#OpenUpInLockdown: Waiting for the lockdown to end? Here’s a quick tip
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on waiting & patience
Waiting is something everybody has to do. If a woman has conceived a baby, she has to wait for nine months for the baby to come out. A farmer has sown a seed, he has to wait for the seed to grow into a plant. A horticulturist has planted a fruit tree, he cannot say, ‘Tomorrow I want the fruit.’ He has to wait until the fruit comes.
Life teaches you in many ways that you have to wait. You have written an exam, you can’t say, ‘I want the result today.’ You have to wait for the result to come. Correct?
Waiting is a virtue. Nature compels you to wait. Now, what is our tendency? Our mind wants everything right away. We want everything in a quick-fix mode. We want results right away. This restlessness makes us miserable and we make others miserable at home.
Lockdown: Best time to practice ‘waiting’
Around the world, everyone is locked in their houses. We have to learn to wait. Waiting can cause frustration. But the same waiting, we can turn it into a meditative experience. Then you become more creative and more alert.
Otherwise, you become emotional, upset, and get agitated and make a mess of the whole time.
Let us practice waiting. The world is not going to fall on your head. We are in such a big hurry; everything we want quick, right away. Where are you going? This lockdown is going to help you to cool down, calm down, sit back and think about your own life.
We are busy getting the accessories to life, not really putting attention on life itself, and taking care of it. We are taking care of our garment but we are not taking care of our skin. We are taking care of our cars but not taking care of our bodies. Isn’t it? So, in the rat race of life, we forgot the center core of existence that is life itself.
Now is the time that we need to sit back and think and learn to have patience. And patience develops.
Why be patient?
Just imagine, someone is so impatient, would you like to be with them? Suppose you are expected to deliver something and the person who is on the receiving end is so impatient. How do you like that? Suppose you are preparing some nice dishes at home. You are baking pudding at home and the children are so impatient. They want it right away. You can’t give them a half-baked thing. Right?
Of course, there is a limit to waiting. It is not being complacent. It is not being lethargic. Patience is not lethargy. We should not be mistaken. Impatience and restlessness are not efficient.
So let us ponder on this. Let us learn to wait.
Storytime
Sage Narada was a globetrotter and he was known to everybody. He knew the future also. One day when Sage Narada was walking, he found another sage meditating under a tree. He asked the sage: “What is it that you want, what are you doing?” He said, “I am meditating, I want enlightenment.”
Sage Narada replied: “Good luck.” He began walking ahead when the sage asked: “Since you have come I would like to ask you, how many more days will it take for me to get enlightened?”
So Sage Narada looked at him and said, “Not in this lifetime, it will take another three lifetimes to get enlightened.” That sadhak, that gentleman got so angry. He threw his mala (rosary) and said, “Enough is enough! All I have done all my life is tapasya (penance). No more! Three more lives? No way!” Sage Narada said, “Well, I can’t say anything more, goodbye.”
He left and when he went a little further, he found another young boy in meditation. The Sage asked him, “What do you want?” The young boy said, “I want nothing but now that you are asking, could you tell me when will I get enlightened?”
So Sage Narada looked at him and looked at the tree that was behind him and said: “You may have to take as many lifetimes as there are leaves on this tree.” The boy was overjoyed, he said, “Only one tree? On this planet, there are so many trees, billions of trees; I am done. It is done.” He started dancing and said: “Only this much, it is very easy. I will do it.”
This resolution to take things with a good and positive spirit is very necessary. When we are frustrated and agitated, waiting is impossible. But when we are calm, serene, we are ready to wait. We have patience. Patience is a virtue. When you embrace waiting either with a challenge or with serenity and meditation, or with understanding, you can increase your patience.
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