God’s grace is hidden in all the struggles and hardships

A young boy learned about the caterpillar metamorphosis at school. Inquisitively, he went out in the garden in search of a cacoon and ah, he found one too. He was so excited to bring home the cacoon, put it in a glass jar and started observing it with a childlike curiosity. To his surprise after a few hours, the shell of the cacoon started breaking and the caterpillar began to struggle to come out of the cacoon. His struggled continued for hours. Slowly he saw the wings like things started coming out, but the caterpillar was struggling hard. He observed patiently, but his heart was filled with pity for the poor caterpillar who was struggling for a long time to come out of the cacoon.

Finally, he couldn’t hold himself and he cut the string of the cacoon with a blade to relieve the caterpillar. But, to his dismay, the caterpillar fell flat on his back and the juice from the shell swelled into his body. He couldn’t see all this and he left the room to play with his friends. After a few hours when he returned, the caterpillar was dead.

The very next day he narrated the whole episode to his teacher and asked, “Sir, I tried to help the caterpillar very carefully, but how come he died?”

The teacher explained to the boy, “My dear, the nature works its wonders in a brilliant manner all around us. The act of struggle is necessary for a being to survive. In this case, it is a natural process of evolvement of butterfly from the caterpillar. When the caterpillar struggles, the juice present in the cacoon slowly spreads into the wings. And finally once, the wings are formed, the caterpillar’s final moments of struggle make him to fly. But, when you took pity and cut the cacoon’s strings with a sincere motive to help, the wings couldn’t get formed. Hence, the caterpillar lost its life.”

The wise ones tell the same about human life as well. The hardships and struggles in life have a purpose – purpose of evolving our personality and to elevate us to a higher level. There are so many examples all around us. The children who work hard and struggle with challenges grow up to be successful in life. On the other hand, children born with silver spoon escape struggles and hardships, and mostly end up wasting their lives in the later years.  History also reaffirms that the greater the hardships, the greater is the personality. Look at the lives of all the great people and you will find one common factor - all of them went through hardships and struggles. 

Not only human, even the divine personalities in all the religions of the world went through many hardships, be it Sri Rama, Sri Krishna, Jesus or someone else. Sri Rama was sent to seclusion in the forest for fourteen years, Ravana absconded Sita Mata and then, with limited resources, he had to fight with mighty army of Ravana. Similarly, Sri Krishna was born in a prison and his whole life was full of hardships and struggles, which he overcame with a poise and elegance. 

While trying to avoid the struggles and hardships, our mind forms a habit of always looking for short cuts and easy going path. This desire of easy going life and comforts is a binding which gives rise to fear and restlessness.  However, the wise one realizes that all the struggles and hardships come in life with a purpose of uplifting us to a higher level. Swami Ram Tirth used to say, “Oh God ! Have you forgotten me? For past many days, you have not sent any difficulty of my way. Please continue to shower your grace on me and keep on sending the struggles and hardships.”    

In Srimad Bhagvatam, Mata Kunti (mother of the five Pandavas) recites a beautiful prayer for Sri Krishna and in one of the Shlokas goes like this:

Vipada-santhu-na-shaswath-tatra   Jagath-guro;

Bhavatha-o darshanam  yath  syaath-apuna-r-bhava-darshanam || Shrimad Bhagvatam 1.8.25 ||

Translation: 

Oh Master of the universe, may struggles and hardships keep coming to us because during hardships only we remember you, and get your glimpse. By the grace of your glimpse, a being gets freedom from the cycle of births and deaths.

I am not emphasizing that one should look forward for hardships and invite struggles. However, the point is that the true seeker should remain poise at all moments – with no desire for favorable or unfavorable circumstances in life. Whatever comes on your way, face it with boldness, fearlessness, equanimity and joyfully. 

The true seeker should begin to appreciate the importance of the hardships in life. Once you begin to embrace unfavorable circumstances in life with the same composure as you welcome the favorable circumstances, then your mind becomes free of fear and restlessness. Those who learn to face hardships in life happily, their mind get established in the divine peace and wisdom easily. The happiness during the challenging circumstances is the mother of equanimity and true wisdom of the Self. The art of remaining equipoise in the favorable and unfavorable circumstances is the highest form of art, highest form of wisdom and highest form of Yoga which is appreciated by Sri Krishna all over Srimad Bhagwad Gita.

Here are a relevant Shloka from  Srimad Bhagwad Gita. 

yasman nodvijate loko , locan nodvijate ca yah;

harshamarsha-bhayodvegair mukto yah sa ca me priyah|| Bhagwad Gita 12:15 ||

Translation:

He, from whom no one else gets disturbed and who is not disturbed by anyone, who is equipoised in happiness and distress, fear and anxiety, is very dear to Me.|| 12:15 ||