difficult for us to face repeated failures. We may face one or two
failures, but when there are setbacks in every walk of life, then we tend
to become morose and our morale goes down. We start losing hope and faith
in Lord as well.
What are we supposed to do when there are repeated setbacks in life?
While describing the rainy season in Vrindavan, Sukadev Goswami says in
Srimad Bhagavatam verse 10.20.15
girayo varsha dhaaraabhir / hanyamaanaa na vivyathuh
abhibhuyamaanaa vyasanair / yathaadhokshaja cetasah
"Just as devotees whose minds are absorbed in the Personality of Godhead
remain peaceful even when attacked by all sorts of dangers, the mountains
in the rainy season were not at all disturbed by the repeated striking of
the rain-bearing clouds."
The purport to above verse very nicely brings out the lesson we need to
learn from the mountains. "When splashed by torrents of rain, the mountains
are not shaken; rather, they are cleansed of dirt and become resplendent
and beautiful. Similarly, an advanced devotee of the Supreme Lord is not
shaken from his devotional program by disturbing conditions, which instead
cleanse his heart of the dust of attachment to this world. Thus the devotee
becomes beautiful and resplendent by tolerating difficult conditions. In
fact, a devotee accepts all reverses in life as the mercy of Lord Krsna,
realizing that all suffering is due to the sufferer's own previous misdeeds
."
Recently we came across a very interesting article about giraffes. Baby
giraffes never go to a business school or office. But they learn a very
important lesson much early in life. A lesson that all of us would do well
to remember. The birth of a baby giraffe is quite an earth-shaking event.
The baby falls from its mother’s womb, some eight feet above the ground. It
shrivels up and lies still, too weak to move. The mother giraffe lovingly
lowers her neck to kiss the baby giraffe. And then something incredible
happens.
She lifts her long leg and kicks the baby giraffe, sending it flying up in
the air and tumbling down on the ground. As the baby lies curled up, the
mother kicks the baby again and again Until the baby giraffe, still
trembling and tired, pushes its limbs and for the first time learns to
stand on its feet. Happy to see the baby standing on its own feet, the
mother giraffe comes over and gives it yet another kick. The baby giraffe
falls one more time, but now quickly recovers and stands up. Mama giraffe
is delighted. She knows that her baby has learnt an important lesson:
"Never mind how hard you fall, always remember to pick yourself up and get
back on your feet."
Why does the mother giraffe do this?
She knows that lions and leopards love giraffe meat. So unless the baby
giraffe quickly learns to stand and run with the pack – it will have no
chance of survival. When we fail, when we are down, when people around us
kick us, we just give up. We feel lost. But these kicks are the real
impetus for us to get out of our comfort zone and to remind us that to
progress in our life, we need to learn to get back on our feet. If we study
the lives of successful people, we will see a recurring pattern.
Were they always successful in all they did? No.
Did success come to them quick and easy? No.
We will find that the common streak running through their lives is their
ability to stand up every time they fall. The ability of the baby giraffe!
The road to success is never an easy one. But success lies in being able to
get up every time we fall. That is a critical life skill.
Source: An email offering from H G Kalacakra Krsna Prabhuji and H G
Sudarshana Mataji (disciples of H H Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj) to Grantraj
Yahoo email Group.
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