Faith146;s lessons

With Ram Navami just over, the lessons from the Ramayana remain to be applied to everyday life. One of the best examples of coolness, courag...

With Ram Navami just over, the lessons from the Ramayana remain to be applied to everyday life. One of the best examples of coolness, courage and problem-solving is the divine bhakta, Sri Hanuman. If we consider some of his reactions, we can find inspiration for our own game plan, even discounting his divine qualities which we lack.

Most noteworthy, when Hanuman was to enter the well-guarded city of Lanka, to convey the well-being of Lord Rama to Sita, he was confronted with two problems: one, a clever means by which he could hoodwink the alert asura guards and gain access, and two, to find out the most unguarded entry point. As a solution to the first problem Hanuman became virtually unnoticeable and shrunk in size to incredibly tiny proportions. Consequently, his otherwise giant form did not alert the guards.

The second problem was overcome by Hanuman conducting a survey to find out the least guarded/unguarded part of the boundary and discreetly entering Lanka through it. Of course, the fact helped that Hanuman was Vayu putra the son of Vayu, or wind and could, if and when desired, leapfrog and even fly.

If we, like Hanuman, dealt calmly and pragmatically with our problems, we too could work our way through various problems.

All of us have to deal with life challenges such as grave illness, economic lows or loss of employment et al. However, there are four essential prerequisites for removing causes for discontent and attempting to resolve them:

8226; Identify the precise problem and assess its implications in totality and all its dimensions, especially long-term.

8226; A plan of action one most appropriate to deal with the problem must be worked out, taking into account the strengths, weaknesses and synergies of those engaging in it.

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8226; After working out the details and modalities of the action plan and waiting in anticipation of its favourable outcome, one should tell God, 8220;I have done not only what I am capable of, but much more, in fact what I believe is humanly possible. Oh God, now it is for you to help me in my mission.8221; This approach will help mortals to lighten their over-burdened minds. In fact, at this stage, a person should make a total and unconditional surrender to the will of God. There8217;s not much more s/he can do.

8226; A mundane problem cannot have as its basis lies or double standards, hence one8217;s conscience must be clear. A person whose conscience is not clear can never breathe easy nor sleep peacefully at night.

That8217;s practical morality at its deepest.