Nature gives you a burden which you can handle. The challenges are there to push the envelope, to help you cross the bridge.
Nature first makes the tail and then puts it on animal. It does not put the elephant's tail on rat. Otherwise, the poor rat cannot even lift it.
Similarly, when you have problems in life know that it is to refine you. For example, diamond is cut to bring out the shine, gold is beaten to bring out the shape needed for beautiful ornaments, sandalwood is rubbed against stone for the fragrance to appear.
In the spiritual path you too will be pushed to the limits and beyond to refine you. For example, if you have acquired and strong, overpowering and manipulative character over lifetimes then how does nature bring back humility and humbleness in you. Say, it gives stammer to few people so that they suddenly feel weak and powerless, not able to speak even the common words and shaken to death. It humiliates them to prevent them from humiliating others. You can take any other physical disease or mental ailment and wonder why you have the privilege to host it, and you will realize that it is to bring balance. It is to sync you back into natural rhythms.
If a secret is bothering you then there is choice of confessing it to the Father (in christian tradition). If that secret does not harm nor good to anyone then you can as well drop it. But if that can hurt and harm others in future in someway or other then you should bring it out in the public.
You have lack because you deserve it. There is poverty because of ignorance. Poverty could be financial, material, spiritual, anything. It is because you are lethargic. You are lazy. You are not putting efforts to come out of it.
When art of living ashram was started it was 60 acres of barren land, with only one tree. No crops, no grass, no vegetation, just stones all around. The villages around had thatched roof homes, only one village sarpanch house was cement roof. The land was poor and villages around it were poor.
Gurudev met with the youths aged 20-30. They would simply while away their time, playing cards, gossiping and drinking and going to bed, a burden on their families. They got some education so they did not want to do agriculture. So Gurdev arranged a meeting with Director of small scale industries from the city.
There were only two buses in those days which used to ply on kanakapura road. One in morning and one in evening. So the director came with all enthusiasm and discussed more than 225 projects with the youths. But they negated each project saying its not possible. Finally, exasperated they were asked, what job they would like to do. They said either in police or bus conductor. Now, how many of those could you create.
So Gurudev started YLTP (youth leadership training programme). It was 3 months regime then. And the youths were grilled and brought out of their lazyness and bad habits. Many of those youths are entrepreneurs now. They work as well as they have created employment for others. Now, all the houses around ashram are made of cement. Economy is flourishing.
If you shake off laziness from your life then you can do wonders.
One of the tea vendors from Gujarat is now a prime ministerial candidate, a chief minister of state in India.
The founder of The New India Express was selling vegetables and bananas in his early days. He took Ms Indira Gandhi heads on.
So, poor is poor because of liquor or laziness and not because of nature or God. God has given enough options and stories of people rising from bottom of pyramid to reach the top of it. Where are you today?
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