Hari
OM
Story-day is for cultural exploration, puraanas and
parables and finding out about leading lights in spiritual philosophy.
We
are following the text "Beyond Sorrow" in which we
explore the nature of suffering and how to manage and move through
difficulties.
The
book now goes into a section labelled, 'Surrender'. We have seen from the
initial essays that there is an essence of acceptance of one's lot in order to
move forward through sufferings of all types. Acceptance is a physical
shrugging of the shoulders and a deep breath, but there must also be a resolve
in the ego to 'accept' and at this level it is called as surrender. Sri
Ramakrishna wrote, 'I now realise that without trials and tribulations, one
cannot resign oneself to God and depend upon Him absolutely.'
In
The Sign of Jonas, Thomas Merton writes;
The
chief thing that has struck me today is that I still have my fingers too much
in the running of my own life.
Lord,
I have not lived like a monk, like a contemplative. The first essential is
missing. I only say I trust You; my
actions prove that the one I trust is myself, and that I am still afraid of
You. Take my life into Your hands, at last, and do whatever You want with it. I
give myself to Your Love and mean to keep doing so, rejecting neither the hard
things nor the pleasant things You have arranged for me. It is enough for me
that You have glory. Everything You have planned is good. It is all Love.
The
way You have laid open before me is an easy way, compared with the hard way of
my own will, which leads back to Egypt and to bricks without straw. If you
allow people to praise me, I shall not worry. If you let them blame me, I shall
worry even less, but be glad. If You send me work I shall embrace it with joy
and it will be rest to me, because it is Your will. If you send me rest, I will
rest in You. Only save me from myself. Save me from my own, private, poisonous
urge to change everything, to act without reason, to move for movement's sake,
to unsettle everything You have ordained.
Let
me rest in Your will and be silent. Then the light of Your joy will warm my
life. Its fire will burn in my heart and shine for your glory. This is what I
live for. Amen. Amen.