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Coping with Suffering– Part 3

The ancient wisdom scripture the Srimad Bhagavatam declared five thousand years ago (5.5.5), “As long as one does not enquire about spiritual values of life, one is defeated in his attempts for bodily happiness in this world.”

Napoleon and Rockerfeller v/s the common man

The Rockerfellers were devastated when their twenty three year old son Michael who went out to Asmat near the Indonesian islands was eaten by the cannibals.  They were the wealthiest in the world, yet their money couldn’t prevent them from not getting what they did not want.

The mighty French emperor Napoleon is a legend; even two hundreds after his death, in most military schools, Napoleon’s military strategies are taught; he is considered as one of the greatest army generals in history. Yet, after the Waterloo defeat, he was arrested and deported by the British to St Helena islands. While languishing there as a prisoner for six months before his eventual death, he faced harsh treatment, scorns, and neglect from average soldiers that probably even an ordinary citizen might not go through in his or her lifetime.

These incidents confirm to a wise person that material nature is unforgiving. We may discriminate amongst the beautiful and ugly, the wealthy and poor, the smart and the dumb, yet nature sees all of us as equally eligible for miseries.

To deal with miseries and transcend the suffering associated with it, we first need humility and intelligence to recognize its all-embracive nature. If we refuse to accept, the mind will go berserk. Likely to be the biggest killer of this millennium, our mind, makes a mountain out of almost every molehill. This is typically seen in our relationships where others never seem to meet our expectations, and we don’t meet theirs. As a result both parties are disappointed and cause problems for themselves and others.

To be continued…

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