Observe how problems crop up. You are unable to resolve your family discord, by discussing objectively amongst yourselves and so you seek a third person’s intervention. If you can put an end to turmoil by patient hearing and discussion, you will have no need for a Mahaan.

          Your problems stem from the following five reasons:

1. You have plenty of money, and the Income Tax department officials have raided your house. What must you do to avoid this? You must file your income tax returns regularly and in time. A failure is always because of non-anticipation of a given situation. This is problem 1(a), problems because of too much money. Problem 1(b) is paucity of funds. You do not seem to realize that you are the reason for your lacking in prosperity. God has granted everyone equal wealth, knowledge and health. If you had studied well through school and college, you would have landed yourself with a good job and so will be well off. Or, you must have at least acquired some vocational skills like masonry, carpentry, automobile engineering, printing and the like that will stand you in good stead. You know your aptitude. You know the present scenario. Why do you try to get some degree and become one of the unemployed? You must be conscious of your talents, the present situation in society and must strive to fit in some useful vocation. Your time is very limited and every step you take must be well planned.  Plan your future well. It is not necessary to acquire a degree; there are several avenues open to those who venture with confidence. Also, many monetary problems arise because persons do not make allowance for, or account their income and expenses. And when a crisis strikes, they resort to borrowing money and to repay that amount, they take a loan elsewhere and this becomes a vicious cycle. So problem 1(b) is due to lack of planning. This issue relates to the positive and negative aspects of money.

2.    Health-related problems. Does your health decline of its own accord? You are the reason for your good health or illness. If you regularly do physical exercises, eat nutritious food and maintain good habits, how will you become unhealthy? You are not concerned. Only when you are diagnosed for health problems, will you follow a regular exercise routine. There is this joke of a patient complaining to his doctor, ‘I am regularly participating in games as you advised, but I don’t seem to be slimming down. The doctor asks him what games he is playing and the patient replies ‘Game of cards’!

3.    Unmarried persons seek to get married and vice-versa. Married persons suffer from lack of peace at home. This can be resolved very easily. There must be co-ordination between husband and wife. And God knows what life has in store for you, so why worry over such trivial issues unnecessarily?

4.    Barren couples seek children. And those who have children complain about them. Children do not obey elders; son ill-treats parents, under the influence of his wife. The solution is very simple. Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law must form an affectionate bond. It is your duty to discipline your children. It is the elders who fuss over the children and bring them up as spoilt brats; what is the use of regretting later? If you don’t teach them to respect you right from their childhood, you will feel very unhappy later in life. Do not give in to their wishes so that you will command their respect. Be firm with them when required.

5.    Loan-related problems - Persons are so eager to own a house that they do not think about the aftermaths of borrowing money from money-lenders who fleece them with their instalment schemes. And most of the borrower’s income is spent on paying the instalments to cover the interest only; at one stage he is forced to divert his savings into repaying the principal. Wrong planning again! What is the need for owning a house when the funds are not sufficient? Why are you trying to ‘keep up with the Joneses’? Another problem with people is their excessive interest in jewellery. If you have jewels, wear them. But the constant newspaper reports of thefts leave you scared and so you would secure your jewels in the bank locker. Why buy jewels if you don’t wear them? And then, when a problem arises, you will pawn those jewels, pay interest, and finally sell the jewels to offset the loan. All these are absolutely unwarranted, don’t you think so? Caught in the jaws of these illusions, you are unable to enjoy the blessings of nature God has endowed on you – the moon, the radiant sun, the cool breeze rustling the trees, the bubbling brooks, birds and animals … see how many friends God has gifted you. Have you ever stopped to reflect upon the wonders of nature? You waste time wallowing in your misery and lose track of the greater pleasures of life. God has given you wonderful sense organs that help you feel these gifts of nature, and a mind that can soak up as much knowledge as needed; but you spoil it by crying over trivial issues that you have created for yourself.

    You would have been earning a decent salary, with good perks. Suddenly you will feel the urge to start your own business. You would not stop to think of whether you have a monthly income to take care of household needs, what would happen if the business does not prosper. The prime motivating factor is the anticipated profit that may accrue; you forget to anticipate losses. A person with business acumen will set apart money to cover expenses for the next 10 years from the date of commencement of that business. Many persons fail to provide for this. In case of an emergency, you will spend all the money you have set apart for the household expenses, towards reviving the business. By the time you start seeing some profit, your family life would have gone for a toss, because you would not have had time to spend with your spouse or children. What have you gained? A few pieces of money but you have lost your own family and a peaceful life, for this purpose. It is not worth anything at all. This is unwarranted.

          Problems that people face fit into the above-mentioned classifications.

          Sundaramoorthy Nayanar laments, ‘You granted me the bliss of Your Lotus Feet humanly incomprehensible. But I was distracted by illusions. You are not to blame’.  (Evarum ariya padham thanthaai, yaan adhu ariyadhu ketten, Un mel onrum kuraiyillai’). All the tests of life are to bring out the gold from within you, like how a goldsmith does.

          There is nothing called misery in life. If you did not face any misery, you will have ruined yourself. Only the so-called tribulations elevate you.

          No experience can be classified as either good or bad. If Arunagirinatha had not been a libertine and diseased consequentially, would he have been liberated by Muruga and composed the Tiruppugazh?  The reverence due to Arunagirinatha is due to the transformation he underwent.

          Take Siddhartha as an example. He was revelling in luxury till he chanced upon an old person, a sick person and a corpse. This misery upset him and led to his enlightenment.

          Either extreme joy or extreme sorrow will lead you to Wisdom (Gnaanam). So do not bother. Whatever has happened has happened well. Whatever is happening, is happening well. What is to happen will also happen well. This is the sum essence of Bhagavad Gita.

          Look at me. I have no worries, because I have no wants. I have been fasting for the past 20 days [I was fasting for the Kailash pilgrimage (Baba’s 10^th visit to Kailash, undertaken during August 2002)]. Yet, I am as lively as ever.  I don’t feel hungry and I will not be tempted to eat, even if you partake of a feast right in front of my eyes.

          You only need to conquer the mind. When the mind co-operates, everything co-operates. The joys and sorrows of this world do not exist outside; they are the reflection of your thoughts. If you lock miseries out, they dare not step in.

          The world does not affect he who has conquered himself. ‘Theedhum nanrum pirar thara vaara’. Only he who entertains the miseries of this world, becomes a picture of misery himself.

          So decide whether you want to be happy or are content with being sad!

(Baba's reply for other questions continues next week....)

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