Burst Twenty Nine (For the Young):
Why is Life Such a Struggle?
For no one, life is a bed of roses. The eminent and the affluent often have more difficulties than the common man has. A struggle of some kind or the other marks our life until our last breath. Total peace is only at the graveyard, remarked somebody.
In an old story of Indian epics, the god and the demons put in tremendous effort and churn the (milky) ocean. They sweat and toil and face many obstacles. They use a huge mountain – Meru – as the churning rod that is placed on the back of a huge turtle (which was no other than Lord Narayana). The rope they use is none other than the big snake called Vasuki. They are eager to find nectar that should emerge from the bowels of the sea. Halfway through the saga, a deadly poison called Halahala comes out rather than the life-giving nectar.
So is our life too. We are time and again called upon to exert, and exert more. The promise of some sweet, sweet results is our temptation. We fall many times but rise and walk again. On our way, we meet with terrible disappointments and even sorrowful calamities.
In the old story, Lord Shiva comes along and drinks off all the poison. The churning continues and finally, lo, the desired fruit nectar rises from the depths of the ocean.
Let us not lose hope in our endeavors. Let us not say, “Why should we take these pains?” Swami Chinmayananda said, “Narayana likes the smell of sweat!” Another wise lady remarked, “The fruits of labor are sweater than the rewards of fortune.” Let us rest assured that Shiva will surely come to our rescue, to clear away all negative products that may come halfway.
“Act, act in the living present; heart within and God overhead,” sang H.W.Longfellow, who also remarked, “Life is real, life is earnest, and the grave is not its goal.”
Whenever we face a struggle, let us look at it as a sign of something very sweet and truly significant to come about in the near future.
Swami Chidananda
Monday, June 28, 2004