We revel in our own opinions and beliefs. We are after all the best. None is better than us. This is our stance in life and we live our lives with this same stubborn attitude. Undoubtedly, we have a level of knowledge and experience in many matters. We are experts in many things. Yet, when it comes to trust, we rarely trust God. And when in crunch, it becomes difficult for us to even trust ourselves. We are aware of our shortcomings but we will not accept that truth, even to ourselves. We know for sure that our knowledge and experience in any field is not ultimate and there is definitely a lack in many areas. Only the Divine Intelligence which has created and sustains the Cosmos knows it all. But we find it very difficult to trust this Intelligence and take the leap of faith. Hence we suffer miserably like the mountain climber in this story:
An experienced mountain climber was atop a mountain. The fog moved in suddenly and visibility dropped. The night fell heavily and it was dark all round. The man could not see anything. Endless darkness stretched out ahead of him. Due to the fog, there was very little visibility and the faint light from the moon and stars were covered by the clouds. The man kept climbing as there was no way of going down. He knew from experience that he was nearly at the top. Suddenly he slipped and fell with great force and speed. He could see only darkness as he went down with startling speed and had the terrible sensation of being sucked into the vortex of gravity.
As he kept falling and hurtling towards certain death, immense fear came in his mind. He had staked and tied himself to a safety rope to prevent falling to death. Yet he could feel the anguish and great fear of unexpected death in darkness. He was all alone and terrified. Events of his life flashed passed by him – the good, the bad and the ugly. He was wondering how many more moments he had before he finally hit the ground and was smashed like the proverbial egg hit against the rock. All of a sudden he felt the rope tied to his waist pull him very hard. He had reached the end of the rope and his body was hanging in the air.
There was a moment of utter panic when he was dangling midair in the mountains. He did not know where he was and when he was going to die. A sudden scream came out of him: O God help me!
All of a sudden, a deep voice from the skies, answered him: What do you want Me to do?
The man said: Save me God!
Do you think I can really save you?
Yes I do.
Then cut the rope from your waist and you will be saved!
The man did not answer. He went quiet and still. He decided to hold on to the rope with all his strength. The next morning, the rescue teams came searching for him. They found him dead and frozen, hanging from the rope around his waist. His hands were holding on tight to the rope and he was suspended in the air – just one foot away from the ground!
Like the man, we hold on to the ropes of our belief, vices, thoughts and ego. We are restless and lack peace in life. We implore God to help us. He is ready to and tells us to let go of the rope. We are not able to do it. We hold on to our rope with both our hands. And suffer again and again till we learn to trust God and let go!
God never abandons His children. He is always there for them, ready to help them. We are given independence and can act in ways of our choice. But we also have to face the consequences. Karma follows all of us and we have to reap what we sow. Let us do our SitaRam Mantra, meditation and follow the teachings of the Guru to our maximum so that we are strengthened in faith and grace. Then we can let go of our rope and land in the safely in the loving arms of God.
