Guest guest Posted September 6, 1999 Report Share Posted September 6, 1999 * Out of many famous prayers, the prayer of Kunti (mother of Pandavas) is a very special one. The substance of her prayer to Lord Krishna was to bless her with perpetual suffering so that the thought of God may remain constantly alive in her heart! * Once a householder devotee of Sri Ramakrishna was depressed because the taxman had threatened to forfeit his household belongings as a penalty for tax evasion. To this, Sri Ramakrishna said somewhat to this effect 'let them take away everything. He (the person in question) might actually be benefited and freed from the bondage of samsara -worldliness!' * The real life event of a magnitude of a " disaster " occurred in the early age of Swami Vivekananda (Narendranath). His father suddenly passed away leaving the family in debt and disarray. The relatives and friends, instead of helping Narendranath, took away their dues leaving the family almost pauper. Moreover, Narendranath could not even get a job to support his family. The agony of not able to support the family made a deep impression on the tender mind of Narendranath (He was just 21 years of age). Was that Divine play? One cannot say. All the same in later life this Narendranath evolved into Swami Vivekananda and preached the world the blissful doctrine of renunciation and service. The agony, as if, turned into ecstasy; bliss borne out of suffering and dispassion! * And comfort, ease, glamour, and privilege all around us sometimes make me think : Are we tending to become 'armchair spiritualists'? a la 'armchair socialists' of seventies! dr c s shah -- ==================================== E-magazine on science and spirituality. Visit: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Styx/1704/index.html http://members.xoom.com/drcsshah/neovedanta/index.html ==================================== Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 7, 1999 Report Share Posted September 7, 1999 Dear Dr. Shah, It is so true that suffering makes one remember God -- the more intense the suffering, the more intense the remembrance, the yearning. We probably are all indeed " armchair spiritualists " when things are going smoothly, but who doesn't have troubles from time to time? I remember Swami Ranganathananda's response to someone who asked WHEN we would realize God: " when you are desperate enough " was his reply. Edith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 7, 1999 Report Share Posted September 7, 1999 > ---------- > EDTipple[sMTP:edtipple] > Reply Ramakrishna > Tuesday, September 07, 1999 2:05 AM > Ramakrishna > Re: [ramakrishna] Prayer and Suffering > > EDTipple <edtipple > > Dear Dr. Shah, > > It is so true that suffering makes one remember God -- the more > intense the suffering, the more intense the remembrance, the yearning. > > We probably are all indeed " armchair spiritualists " when things are > going smoothly, but who doesn't have troubles from time to time? I > remember Swami Ranganathananda's response to someone who asked WHEN we > > would realize God: " when you are desperate enough " was his reply. > Edith > > --------------------------- ONElist Sponsor > ---------------------------- > > ONElist: the best place to EXPLORE topics, SHARE ideas, and > CONNECT to people with the same interests. > > ---- > -- > Sri Ramakrishnaye Namah > Vivekananda Centre London > http://www.btinternet.com/~vivekananda/ > > I beg to differ. Though He makes us think of Him during times of > suffering to relieve us from the sufferring, I feel that we are more > fortunate If He makes us think of Him even during armchair comfort. We > do not know how His Lila works. > > Ramana Sarma > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 7, 1999 Report Share Posted September 7, 1999 It seems once Lord Sri Krishna asked Kunthi mother of pandavas, What you wan't first, suffering or happiness, and Kunthi replied that " If sufering is there in my life, I would like to suffer first, so that I can remember you only always at the time of suffering , then even if happiness comes I will not forget you " So I feel if we remember God only at the time of suffering it is better to suffer than having armchair comfort. sarvam vasudevamayam jagath Prashanth > > > > EDTipple <edtipple > > > > Dear Dr. Shah, > > > > It is so true that suffering makes one remember God -- the more > > intense the suffering, the more intense the remembrance, the yearning. > > > > We probably are all indeed " armchair spiritualists " when things are > > going smoothly, but who doesn't have troubles from time to time? I > > remember Swami Ranganathananda's response to someone who asked WHEN we > > > > would realize God: " when you are desperate enough " was his reply. > > Edith > > > > --------------------------- ONElist Sponsor > > ---------------------------- > > > > ONElist: the best place to EXPLORE topics, SHARE ideas, and > > CONNECT to people with the same interests. > > > > ---- > > -- > > Sri Ramakrishnaye Namah > > Vivekananda Centre London > > http://www.btinternet.com/~vivekananda/ > > > > I beg to differ. Though He makes us think of Him during times of > > suffering to relieve us from the sufferring, I feel that we are more > > fortunate If He makes us think of Him even during armchair comfort. We > > do not know how His Lila works. > > > > Ramana Sarma > > > > --------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ---------------------------- > > ATTENTION ONElist MEMBERS: Get your ONElist news! > Join our MEMBER NEWSLETTER here: > <a href= " http://clickme./ad/newsletter2 " >Click Here</a> > > ------ > Sri Ramakrishnaye Namah > Vivekananda Centre London > http://www.btinternet.com/~vivekananda/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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