Either/or? Black Or White?

satchitananda · Jan 8, 2019

HariLakhera said: ↑

We always crave for what we don't have and forget to count our blessings, whatsoever small. This is natural. In fact, the opposite of what we have is just a reminder to be thankful. When Vidhur asked Krishna why he does not stop people committing wrongs, His reply was - I am always with him and he knows it that I am watching but forgets all of this when he commits any wrong. In the same way, we forget Him when we have what we want and remember him only for what we don't have.
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Dear sir,

I do not totally agree with the above statements I have highlighted above. We do count our blessings, but our dissatisfaction in some other area of our life could make us miserable. We try to rise, but the fact that we are here as human beings means it is a work in progress. Under those circumstances, it is better we express our grief rather than suppress it just because somebody else has it worse, because suppression is not going to help anybody.

As for how and when we remember God, that is a topic for another snippet! Maybe one remembers Him when one is extremely grateful and turns off God and says He does not exist / gives up on Him when things keep going wrong?

Thyagarajan · Jan 16, 2019

satchitananda said: ↑

View attachment 257502 So I saw this message today. I loved it and shared it. "So true.. But acknowledge it only when we read such stuff " said one person in the group. Food for thought indeed.

How often when I have nothing to do, I just look around myself and marvel at the luxury of the freedom I have. Or when it pours outside, how grateful I feel for that roof over my head, the warm clothes I have to wear, the comfortable bed to lie on ..... so the message really resonated with me.

But I am not a saint. I have my peeves in life. Some of them are transient - aches and pains - each day is a different day. There are some other peeves which are more than peeves - they are the cause of a lot of heartache. Occasionally I share them with friends because I feel the need to let off steam.

So is it mutually exclusive? Can one be grateful on one hand but complain when some pain (not necessarily physical) grips one? Is someone's pain any less real because xyz percent of people are worse off? Or should somebody else's suffering be the basis of one's own gratitude? Sure, it helps to be reminded of that reality, but it neither takes the edge off that person's pain nor does it make them less grateful for what they have.

Each one's life is a different mix of ingredients and while they might be grateful for what they have, it would be unrealistic to believe that people should never complain.
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Nice bold thought which you had interpreted in your characteristic manner which is nice to study not read.
2. Yes I have food in fridge. Yes I am healthy. Yes I can see and look, also hear and listen and in one read understood the bold text’s undercurrent emphasis that I should not curse the stars under which I have born and so remain happy all the time.
3.There is nothing wrong in that bold text ; it only implies comparing status habitually with others either downtrodden or affluent or one’s emotional quotient vis a vis neighbours or close relatives might tend to cause depression.
4.While it also implies that well to do should have true compassion for the poor or impoverished or indigents and extend succour to mitigate their problems.
5.But in broader perspective, it also implies that if society stops compare its status from time to time with societies of other nations one shudders to imagine the consequences. It appears the sole driver seems to attain huge Goals for an individual, for a society, for a nation is comparison and evolve, refine for a finer civilisation.
6. Be happy- don’t worry is the crux of the bold text highlighted in your OP.
THANKS AND REGARDS.