What if someone were to forget that they had received a huge inheritance from their father and lived in penury, begging and borrowing money to survive? They would bemoan their fate and vent their anger on all who appeared to them to be selfish and unhelpful, ignorant of the fact that they owned a fortune. This seems to be the condition of many people today.
Our experiences in life depend, to a considerable extent, on our self-image, which determines how we feel about ourselves and relate to the world. If we see ourselves as lacking one, or many, things and are focused on our shortcomings, we are likely to feel weak, unworthy or plain unlucky. We will then perceive everything from that position.
This is apparent from the way people relate to each other and God. The Supreme is the Father of all souls: He is the Almighty, the Benefactor, the Merciful. But the children have forgotten who their father is, and they beg Him for help, for wealth, love, happiness, comfort, and even death, in order to escape their sorrows.
Do children need to beg for their inheritance? It is theirs by right. But when we forget our relationship with the Divine, we no longer remember what we have received from Him. This tragic amnesia leads to a lot of suffering.
What we remember determines how we feel. Think of irritating things and you will soon feel irritated. Similarly, dwelling on the Divine — deliberately, quietly, without prejudging — begins to fill us with His qualities of peace, love, and strength. The soul starts to recognise that these virtues are very much a part of them. They only need to turn their attention inward to discover and experience them. And if they want to fill themselves with more, they just have to connect with the ocean of virtues, their Father.
Once souls have acquired abundant peace and happiness, these qualities radiate from them the way fragrance naturally spreads from a flower. Those around them will feel peaceful and happy in their presence. This is the wonder of remembrance – remember who you are, whose child you are, and from a beggar you can turn into a benefactor.
The moment we find ourselves expecting, desiring or longing for something, we can check if we are remembering who we are. Knowing that one belongs to the Supreme brings contentment, joy and strength. Where there is the right remembrance, there are no complaints.
B.K. Atam Prakash is a Rajyoga teacher at the Brahma Kumaris headquarters in Mount Abu, Rajasthan.