There are, of course,
innumerable inspiring instances of total graceful acceptance. Let me cite two
such examples. One is of a young Brahmachari of our Order and the other is of a
paralysed old lady in Digboi, Assam.
The first example of the
Brahmachari comes to the mind spontaneously whenever I think of indomitable
courage and the capacity for total surrender to the will of God. This young
Brahmachari from the south, a very nice person was very ill and sent to our
Ramakrishna Mission Seva Pratisthan for treatment. When I went to see him there
I came to know that he had cancer and was about to die. He said to me with a
smile, "Brother, I know I am suffering from incurable cancer but due to
the grace of Sri Ramakrishna and my guru I am able to accept the fact that the
body is temporary and it will go. But there is something beyond it which will
survive. And that is my higher nature. Through His grace even here in the
hospital I keep my mind on my own inner self which Swamiji told us is birthless
and deathless." His words created an indelible impression on my mind. He
was merely a Brahmachari, not even a Sanyasi yet. As he lay there in hospital I
could see a divine glow on his face. After a few months he passed away and the
Bulletin of Belur Math paid a fitting tribute to this exceptional Brahmachari
in a sentence which said that he faced his disease with fortitude and was
reconciled to his fate in a manner which was exemplary. I would like to repeat
that such grace under pressure is possible only when we know how to accept an
adverse situation wholeheartedly.
The second example is equally powerful and
mov-ing. It is about an old lady devotee whom I knew be-fore corning to Delhi.
In those days I was posted in Narottamnagar, in the Tirap district of Arunachal
Pradesh. Every month I used to go to Digboi for a dis-course at a private
centre. There I invariably made it a point to visit this lady who could not
atttend the dis-course because she was bed-ridden due to an attack of
paralysis. She was the disciple of Swami Sankaranandaji, the sixth President of
our Order, and everytime I asked her about her health she would say,
"Maharaj, I am fine. I am all right as Thakur has kept me." Not even
once did I hear a word of complaint from her, no negative expression ever
passed her lips. She was all the time happy in the bliss of Thakur's grace. I
knew that she could say such words only be-cause she was able to accept her
situation completely.
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