Asking for trouble

We got introduced to Kabir in school through a doha which said bliss is when you remember God in good times, not just in the bad ones. Most of us do exactly the opposite. Our strategy in life is pretty simple, we go after what we want and we try to avoid what we do not want. But our wishes are not horses: life includes not getting what we want and getting what we do not want.

That leads to stress, says Swami Shankarananda, in Happy for No Good Reason, who studied self-realisation techniques under Baba Muktananda: "When life does not go the way we would like we acutely feel the indifference of a vast universe that is unresponsive to us (and) our needs. We may be happy when we get what we want but we can also be happy when we don't get what we want." He calls this condition of inner independence true empowerment. Meditation is an important means to this goal.

Another way is to turn problems to opportunities. That's what Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas, did when she prayed to God, "Let my life be always filled with troubles, so that I may always remember you."

That represents a huge image turnaround: convert tough times into a time for remembrance of God. The more trouble you have the more you importune God. So, what if your life is one endless stream of torments? Turn them all over to Him with constant remembrance.

This may explain why Kunti prays for one-pointed attention on the Lord; to defeat distraction. It illuminates the essence of Bhakti-Yoga, summarised in the Bhagvadgita in the celebrated verse: mam ekam sharanam vraja. Come to Me alone in surrender!