he was now feeling drowsy. He said: what if
I had a cot with a soft mattress and pillow to sleep here under this tree! Lo
and behold, a cot appeared with a soft mattress and pillow. He fell on it and
made himself comfortable. The breeze was cool, the tree was shady, his thirst
and hunger replete and a comfortable bed beneath him – the man was in heaven.
As he was about to fall asleep, a sudden thought came in his mind – what if a
tiger suddenly pounces on me and kills me! Lo and behold, a tiger suddenly
rushed out of the forest and attacked and killed him!
The
tree was the Kalpavriksha tree – the tree that grants all that we seek of it.
The man should have thought a little, when each time he made a wish and it was
granted. He had no clue who granted his wishes and that he should be careful in
what he was wishing for. His wrong thinking/wishing brought about his sad end.
God
is the Kalpavriksha tree. The Universe and Nature cater to all of our wishes.
It is our greed and lack of foresight that creates all our problems in life. We
seek a highly paid job and pray for it and then are not able to handle the
responsibilities. We pray for a larger business and we destroy the land and
water around us which reflects in polluted environment for which we suffer. We
ask for the latest car and get it. We are content for a very short time and
then unhappiness sets in as a newer model comes into the market and someone
else has the new one. We seek beauty and appearance at the cost of health, morals
and ethics and then pay the price for it in form of unhappiness as we are not
equipped to handle the consequences of what we are given.
Let
us surrender to God and seek only His Love and Grace. Divinity knows what and
when to give us and God’s decision about what to give us and when to give is
always perfect. He, who has created the Universe and its teeming zillions of
lives, knows how to take care of us. So let us learn to pray in the right way-
to seek of God to give us what we need and not what is our greed.
