he silent power inherent in man to suffer with a digni­

fied poise all the little pin-pricks

of life is called II endurance" or II forbearance" - titiksha. Every­ one in his or her life manifests some amount of this endur­ ance-power, of course, dis­ torted into an ugly II capacity to suffer". The average man's patient endurance is a not-too­ well-veiled expression of his or her cowardice and an inher­ ent fear to act.

When one has not the

strength, •courage and capacity

\

Reproduced from Tapovan Prasad,

October 1976.

6

to face a threatening situation, one often ducks under this noble virtue for self-protection and self-glorification. If a mos­ quito bites a person, he will smash the insect and kill it; but if an elephant in rut, running wild, stampeding everything in front of it, approaches, he will run for shelter and blabber the glories of mercy, kindness and endurance!! He but adds these few feathers to glorify his own cowardice! This is not titiksha.

Forbearance is the attitude of poise found only in a super­ human hero. Such a man will have in himself a far greater heroism than the total heroism

March 2000

of all warriors put together. He is one who can face all happenings, all adversities, peacefully, with understanding and patience, without complain­ ing, without trying to waste his energies either for defence or for offence. He suffers silently, knowing that in the depth of all challenges there is always a treasure of spiritual blessings secretly hidden. To face all chal­ lenges in life, conducive or not without getting excited or de­ jected by them, without plan­ ning and plotting to outwit them, is the right attitude of a spiritual seeker - and this needs · supreme personality ­ courage.

Men, at least a vast major­

ity of them, are found unfor­ tunate to have been born into a field of sorrows and priva­ tions. Each of us strives to rem­ edy all our unfortunate condi­ tions, physical, mental and in­ tellectual, by our own efforts, exertions, knowledge, might or wealth. We call this endless and constant "struggle" with un­ pleas(!nt conditions and env.i­ ronments, our "miserable" life. Each unfortunate one strives as best as he knows, to turn and twist, to modify and change, to reshape and beautify the nature and attitude of his outer

Tapovan Prasad

,

. .. to be vengeful zs cowardice: not to be vengeful and to live in peaceful equipoise, even when the world around us threatens to deluge us with sorrows, is true heroism - the most at­ tractive spiritual manli­ ness...

.,

circumstances, and also the be,haviour of other people, con­ stituting his personal world around him. Can an individual do this? Even at his best mo­ ments of success, how little he changes! And how short-lived become those changes brought about at such an exorbitant price of exhausting personal efforts! All biographies and every page of human history scream with the story of man's failure to stem the tide of sor­ rows, or even to redirect their tragic might away from him.

Thus when sorrows assail

within from unpl asant circum­ stances around us, why add to our personal tragedy the tire­ some sweat of initiating inef­ fectual weary plans to protest, to strike hack, to defend, to circumvent, even to rise up in

7

arms? Are we not thoughtlessly adding to our own problems? Why whip ourselves and suffer the self-created extra dose of pain?

Action and reaction are

equal and opposite. The strength of my resistance adds a fresh vigour to the poignancy of the situation outside. I ad­ mit, sir, that there are always endless personal problems and miseries, and each one of us is called upon to face them as best as we know. But is it worthwhile to add to our own problems?

Supposing someone is at­ tacking you... you may try to return hit for hit. This invites larger and larger effort ori the part of your enemy. Supposing we, rooted in our understand­ ing, keep quiet, silently receiv­ ing the blows, yet not lifting our hands even to defend, all the while smiling Buddha-like, to console the wild and really upset opponent, then he must calm down himself. Against the non-violent army of Congress volunteers even British Tommies stopped swirling their cruel batons! In Vietnam, we witrtessed ,how the Ameri­ can boys refused to fight!!

To stay quiet, watching the

immoral tyranny, needs more

8

courage than to enter the fray. For the Pandava princes to re­ main in their chairs while Dushasana insulted Draupadi, needed enormous heroism. For the innocent Jesus to carry the Cross, meet the blind foolish­ ness of his vengeful age and allow himself to be ' nailed to the Cross, smUing and forgiv­ ing - this is superhuman hero­ ism... THINK.

Unless they had a hold on a

larger vision, a greater ideal, from where else would such noble men have discovered their superhuman courage out­ side and unshakable poise within?

Thus to be vengeful is cow­ ardice. Not to be vengeful and to live in peaceful equipoise, even when the world around us threatens to deluge us with sorrows, is true heroism - the most attractive spiritual chiv­ alry. To meet life as it comes to us, with cheer, without any complaints, without wasting our energy to avoid sorrow or punish others who caused us sorrows, to maintain our calm equipoise born out of a higher

. vision and deeper understand­

ing, is godly heroism in life.

One who has not this heroism will be wasting all his energies always in little fields

March 2000

of purposeless pre-occupations. Exhausted and weary, with these endless little frays, there will be little energy left for the greater battle of self-evolution. To make a deep study of the Science of Life, the Scriptures, to reflect upon their deepest significances, to meditate and realise the larger states of Awareness, demands enormous energy and steady self-appli­ cation. It is now evident that to a seeker who has not culti­ vated forbearance (the ability to meekly suffer the little in­ conveniences and discomforts of life) there cannot be much progress in his spiritual unfold­ ment.

During the organisation of the yagna and during its day­ to-day running, let our Mission members learn to work together, with their vision fixed upon the ideal for which we are all work­ ing. Strive to bring in a true spirit of divine dedication. Use every occasion to practise titik sha.

Forgiveall others, for every­ thing. Bifng selflessness into ev. ry action. Keep constant re­ m·embrance of Him, who is the v!tal Essence in your heart. Then every action becomes a worship. Only one endowed with titiksha, can perform effectively.

•

Auspicious days

March 2000

1 Ekadasi vratam 11 Shashti vratam

3 Pradosha vratam 16 Ekadasi vratam

4 Mahasivaratri17 Pradosha vratam

6 Amavasya 19 Pournami

20 Holi

26 Shashti vrata m

31Ekadasi vratam

2 Pradosha vratam

4 Amavasya

10 Shashti vratam

12 Sri Rama Navami

April 2000

14 Vishu

Ekadasi vratam

16 Pradosha vratam

18 Pournarrii

Hanumat Jayanti

21 Good Friday

23 Easter

25 Shashti vratam

30 Ekadasi vratani

Tapovan Prasad 9

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