Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Criticism is a part of life

Anywhere you go you will get praise and then criticism. The nature of the mind is to praise when happy and criticize when unhappy. This is the way it is. As an artist one wants praise but as someone on the spiritual path it is equanimity one must strive for. How to get it? Sadhana and spiritual practice will only take you to a certain point. Beyond that it is only a willingness and courage to listen to the disrespectful and distasteful stuff that will make you centered. If criticism is for growth then listen assimilate and change. If not then simply smile, listen and move on! This is called applied knowledge. Just the other day I got to practice this. If I got shaken then the whole purpose of that test or lesson from Guruji would have been lost. One should not only listen, but one should also have the courage to stand up against injustice and correct people when required.

We are all on this path called life and living is determined by not how much fame or wealth we accumulate but rather how strong and settled we have become. A smile on the outside is just an outer shell but strength from within is the true light! Small incidents come and go, but it is the large ones that determine us as individuals. After handling the larger situations one starts to incorporate perfection in every facet of life.

Jai Gurudev