Why bad things happen to good people. . . .

You ever why wonder why bad things happen to you? The old saying goes that when it rains it pours. I dont know about anyone else but in my world when it rains it Monsoons. A LOT. Like many of you I have sat around on multiple nights thinking to myself why these bad things happen to us. Why is it that we can put so much good out into the world and bad things happen to us.  Well us to understand this I want to remind you of the Ramayan.

Its really a simple story for those of you that don't know it - God is reincarnated as a throne prince, gets married to the fairest maiden in the land, has to go into exile for 14 years because of a jealous stepmother who wanted the throne for her biological son, his wife gets kidnapped by by the most evil king in the land who can only be killed by being hit on a very specific part of his body, he has to set out into the world with just his little brother, wodden shoes and a bow/arrow to fight an entire army and Evil kingdom.

Now I feel obligated to remind you. . . THIS WAS GOD!

As you sit through and think about all of the good things that you have done and compare them to the bad things that seem to be happening, here are few things I want you to remember.

Lord Ram, our hero of the Ramayan, was God himself but he had to follow the laws of the land. Our world is filled with good and bad, like night and day, like fire and water, its the balance of a nature an essential truth that you need to understand. Sure being God, he may have cheated knowing he was God and knew what was coming next. But he still had to endure the same pains, the same suffering and the same blows that you and I have to deal with on a daily basis. But for those of that know the Ramayan you also know how the story ended.

Evil was vanquished, the evil kingdom was utterly defeated, Queen Sita was saved and the Lord Ram took his rightful place as king. The Ramayan teaches a lot things but one of its greatest teachings doesn't get focused on a lot. The way all of this was possible by a guy with Bow and Arrow, a little brother and wodden shoes was because of the people he met along the way. People that helped him, supported him and when the time came they laid there lives down for him. Yes many of them knew he was god and thats why they did it. And who could forget this fellow:

Hanuman-ji knew who Lord Ram was but he also represented something very interesting. He had God in his heart like all of us do. My point for all of this is simple. Sometimes we meet people that need our help, whether its some money, food, clothing, words of advice or a simple and hug reminding that everything will be okay. So the next you think about not helping someone just remember one thing - GOD RESIDES IN ALL OF US. This long and difficult journey of life can only be completed through love and peace. We are all connected, all of us, by the bond of god within.

Bad things happen to good people as a reminder, to always be there for another, if Lord Ram needed it you do too. The Ramayan would not be a story for the ages if people didn't rise to help one another. The world today needs people to rise once more, the God you are waiting for is inside of you and needs you. So tomorrow morning give someone a smile or a words of encouragement - remind them god is here, there everywhere!

JAI SHRI RAM!


Love all and let the light within shine bright. . .

Om Namah Shivaya

Every morning I meditate to and chant "Om Namah Shivaya" 540 times using rudra beads. Up until yesterday I really dont know why I was doing this. It was just this strong emotion inside of me that is driving me to do this. But there is something very interesting that has been happening with me the last few months. You see I always have considered myself a religious guy but not someone who was a fanatic. God has had a very important place in my life, I almost see God as a friend. I argue with him, and at the same time I thank him for giving me the opportunity to wake up every morning and experience life in all of its greatness.

I have spent the last few months bitter because of various reasons and times have been absolutely lost. But the weird thing that has been happening to me is, it seems like God has been trying to find me( I know I should have been the one trying to find God). See the good and bad thing about religion is interpretation. I know there is probably a more profound and richer history/meaning of Om Namah Shivaya. But to me through all of what has happened to me it seems like that all of those moments were leading me to the road that I am on today. Like I said I didn't know why I was focusing so much on Om Namah Shivaya until literally yesterday. See the more I read about Lord Shiva and Parvati Ma, I'm starting to learn that they are the embodiment of everything that surrounds us. I read somewhere last night that Om Namah Shivaya is "I bow to Shiva" and Shiva is our inner self. Shiva is our Conscience and Parvati is our experience in this world. Everything that I am starting to learn about us and the world that surrounds us is that it is driven by us and our thoughts.

Shiva is supposed to be the destroyer of this universe, and I guess in my younger days I didn't know what that meant. But you can only destroy that which you control. Vishnu might be the preserver or life but most enlightened will tell you that you are an essence of Shiva and it is that Conscience that all of us has that keeps this world going. Om Namah Shivaya, to me, is not the prayer offered to Lord Shiva only but also to our inner selves. No wonder every time I get done with my chanting I feel this sense of extraordinary peace and strength. I feel that I am the master of my domain and Shiva is with me, in every step, in every moment guiding me. Parvati Ma is there to make sure my experiences are strong and fulfilling - whether I consider them good or bad but that usually changes with time. In the end, I will never tell you should DO something, other than doing good. When the time is right, like it happened with me, he will come looking for you and will find you. Just live with love and peace you in your heart.

Love all and let the light within shine bright.

The connection between Love and Religion

Regardless of what religion you might follow there is always this one common denominator between all religions. That denominator is love. Every religion tells you that love is a virtue of God himself. That genuine love can give others a sense of God like nothing else can. I believe there is a reason for this, please read on.

If you have been visiting this site to read its contents you know that I'm not a writer by any account. I actually don't even proof these blogs more than once, that should explain the spelling and grammatical mistakes. I'm just a simple guy that spends his life trying to do good in the world. My life wasn't always about doing good 100% of the time. I wasn't doing anything bad, I just wasn't doing as much good as I could or spreading the message of love, it was about taking my talents and using them to fulfill my personal desires and dreams. While I had a great run at it and obtained a lot of material wealth, I also did not find a sense of peace during that run, regardless of how much money I donated to the needy or had in my bank account. Today as I sit here and write this blog I'm starting to realize why. When I personally move forward in life with love in my heart for all and try to spread the message of good, I find peace that material wealth could never fulfill. The reason is simple, when you fill your life with love in your heart you give off an energy that attracts things and people to you. You clearly can't help everyone, but you can have people feel genuine love and warmth all the time. If your default mode is love, then what do you have to worry about? Whatever you put out into this world will eventually come back to you, good or bad. 

Love comes in all shapes,sizes and forms. Love is not maya for anyone that wants to start a debate on that. Maya is love that becomes an obsession that prevents you from fulfilling your Karmic duties. Love so in every interaction you have in life you don't try to hurt someone. Don't pull a fast one over their eyes or think that it is okay to be sneaky with anyone. Do it with honor, valor and class with love in your heart at all times. Focus on what you should be doing and watch how life brings to you what you want it to. 

Be it today rather than trying to become it tomorrow. It has been said that being is enlightenment, becoming is ignorance.


Love all and let the light within shine bright.

www.digitalhindu.com
fb.com/digitalhindu
@digitalhindu