In today's world, worry, stress and anxiety seem to have become part of daily life. Yet, who doesn't wish to stop worrying, or wonder how to cure anxiety? Who doesn't ask themselves what is peace of mind, and how can I live in peace?
Some proclaim, "Do not worry!", or "Stop worrying and start living"; others offer natural cures for anxiety, or teach how to get rid of negative thoughts. But the internal struggle continues...
In the book "Worries", Gnani Purush (embodiment of Self knowledge) Dada Bhagwan offers unique spiritual insight into how to cope with anxiety, and how to live a spiritual life of no worries.
He provides spiritual awareness of "Who am I?" and who is the doer in life, from which one can attain an internal state of no worry, and begin to live in peace.
For those facing problems in everyday life, and wondering how to get inner peace, this book will prove an invaluable resource.
Excerpt:
What is the source of worries ?
Dadashri : Have you ever worried ?
Questioner : It is human nature to worry and worries of one kind or another will always be present.
Dadashri : Human nature is such that if someone slaps you, you would slap him back. But there are also some thoughtful individuals who feel that the law should not be taken in their hands. To worry is the same as taking the matter into your own hands. It is wrong to take matters into your own hands. Why should man worry at all? Each and every God has said that people should not worry and that we have to leave everything to Him.
Questioner : But there is a vast difference between saying it and actually putting it into practice in everyday life.
Dadashri : I am merely stating the fact. Worries are not easy to get rid of. Everyone experiences worries now and then. When you start worrying, what medicine do you take? Is there any medicine for worries?
How can one experience bliss if there are worries?
Questioner : I pray to God and ask for His grace so that I may become free from worries. That is why I keep repeating His name. Through this medium I make spiritual progress. In spite of that, I have still not experienced the God that resides within me.
Dadashri : How can you experience Him? You cannot experience anything amidst your worries. Experience (of God) and worrying are never together. You will have the experience once these worries disappear.
Questioner : How can these worries end?
Dadashri : Your worries will cease by staying in this satsang. Have you ever come to the satsang before?
Questioner : I go to satsang elsewhere.
Dadashri : If you attend a satsang but continue to have worries then you should leave that satsang and find a satsang where your worries will cease. Your worries must end if you are in a right satsang.
Questioner : I feel at peace only as long as I am sitting there.
Dadashri : No. That is not called peace. There is no peace in it. That kind of peace can be found even while we are listening to idle chatter. Real peace should be with you forever. How can you go to the satsang where you continue to have worries? You have to tell the one conducting the satsang, 'Sir, I worry, therefore I will not be coming to your satsang, or give me some kind of 'medicine' so that I don't have worries.'
Questioner : My mind is never at ease anywhere, whether I am at the office or at home.
Dadashri : You go to the office to work for your wages. You have obligations to your household so you cannot run away from it. Simply leave the satsang where your worries persist. Look for another satsang and keep on searching for a satsang, which will end all your worries. Have you been to any other satsang?
Questioner : But we have been told that God is within us and we will get peace from within and that we are to stop looking elsewhere.
Dadashri : Yes, that is true.
Questioner : But we do not experience the God within us at all.
Dadashri : You cannot experience God in the presence of worries. If there are worries, then whatever experience you may already have will disappear. Worry is the greatest ego. God asks, "Why are you being egoistic? If you are, you are not welcome here." A person who believes, "I am running this, I am doing it," will suffer from worries. The person, who does not have faith in God, will be the one who worries.
Questioner : I have faith in God.
Dadashri : If you truly had faith in God, you would leave everything to him and sleep soundly. Who would worry like that? So, have faith in God. Wouldn't God be listening to a little of what you are saying? Do you have to worry at all after your meal? Do you worry whether the digestive juices or enzymes are being released or not? Do you worry whether new blood will be made and the waste eliminated? There is so much going on inside of you that requires care, and yet you worry about what is happening on the outside. God is doing all the great work inside, and all the outside work is minor in comparison to this. You claim that you are doing all the work, so naturally God will feel bad! Worries arise because of this ego of 'doership'. The person, who worries, is egoistic. Leave everything to God for one week and stop worrying. Then one day come to me, and I will help you realize God, so that your worries will be gone forever.
Worries are an open fire
You have to understand all this. What happens when you ingest the medicine that was meant for external application only? This is precisely what people have been doing when it comes to matters of spirituality. They have not followed the word of the Lord exactly and that is why they have worries. Otherwise, would they have any worries? How can a person from India have worries? (India being the land of Tirthankars and their spiritual science) Do you enjoy worrying?
Questioner : No, I want peace.
Dadashri : Worry is a fire. One becomes consumed with anxieties that something bad may happen. Once in a while there arises an opportunity for a human being to become an individual with imposing values but if he wastes away his human life worrying, then he will lose the right to be born a human again. Grave indeed is the consequence of not realizing this. How grave are the consequences of worrying! If you want peace then I can put a stop to your worries.
The path of liberation starts the moment you stop worrying. The Gnani shows you how to do darshan (i.e. spiritual experience) of the Lord, otherwise it is not possible to see the Lord. Until then, the fire of worries continues to burn and people burn in the fire of worries just like potatoes roasting in a fire pit. Such is the life of those who worry.