Always be Positive ... H.H. Swami Chidananda

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Always be Positive ... H.H. Swami Chidananda

 

One of the favourite sayings of the Gurudev Swami Sivananda, which he

both wrote in his writings as well as quoted in his divine talks

was, “Never despair, Never despair, Nil desperandum.†And a poet once

said, “Hope springs eternal in the human breast.†Another poet

said, “Tell me not in mournful numbers life is but an empty dream.â€

You have come here to strive and attain. Strive on. Do

purushartha. “Heart within, God overhead.†Be strong. Be determined

and plod on. If thus you do, you will get help from God. That is the

meaning of “Heart within and God overhead.†In your heart have the

right attitude and plot on. Do exertion and then from God help will

come.

 

There are two ways of approaching life. One is diffidence, lack of

confidence, negativity: “I don’t think I can. It’s too difficult. I

can’t.†Another way is: “I can. Whether I can or can’t, how can I say

unless I first of all try? Then only I can know whether I can or

can’t. so to come to a foregone conclusion that I can’t is not

rational. It is irrational. Let me give it a fair trial. I will try

my best.†And if after trying your very best, you do not succeed in

attaining the objective, I can assure you, you have not failed.

Success may not be yours, but you have succeeded. You have fulfilled

a human being’s duty. Because you are made in the image of God, you

are not a bundle of negativity. God is all that is positive, all that

is auspicious, good and beautiful. There is no negativity in God, and

you are made in His image. You have potential for all that is

positive and positive only. You should not belie your divine nature.

At every step, in all things, your life should prove your divine

nature.

 

Therefore it behooves you to always take a positive attitude towards

life. Always have a positive view of things, not a negative one. Have

a positive attitude towards life, and in your daily life always move

forward by taking a positive approach. Then your heart is in the

state †" that the poet implied when he said, “Heart within and God

overhead.

 

And it is for such a heart that we should pray to the Lord: “I have

full-trust that You will be my leader, that Your grace will be my

guiding force and a leading light in my life day by day. So, with

Your help there is nothing that I cannot do. With Your help, O Lord

all things are possible for me. And I will take Your help for granted

because You are grace. You are love and compassion. You are ever

ready to bestow Your grace upon all sincere seeking sadhakas. Being

certain of this, I shall strive, having full trust that You will help

where help is needed.â€

 

Therefore, of the two attitudes, a positive and negative attitude

towards life, of the two approaches, a positive and negative approach

to life, and of the two ways of viewing things, a positive and

negative view towards all things, the wise sadhaka always takes the

positive approach †" which is the right approach †" and never takes the

negative approach which is the wrong approach.

 

Hope is a divine quality. Determination is a divine quality. It is a

manifestation of sakti. Therefore, it is our duty to ourselves and to

God to always keep our interior in a positive state. It is our duty

to always take a positive view of things. It is our duty to always

take a positive approach towards life, and it is our duty to always

move forward keeping in our heart a positive attitude towards life

and actions. This is the right attitude, and this you must adopt. And

this will help you to succeed in your life!