Strengthening Ourselves

When asked about tolerating a person who is negative, Hazur Maharaj Charan Singh Ji replied:

The question is rather that we are negative to others. We are negative to certain people, so we think they are being negative to us. We have to improve ourselves, we have to become positive. Why should there be any thought in our mind about anybody being negative? Why should it affect us at all? There is some weakness hidden in us that causes it to affect us. If we are strong, then nothing affects us; so nobody is negative to us. You see, evil is there. I don’t say that evil is not there. But if we are strong, there’s no evil. Then this negative tendency won’t exist for me at all. Weakness doesn’t lie in the evil. It is our weakness that we are a victim of.
_{Spiritual Perspectives, Vol. II}

To strengthen ourselves so that nothing affects us, developing and focusing on our spiritual nature, is key. We know that all human limitations come from the one great human weakness of ego. Ego is our self-centredness, our obsession with ‘me, myself, and I’. Ego is our major handicap. It is the excess luggage we have accumulated on our travels, and it is by simply letting go of it that we can discover the spiritual beings who we are. Mystics tell us that we are spiritual beings having a human experience, not human beings seeking a spiritual experience.

An admirer was said to have asked Michelangelo how he made such exquisite sculptures. Michelangelo is said to have replied: “It’s not difficult. I just chisel away whatever is in excess. The figures are already there.”

It is not that we have to acquire any new qualities. We already have them. We just have to remove the coverings over our soul – our weaknesses, karmas, and attachments – and let our spiritual nature come to the forefront. As long as we let our senses drive us, we will keep moving away from the real treasure that exists within. Spiritual development redirects us inwards. The expansion of consciousness will take place only when consciousness is directed inwards and upwards.

With meditation our willpower becomes so strong that even if our mind has been wrongly conditioned and wrongly influenced in childhood, we can become a saint. That influence of childhood is there on the mind, no doubt, but still sometimes we get better company, or by the Lord’s grace we realize that our mind has been wrongly conditioned, and we are able to rise above it and not act according to the conditioning of our mind. We act independently of the conditioning of the mind.
_{Maharaj Charan Singh, Spiritual Perspectives, Vol. II}

The mystics explain that when we are conscious of our faults, half the battle is won because then we begin to do something about them. In our interactions, if we focus on others’ strengths, automatically their weaknesses fade into the background. We would also want others to focus on our strengths and not judge us for our shortcomings.

We will achieve real balance and lasting happiness only when we rearrange our priorities – taking into account our spiritual nature – and then act on those priorities. As long as we continue chasing happiness in the outside world, we will continue to be frustrated. When we allow others to determine our level of happiness, we give up one of the greatest freedoms offered to us: the choice to be happy despite our circumstances. We just need to return to that state of bliss to which we are already entitled to experience and enjoy.

In Spiritual Primer, we read that for those who succeed in overcoming the dominance of the mind, their spiritual dimension becomes their singular reality even while living on this earth. Being always aware of their spiritual nature, they remain constantly in touch with it. They live in the midst of illusion but are not deceived. They are profound and yet lead simple lives. They do not think ill of anyone nor do they deceive their fellow beings. Their thinking is crystal clear and they are efficient at whatever they do. Their hearts are open to everyone. They have realized the full potential of the precious gift of the human form. They do not merely exist but live a life full of meaning, purpose and joy. They have achieved the perfect balance between their worldly and spiritual duties, and have escaped the stress and misery of the world. These are people who have made spirituality their number-one priority, and by living the saints’ teachings, they have merged their consciousness with the power behind all life.

Our ability to journey upward and inward strengthens our dependence on something larger than the problems we face. The Lord knows best how to unravel our karmic relationships so that we do not have to return to this creation. If we learn to live in his will, we will not be brought back by our desires and preferences. God has written our story. We need to trust the Author.