Confucius said that to be wronged is nothing, unless you continue to remember it. Life is a string of inevitable experiences, pleasant and unpleasant. Happy events are thoroughly savoured while the challenges leave us shattered and unhappy. Often, we tend to perceive adversities as ‘wrongs’ inflicted upon us either by others or by life itself.
Negative events have a tendency to imprison our minds in their clutches for longer periods in sharp contrast to positive events that inhabit our memories for relatively shorter periods. It is always easy to condone the day-to-day minor wrongs we face, but the grave ones leave an indelible impact. By and large, traumatic experiences elicit two types of behavioral responses. Firstly, some people may choose to wallow in self-pity, nursing their wounds for a whole lifetime. Secondly, some may become embittered, cynical and vindictive. They tend to harbor deep-rooted grudges, blaming and cursing people and circumstances that they think are responsible for their misfortune.
Neither of the two behavioral patterns alleviate our misery. In fact, they cause insidious harm. When a ‘wrong’ we faced grips us to the extent that we keep revisiting it mentally, we are flooded with negativity and are totally oblivious of positivities, joys and opportunities of the present moment. Inadvertently, we get anchored in the past which is nothing more than a grave. Life stagnates, losing its sheen. Personal growth is arrested and our existence becomes rudderless.
When we continue to be obsessed with the ‘wrong’ we face, unknowingly our entire being gets consumed by deeply ingrained anger, frustrations and resentments. Much time and energy is squandered in scheming retaliation. This unhealthy clutter inside us festers to such a point that over time, it paves the way to a plethora of physical, emotional and psychological aberrations. Psychosomatic disorders crop up. Life becomes a self-created inferno.
How do we overcome this unhealthy tendency to lean towards negativity? Forgiveness is a good place to start, but to do that is not easy. But once we realise that by forgiving, we benefit as much or more as the one who is being forgiven, it becomes easier to forgive. Then we are able to get rid of all the rancour and rage from our system, thereby reclaiming peace and happiness. Thus unburdened, we can move on in life.
Reading/ hearing scriptures, positive literature and associating with the wise, will help us cultivate spiritual awareness and acquire a profound understanding of life and its functioning. Life is governed by specific and infallible natural laws like the cause-and-effect principle which need to be comprehended and adhered to. You reap what you sow. When we become aware that each individual carries the onus of his karmic account and also that he reaps accordingly, then, our emotions become less turbulent.
In this process of self-evolvement, the efficacy of meditation is paramount. The golden moments of supreme quietude illumine the path to a sublime, inner voyage. As we proceed in meditation, we are able to connect with our inner core gradually; the unexplored, inaccessible territories start getting familiar. Our unconscious repressions, grouses and hurts buried in the darkest crevices of the unconscious mind, start surfacing. Over time, the intense power and purity of regular meditation removes all toxins, resulting in a serene, happy and wholesome life.
DISCLAIMER
The views expressed in the Article above are Author’s personal views and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing."
Courtesy: Times of India, Speaking Tree, 21st February, 2019
Confucius said that to be wronged is nothing, unless you continue to remember it. Life is a string of inevitable experiences, pleasant and unpleasant. Happy events are thoroughly savoured while the challenges leave us shattered and unhappy. Often, we tend to perceive adversities as ‘wrongs’ inflicted upon us either by others or by life itself.
Negative events have a tendency to imprison our minds in their clutches for longer periods in sharp contrast to positive events that inhabit our memories for relatively shorter periods. It is always easy to condone the day-to-day minor wrongs we face, but the grave ones leave an indelible impact. By and large, traumatic experiences elicit two types of behavioral responses. Firstly, some people may choose to wallow in self-pity, nursing their wounds for a whole lifetime. Secondly, some may become embittered, cynical and vindictive. They tend to harbor deep-rooted grudges, blaming and cursing people and circumstances that they think are responsible for their misfortune.
Neither of the two behavioral patterns alleviate our misery. In fact, they cause insidious harm. When a ‘wrong’ we faced grips us to the extent that we keep revisiting it mentally, we are flooded with negativity and are totally oblivious of positivities, joys and opportunities of the present moment. Inadvertently, we get anchored in the past which is nothing more than a grave. Life stagnates, losing its sheen. Personal growth is arrested and our existence becomes rudderless.
When we continue to be obsessed with the ‘wrong’ we face, unknowingly our entire being gets consumed by deeply ingrained anger, frustrations and resentments. Much time and energy is squandered in scheming retaliation. This unhealthy clutter inside us festers to such a point that over time, it paves the way to a plethora of physical, emotional and psychological aberrations. Psychosomatic disorders crop up. Life becomes a self-created inferno.
How do we overcome this unhealthy tendency to lean towards negativity? Forgiveness is a good place to start, but to do that is not easy. But once we realise that by forgiving, we benefit as much or more as the one who is being forgiven, it becomes easier to forgive. Then we are able to get rid of all the rancour and rage from our system, thereby reclaiming peace and happiness. Thus unburdened, we can move on in life.
Reading/ hearing scriptures, positive literature and associating with the wise, will help us cultivate spiritual awareness and acquire a profound understanding of life and its functioning. Life is governed by specific and infallible natural laws like the cause-and-effect principle which need to be comprehended and adhered to. You reap what you sow. When we become aware that each individual carries the onus of his karmic account and also that he reaps accordingly, then, our emotions become less turbulent.
In this process of self-evolvement, the efficacy of meditation is paramount. The golden moments of supreme quietude illumine the path to a sublime, inner voyage. As we proceed in meditation, we are able to connect with our inner core gradually; the unexplored, inaccessible territories start getting familiar. Our unconscious repressions, grouses and hurts buried in the darkest crevices of the unconscious mind, start surfacing. Over time, the intense power and purity of regular meditation removes all toxins, resulting in a serene, happy and wholesome life.
DISCLAIMER
The views expressed in the Article above are Author’s personal views and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing."
Courtesy: Times of India, Speaking Tree, 21st February, 2019