"The Art of Acceptance" by Dr. Meghna Choudhury (Her Grace Mathura Vasi Devi Dasi)

Today we are all suffering from various painful cognitive and negative emotional response mechanisms like fear, distress, anxiety, stress, anger. When circumstances are not favourable to our inner set of desires and when they do not align with our preconceived notions we are overcome by irritability at the drop of a hat. Most of the times in a bid to establish our supremacy over others we resort to negative habits such as verbal abuse, rage and in extreme cases even physical violence. The root cause of such undesirable behaviour is the inability of the conditioned soul to accept situations due to a lack of the power of forbearance. 

The Source

This stems from having high expectations from people around us, from our own selves and when these expectations are not met, we plunge deep into the valley of darkness, we lose hope, we lose our self confidence, we lose our sense of rationality and we lose or ability to judge what is right and what is wrong. We try to look for ways and means to put the blame on others, engage in fault-finding, criticizing and end up hurting others.

The Higher Truth

Often the people whom we hurt by such incoherent behaviour are our loved ones, the most precious people whom the Lord has sent in our lives for a higher purpose. God is the ultimate well-wisher of all. Once we accept this absolute truth, we would surely be benefited in life. Those who do not accept scriptural instructions and those who do not accept the Supremacy of God cannot be liberated from this world. We ought to develop unshakable faith in Lord, glorify Him, chant His holy name - this is the sole goal of every human being; and realizing that every living entity is His servant. With this firm faith and His mercy, every soul can transmigrate to the spiritual world and live there eternally under His protection.

Universal Principle

The Founder Acharya of International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Srila Prabhupada, in one of his books speaks a dynamic line that I consider to be so very important to be understood by all classes of human beings. This one line goes beyond all sectarianism; it is a universal principle. Who is a great person? People love to adore great people or envy great people, and people like to become great in their own way somehow or other. 

But what actually is greatness? A 'mahatma' means great soul. So what are the actual qualities of a great soul? Does greatness mean - we need to have a lot of wealth? Some of the most degraded people, who lack basic moral principles are also millionaires and billionaires. Is greatness fame? Simply being a good singer, or a good dancer or having a beautiful body, being strong or athletic, or being heroic does not make one great. 

Srila Prabhupada, according to the universal principles of all spiritual paths, describes what is greatness: “One’s greatness has to be estimated by ones ability to tolerate provoking situations.” It is easy to make a show of being great, but when you are challenged, when provoking situations face you that is actually the test of the substance of your character. And this the great scriptures give us as a constant theme. There are six enemies that exist within our heart, and they are provoked by circumstances both within and without. What are those six enemies: lust, envy, pride, anger, greed and illusion. A great personality is one who is able to tolerate these urges.

The Reality

Unfortunately some sections of social media have been glamourising these deprave acts. These days news channels and some high profile reporters exhibit this volatile behaviour. The innocent masses, naively, follow them, idolise them without realising the serious damage they are causing to their own mental health. We, as the common man, need to understand that we are being misled by the concocted, corrupted versions of facts. We  need to be wise enough to understand - not to get carried away by what we are being bombarded with, on media. Not everything that is portrayed on these channels are true. Neither should we blindly form opinions or judgements based on a third person's random rants. It is imperative to remain highly cautious of what we hear, and extremely conscious of how we react and treat our loved ones. 

Analogy

We all keep garbage cans in our homes so that we can put all the garbage in those cans. Now imagine that there should be no corner for the garbage can at home, do you know what will happen? There will be garbage everywhere, in the whole house! So, this is why we must leave some space for imperfections. If someone is imperfect, just accommodate them, look at them with compassion. In due course of time, when they see your level of purity, your merciful nature, they’ll gradually transform. This will increase your own tolerance level. Today, this is what we lack very seriously. People are becoming less and less tolerant. We must learn from the wise saints and the older generation - how to remain calm and tolerant. On the contrary, if we look at the upcoming generation - they are becoming short-tempered and losing patience. We are witness to this adverse situation and some gruesome incidents due to such intolerance all over the world. 

Self Reflection - The Mirror

If someone shows us the mirror, we must be humble enough to admit or acknowledge our mistakes based on the reflection we see. Only then, can we find peace and become better versions of ourselves. Self-Reflection is the best method to realize what treasures and fears we are holding within!

Conclusion

Therefore the  foundation of keeping our calm, maintaining our sanctity and in the process harbouring healthy relationships is inculcating the habit of learning to accept situations and accept people the way they are, without being abruptly judgemental. Most importantly, we need to develop firm faith on the Supreme Lord's arrangement for each and every one of us and sincerely pray to Him to give us the strength to become humbler, become more tolerant and help us to perfect the art of acceptance.

Article by:

Dr. Meghna Choudhury (Her Grace Mathura Vasi Devi Dasi)

Life Coach | Spiritual Counselor | Author | Social Activist | Artist

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