Reset

We all remember playing video games at some point in our lives. Choosing a game, starting out with a goal, frantically pressing the buttons on the controller to reach the end. But what would happen when we messed up or came across a hurdle we could not possibly overcome? More often than not, we’d hit the reset button and start over, sometimes realizing that the game became easier the second or third time around.

Life is much like a video game – a multi-player video game. We have a starting point and we have an end goal. In between, we gather power-ups – people, things, and situations that propel us towards our end goal. We also meet hurdles – people, things, and situations that deter us as well. Just like a video game, life too presents us with a reset button. This reset button may not erase what has already transpired, but it allows us to start over. So, how do we go about hitting the reset button in life?

The first step to starting over is to realize the purpose of our life. In the daily hustle and bustle of the world, it is easy to lose sight of our real purpose.

The main purpose of life is to realize God. This privilege the Lord has bestowed only on human beings. The human body is the top rung of the ladder of creation. From here we can either drop down to lower species or we can go back to the Father and escape from the cycle of birth and death. Everything else we have been getting every time we have come into this world, in any form, in any species.
_{Maharaj Charan Singh, Spiritual Perspectives, Vol. 1}

Next, we need to exercise our spirituality. We need to put into practice what we have learned. We need to remember that our spiritual practice is not something that is limited to a few hours every day. It is something that should be reflected in everything that we do.

We must not forget our meditation when we start our worldly activities during the day. Its effect should remain with us. It fills us with certain noble ideas, noble thoughts, noble principles, and we shouldn’t start compromising with them during our daily activities. Our meditation must reflect in all our activities in life.
_{Maharaj Charan Singh, Spiritual Perspectives, Vol. II}

The third step is to sustain our efforts. It can be discouraging when we try to seek progress but do not see it. However, this should not deter us from putting in the effort. Eventually, our relentless efforts will form a habit. In an answer to a disciple, Maharaj Charan Singh Ji says:

Habits are easily formed and soon become a part of our daily routine, and then if we neglect them, we start missing those things. Similarly, by giving the same time every day, this meditation should become a part of our daily routine. For instance, whether we are hungry or not, at one o’clock we are at the dining table; or the moment it is eleven o’clock, you rush for your coffee break. It becomes a habit and a routine of life. So, meditation should also become a habit and a daily routine. And if you give it secondary importance – “I’ll attend to it whenever I feel like it, I’ll do it whenever I get time” – then you’ll never attend to it at all. So one should make it compulsory.
_{Maharaj Charan Singh, Spiritual Perspectives, Vol. II}

Next, we need to eliminate our negativity. Life will always throw curve balls at us – and at times, it will be when we least expect it. When this happens, we can either choose to sulk because things do not go our way or we can hold our heads up high and take a positive approach. From our limited perspective, we may not be able to see progress, but the Master assures us that provided we put in our best efforts without fail, there is always progress, no matter how small.

Lastly, if we find ourselves still struggling, then we can always try again. We are given the opportunity for a fresh start every moment, every day. It can be very easy to hold on to past shortcomings and weaknesses, but we need to let go of what we can no longer change or control. We need to keep trying – that is all we are expected to do.

So let’s take a moment to reset our lives – realize, exercise, sustain, eliminate and try again.