296 – Are obstacles beneficial to us?

Who does not have obstacles in life? We can be weighed down by them or overcome them. Obstacles are described as hurdles, shackles, chains, handicaps or embarrassments. How do we view them?

Quotes from ancient Japanese proverbs state,

“True patience consists in bearing what is unbearable.”

“When there is no antagonist, you cannot quarrel.”

It is clear that only by overcoming difficulties, we can accomplish our goals. The God who removes our obstacles is Ganesha, the elephant headed God. Shiva gave him the head of an elephant as the elephant is considered very wise and has an unforgettable memory. We pray first to Ganesha so that our prayers are rewarding and that we can proceed on the path of faith and spirituality.

The path of Karma Yoga

We must address our difficulties in a constructive manner. We learn from the problems imposed on us and we are able to move ahead. We also learn from the hindrances in our work and life. It is the path of Karma Yoga which we learn to follow. Once we are able to do it, we find that we are blessed with a joyous frame of mind. No hardship is too much as we wish to put in our best.

We take our problems not personally as to why is it happening to me only, but as a challenge and therefore we are positive in our approach of tackling them. It is not easy for us to always accept difficulties and problems in our life. Our daily sadhana (practice) of asanas, pranayamas and meditation gives us the prana (energy) to face life fearlessly. We are imbued with healthy prana and our thoughts are not controlling us.

Why does this happen? When we perform our sadhana, we follow a daily routine. In this routine we are focusing on our asanas, pranayamas and meditation. We are visualizing ourselves performing the asana, we are counting how long we will stay in the pose and we are counting our breaths. So we are aware and detached and are not engaging with our thoughts. This benefits us as we learn to conduct our duties in an unchallenged manner. Our objective becomes to do our best.

If we can apply this attitude to our daily life in even a tiny way, we will discover that we will be in a state of well-being.

Aim Hrim Krim

 

Photo by Dima Pechurin on Unsplash

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