HOW TO OVERCOME FEAR - 3
A group of old friends met at an informal dinner. They reminded each other of many things that had happened in the past. Then someone raised the question: “What was the best day of your life?”
A couple answered: “The beautiful April day when we get married.”
A woman said, “The day my child was born. O, it was a wonderful day!”
Someone said: “The day I was fired from my first job. It was my best and worst day. That day made me take stock of myself and it set me on a new path that has since led to contentment in every area of my life.”
And so it went on. Until finally they turned to a woman who had not spoken at all. “What was the best day of your life?” the asked her.
And she answered: “The best day of my life is today. Because it is the day that I value the most. After all, I can’t get back yesterday and I am not sure of tomorrow. And this day is mine, to make it into whatever, I want it to be. And because it is new, and I am alive in it, it’s the best and I thank God for it!”
There was a time when Kagawa served T. B. patients and himself caught tuberculosis. Doctors examined him and felt frightened. “You will surely die in a year,” they said to him. He was serenely indifferent. Turning to the Christ in his heart, he said: “Lord! I shall spend each day in Thy service!”
Each day that Kagawa lived was spent in the service of the Lord. Days rolled into months and months into years. Kagawa lived on, communing with his Master who dwells in the midst of the poor and lonely. “Doctors gave me up years ago,” he said. “It is faith in God that has kept me going. I am amazed at the strength that comes to me when I pray and trust God.”
Fear is a child of unfaith. He who lives in fear does not truly believe in God, howsoever much he may have in the name of God on his lips. The man who believes in God is realised from the bondage of fear and egocentredness. The worst may happen to him: he is unafraid. Misfortune may follow him as a faithful dog: he is unafraid. Poverty and pestilence may stare him in the face: he is unafraid. Imprisoned in a dark cell, taken to the gallows, thrown into the midst of ferocious beasts, he is still fearless, brave, and unafraid. For he has given himself over to an All-loving and All-wise God. No longer does he belong to himself: he belongs to God. It is God’s sole responsibility to look after him, to guard him against all pitfalls, to provide for him. There can be nothing better than what God wills for him. So, in every situation and circumstance of life, he gives praise to and glorifies the Lord and utters the one word of gratitude, “Shukur! Shukur!”
Of a Sufi dervish it is said that, one day, as he took bath in a river, he was bitten in the foot by a crocodile. Blood flowed from the heel of his foot. He swam to the river-bank and there he sat uttering word of praise: “Shukur! Shukur!” A man who was near was amazed at the behaviour of the holy man. To him he said: “How is it that even though bitten by a crocodile, you still say, Shukur? What have you to feel grateful for?” And the dervish calmly answered: “I feel grateful to God that: I fell into the mouth of the crocodile: I did not fall into the mouth of sin!” The dervish was a man of faith.
The man of faith knows that God is the controller of his destiny and the destinies of all individuals and nations, - indeed, of the entire cosmos. The life of every single individual is a small but very essential part of life on Earth, and life on Earth is a small but a very essential part of the life of the universe. All that happens anywhere in the universe is controlled by God. And God is good and loving and wise. So the man of faith moves through life without fear or worry or anxiety. Knowing that whatever happens is for the best, he resists nothing. He expects nothing and rejoices in all that happens to him. He is never on the defensive: he never feels isolated or alone. Life to him becomes friendly. He trusts everyone, everything. This is what keeps him fearless in a fear-ridden world.
-To be continued
(Author: Sri J P Vaswani)
A group of old friends met at an informal dinner. They reminded each other of many things that had happened in the past. Then someone raised the question: “What was the best day of your life?”
A couple answered: “The beautiful April day when we get married.”
A woman said, “The day my child was born. O, it was a wonderful day!”
Someone said: “The day I was fired from my first job. It was my best and worst day. That day made me take stock of myself and it set me on a new path that has since led to contentment in every area of my life.”
And so it went on. Until finally they turned to a woman who had not spoken at all. “What was the best day of your life?” the asked her.
And she answered: “The best day of my life is today. Because it is the day that I value the most. After all, I can’t get back yesterday and I am not sure of tomorrow. And this day is mine, to make it into whatever, I want it to be. And because it is new, and I am alive in it, it’s the best and I thank God for it!”
There was a time when Kagawa served T. B. patients and himself caught tuberculosis. Doctors examined him and felt frightened. “You will surely die in a year,” they said to him. He was serenely indifferent. Turning to the Christ in his heart, he said: “Lord! I shall spend each day in Thy service!”
Each day that Kagawa lived was spent in the service of the Lord. Days rolled into months and months into years. Kagawa lived on, communing with his Master who dwells in the midst of the poor and lonely. “Doctors gave me up years ago,” he said. “It is faith in God that has kept me going. I am amazed at the strength that comes to me when I pray and trust God.”
Fear is a child of unfaith. He who lives in fear does not truly believe in God, howsoever much he may have in the name of God on his lips. The man who believes in God is realised from the bondage of fear and egocentredness. The worst may happen to him: he is unafraid. Misfortune may follow him as a faithful dog: he is unafraid. Poverty and pestilence may stare him in the face: he is unafraid. Imprisoned in a dark cell, taken to the gallows, thrown into the midst of ferocious beasts, he is still fearless, brave, and unafraid. For he has given himself over to an All-loving and All-wise God. No longer does he belong to himself: he belongs to God. It is God’s sole responsibility to look after him, to guard him against all pitfalls, to provide for him. There can be nothing better than what God wills for him. So, in every situation and circumstance of life, he gives praise to and glorifies the Lord and utters the one word of gratitude, “Shukur! Shukur!”
Of a Sufi dervish it is said that, one day, as he took bath in a river, he was bitten in the foot by a crocodile. Blood flowed from the heel of his foot. He swam to the river-bank and there he sat uttering word of praise: “Shukur! Shukur!” A man who was near was amazed at the behaviour of the holy man. To him he said: “How is it that even though bitten by a crocodile, you still say, Shukur? What have you to feel grateful for?” And the dervish calmly answered: “I feel grateful to God that: I fell into the mouth of the crocodile: I did not fall into the mouth of sin!” The dervish was a man of faith.
The man of faith knows that God is the controller of his destiny and the destinies of all individuals and nations, - indeed, of the entire cosmos. The life of every single individual is a small but very essential part of life on Earth, and life on Earth is a small but a very essential part of the life of the universe. All that happens anywhere in the universe is controlled by God. And God is good and loving and wise. So the man of faith moves through life without fear or worry or anxiety. Knowing that whatever happens is for the best, he resists nothing. He expects nothing and rejoices in all that happens to him. He is never on the defensive: he never feels isolated or alone. Life to him becomes friendly. He trusts everyone, everything. This is what keeps him fearless in a fear-ridden world.
-To be continued
(Author: Sri J P Vaswani)
