Lose and Still be a Winner

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Lose and Still be a Winner

Ralph Emerson, the 20th century American philosopher, described man as the

“ever-losing winner”. We tend to measure God’s blessings on the basis of how

many of our prayers have been answered — we compare what we sought with what we

got. We do not often get what we prayed for. Then we accuse God of being unkind.

Subsequently, we discover later that whatever happened was in fact for the good.

The ‘bad’ event turns out to be a blessing in disguise.

Rabindranath Tagore in Gitanjali thanks God for the various denials in life. “My

desires are many and my cry is pitiful, but ever didst thou save me by hard

refusals; and this strong mercy has been wrought into my life through and

through.” Can anyone ever pray to God for self-damaging things? Indian thought

explains this through two terms — preyas (the pleasant) and shreyas (the good).

Whatever is pleasant may or may not be ultimately good. We are quick to know

what is pleasant, but not what is good. If we are guided by our senses, we may

pursue preyas, mistaking it for shreyas. God understands what is good for us

better than we ever can. When he denies

our most earnest prayer, he, in fact, is being merciful to us.

The story of Narada’s infatuation rendered by Tulsidas in his Ramcharitmanas

illustrates this point. This story occurs in the context of Narada’s curse to

Narayana (Balakanda, 124-137). Narada became vain when he defeated Kama, the

God of Love, although he achieved this by the grace of God. The Lord resolved

to set the record straight. A magic city was designed with Shilanidhi as its

king. Vishwamohini, his daughter, had to choose her groom. Narada walked into

the king’s palace and was reverently greeted by the king who called the

princess to the muni’s presence.

When he beheld the beautiful princess, Narada was overwhelmed and began to

cherish the thought of marrying her. Losing his spiritual equilibrium under a

sensual spell, he thought: “This is no time for prayers. What is needed on this

occasion is great charm and personal beauty, so that the princess may be charmed

when she sees me and cast upon me the garland of victory!” Hard-pressed for

time, he however invoked the Lord and prayed: “Right speedily do that which may

serve my best interests, for I am your own servant, O Lord!” The Lord forthwith

granted Narada’s prayer.

Narada was sure the princess was now his and none other’s. While Narada sat at

the swayamvara of the princess, excitedly trying to catch her attention, the

girl saw him (through the design of God) as a hideous monkey. In great

indignation, she did not so much as glance Narada’s way. Narada was furious.

Advised by two jeering attendants to go and see his face in a mirror, Narada

saw his hideous face and felt that the Lord had deceived him and cursed the

Lord in a fit of anger. The Lord, however, had done what he had promised to do:

ensure the good (shreyas) of his devotee. The great sage had erred in desiring

for the pleasant; the Lord frustrated his desire by doing what was good for

him. We are all like Narada: the “ever-losing winner”.

Coming to the subject of prayer: What should we pray for if we are incapable of

discriminating the good from the pleasant? The answer is: Nothing, except God’s

grace. Jesus advises his followers (Matthew 6:8-10): “Your Father know-eth what

things ye have need of, before ye ask him.” His prayer therefore is: “Our

father... thy will be done!” That is, may your (not my) will be done! By K S

Ram / Source : Indiatimes.com

Arun Reddy Nukala

+44 7946 595063

http://groups.msn.com/

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