Life Is A Journey

Birth is a beginning and death a destination And life is a journey: -- Anonymous

Life is an interesting journey in which one passes through many ups and downs. There are times when you are soaked in your own blood, and there are moments when flower petals are showered upon you. You fight; at times, you try to flee but ultimately you realize that there is no escape. You have to face both the sweet and the sour. The earlier you realize it the better it is for you. It is like your old comics story in which the prince feels that the only way to free the captivated princess from the damned castle is to kill the demon. This makes the prince summon all the courage he has and get ready for the fight. Dont you do the same? Here the princess is all the joy and the rewards of your life, and the demon is your negative attitude and your thinking of inadequacy. This demon is deadlier than the one in the comics. It silently sucks all the blood out of your veins. It forces you to be on your knees and feel miserably helpless like Arjuna of the Mahabharata. Who says the Mahabharata was fought long ago? Its being fought every moment within us, and there seems to be no end to this silent battle. The story of the Mahabharata had Lord Krishna to help Arjuna when he threw down the Gandiv out of despair, but in your story its you who has to play Lord Krishna, and its only you yourself who has to pick up the Gandiv again and rend the heart of the enemies with the lethal arrows of positive thoughts and action. One should remember that reading the Gita is great, understanding its immortal philosophies is greater, but the greatest is its implementation in our own life. So, what should one do? One has to pay attention to ones self-talk. It has the potential to make or mar us. There are two kinds of talks going in our minds - the positive ones which are always encouraging us to be better and do better, and the negative ones which keep making us feel bad about everything and creating doubts in our minds regarding our potential to achieve bigger things in life. The Mahabharata is on in full swing, and the two kinds of talks are acting as two distinguished charioteers in the great battle- Lord Krishna and Shalya. While Krishna kept encouraging Arjuna on his prospects of victory against the Kauravas and especially over Karna who was a greater warrior than Arjuna, Shalya, the charioteer to Karna, went on saying humiliating words to him and showing him inferior to Arjuna in all aspects. And, the result is known to all. So, dont let your mind talk to you in negative terms about you. Let Krishna and not Shalya take charge of the situation within you. Oh, how lucky we are! Every moment the Gita is being preached within us. We just have to calm down our negative thoughts and emotions, and listen to our soul talking to us of all the greatness we encompass in our self. If we develop a

tendency to look within for inspiration and support, there will be no need to look for motivation from outside. We dont need to impose positive thoughts upon ourselves or force ourselves to be happy. We just have to silence the incessant clamour going within and peace will descend upon us. We will find joy and strength rising from within. And thereafter, come what may, we will cover the lifes journey dancing and singing in bliss. ---Rajeev Nayan