Building inner strength and courage in challenging times

Everyone in this world faces challenging times in life. Challenges could be related to health, finances, relationships, or there may even be professional problems. The question is—how do we deal with them? We need to build inner strength, fortitude, courage, and, needless to say, we must remain positive in the face of challenges. Spirituality can go a long way in helping us build resilience to confront challenges.

Spirituality is the science of the spirit. The spiritual path leads us to the realisation of the ultimate truth that we are not the body, mind, and ego. We are the Soul, a Spark of Unique Life, which is a part of the Supreme Immortal Power we call God. We realise that whatever suffering comes our way, whatever challenges we face are nothing but the reactions of our own actions, our Karma. As we sow, so shall we reap. What goes around, comes around. Therefore, we learn to rejoice knowing that our Karmic debt is being settled.

When we are on the spiritual path, spiritual practices like prayer, Yoga, and meditation help us by keeping us connected with the Divine. Faith, which actually begins our spiritual journey to God, gives us courage and hope. It helps us accept and surrender. What we can’t change, we accept without protest. We do our best, and the rest, we surrender in consciousness. Prayer is a two-way communication with God. It is not only talking to God but also listening to the Divine voice in stillness.

Prayer builds resilience and gives us courage, knowing that God is always with us. We have trust in the Divine. We believe—when the idea is not right, God says, ‘No.’ When the time is not right, God says, ‘Slow.’ When we are not ready, God says, ‘Grow.’ But when everything is ready, then God says, ‘Go.’ Meditation is the art of making the mind still. The mind jumps like a monkey from thought to thought, creating anxiety, stress, worry, and fear. If we still the mind, we kill the mind. Then we are able to be peaceful and calm. When the mind stops monkeying around, the intellect shines, and we are able to discern, discriminate, and choose wisely.

We are able to deal with challenges effectively. It is in the state of thoughtlessness or consciousness that one is spiritually awakened or enlightened. When we are in the mind-state, there is fear, stress, worry, anxiety, regret, shame, guilt, negativity. But the state of consciousness, mindlessness, thoughtlessness, is full of positivity. It’s a state of peace. Yoga is a powerful practice that builds spiritual resilience. However, Yoga is often misunderstood. People think that Yoga is about Asanas or physical exercises or Pranayama or breathing techniques. Yoga actually means to be in union with the Divine, ever-connected to God just like a good SIM card is connected to the satellite. In Yoga, we are at peace, unlike in the state of Bhoga, when we are caught in the trappings of this world, with desires, fear, anxiety, and stress. While Asana and Pranayama do contribute to a sense of well-being, both physical and mental, they are only the preliminary steps of true Yoga.

The spiritual realisation that this world is not real but only an illusion, a drama, a show and we are actors who come and go helps us deal with whatever comes our way. We learn to observe everything as spectators, observers. We know that everything is an illusion. We realise that death is not the end. It is a bend to transcend. Self-realisation, the realisation of who we are, liberates us from all suffering and misery. We realise that we are not the mind, body, or ego that faces challenges or suffers. We are not human beings, but Divine beings. We are the Soul. The Soul has no challenges. The Soul does not suffer. One who is enlightened has no fear, no problems. He lives as a Divine Instrument. Such an awakened Soul is spiritually resilient and lives in a state of Satchitananda, in a state of bliss, in consciousness of the truth.”