JOIN USIt feels catastrophic. It is catastrophic. I am hit by a thunderbolt that comes out of nowhere and turns my life upside down.
Until this happened, I was peaceful. Things were going well. Why is this happening—in spite of daily prayers, good actions? This is the time, exactly, when I must put all my trust in God.
Puttaparthi Sri Sathya Sai Baba, the Omnipresent One, says, “Man should be courageous. Lack of courage leads to doubt, despair, dejection and depression. When obstacles come, meet them with courage. They harden you, make you tough.”
Wasn’t I tough enough? Apparently not. Swami taught, “The best way to get rid of weakness is to strike at the very taproot of the tree—the mistake that you are the body with this name and this form, these senses, this intelligence and this mind.
These are all the luggage you carry. Don’t you say, my nose, my mind, my hand, my reason, just as you say, my book, my umbrella? Who is this ‘I’ that calls all these mine? That is the real ‘you’.
It was there when you were born, when you were sleeping forgetful of all else, forgetful even of your body with all its equipment, internal and external. That ‘I’ cannot be harmed; it does not change. It knows not death or birth. Learn the discipline that makes you aware of this truth and you will be ever free and bold.”
Contemplating on these words of Beloved Bhagawan Baba, it was easy to see that in the heat of a new calamity I had forgotten who I really am. Gripped by fear, my ego wanted to start its lamentations, ‘What will happen to me now? This problem is really too difficult to face.’
You see, I found out who had done a recent cyber attack on me. When I learnt that two persons who I had thought of as friends had done this for money, I was stunned. I could not believe it until it was proven to me by an investigator. My first reaction was extreme sadness.
But, as a follower of Puttaparthi Sai’s teachings, I felt that I must not fight back. In fact, Jesus too had preached, “Love your enemies, do good to those that curse you….”
“Man is Atmaswarupa, that is, God,” Sai Baba had repeatedly taught, “If he knows his real nature, he will give no room for weakness or cowardice. That is the main aim of culture, to cultivate mental calm, mental courage, to make everyone feel kinship with everyone else.”
Slowly, I let go of my sadness. And for now, I have let go of the whole affair—unless the Inner Guidance directs me to do otherwise. Meantime, I have enough courage to face the fact that not everyone likes me, that two of my supposed friends are actually my enemies, and that I had not lost anything by not responding to their cruelty. In fact, I had gained a new perspective on the saying, “Live and let live.”