Hope in Adversity. Wednesday's Inspiration 3 for Aspiring Souls

“Hope knows no fear. Hope dares to blossom even inside the abysmal abyss. Hope secretly feeds and strengthens promise.” ~ Sri Chinmoy

The above quote comes to mind in these very trying times. It is also appropriate, as for some we are most certainly in the abysmal abyss and of course dark shadows by nature, tend to feed on the seeds of fear. It is precisely because of this that the aphorism includes the word 'hope.'.

Hope is a radiant dawn, shining like a Light in adversity. We need to believe, to be joyful, remain strong and as some private enterprises are now realising, to help one another. The old saying 'we are all in this together' has never been more real -- from the East to the West - from everywhere on this our planet Earth.

So we look to the future, but with the reality of how we can best serve today. For it is by bettering ourselves at every moment, that we will be of greater service to aspiring mankind.

I responded to a Hub yesterday, yet another one speaking of 'end times.' I have been hearing of them since childhood and so I gave this response:

"My 'watch and pray' is not for signs, but to be ready and receptive in Love to receive Him. I feel if I am not striving to be pure here, why would I strive there? If I do not love man whom I can see, how can I love God whom I cannot see? How am I a benchmark for Christ, if all I do is await signs?

if I am steeped in Ignorance on Earth, is it fair to awake to a pure life in heaven? What is making me want to rush from God's beautiful Creation? If it's man, then how can I lesson God's burden?" Food for thought.

God is Spirit, capital 'S', and Consciousness is the Yogic word. Spirit is omnipresent. There is nothing outside Spirit and so it follows that all within Spirit has an intended purpose, even the 'bugs' we may not wish for.

The nature of the soul is immortality, but the mind has not quite grasped that message and so naturally we are afraid. Yet somehow we wish to stay alive, doing the things we feel necessary to achieve this goal.

Some Spiritual Masters of lion strength, said that the Buddha was one of the most practical teachers that ever lived. For he made it quite clear that all is transitory, ephemeral by nature ... that nothing lasts but the Higher Light. He also said that suffering is common to all.

We cannot avoid suffering. This means that it's a great idea to be conscious, of not only our needs, but the needs of others as well, as the recent crisis is showing us, that we are living in an interconnected world -- a oneness-home. We are really not alone as we think.

Let us be kind and say with Sri Chinmoy, the visionary-Seer:

"Be kind, be all sympathy,

For each and every human being,

Is forced to fight against himself." - Sri Chinmoy

So back to hope ... back to our visions of tomorrow. Sometimes the mother goes through severe pains in pregnancy, but she bears it all, knowing that sooner or later, she is going to have a beautiful child. The rose does not criticize the thorns, saying: "Please do not spoil my beauty!", as it knows that the thorns are there for protection. How else can she remain undisturbed and untainted? How else can she become a most immaculate flower?

So too, adversity helps us to grow, to blossom like the rose ... to awaken, like the glorious morn, after another evening's sunset. This is the time to rise, to shine like the Creator meant us to, to be positive and loving citizens of His.

In the Sri Chinmoy Centre International, many of our activities have been cancelled, we cannot meet in large gatherings, but we can pray; send out loving-kindness to our loved ones ... to our state, country, the world.

Let us be a Light on the mountain. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Be confident! Be courageous, be brave! Go forward! Fly upward! March with inner sweetness and the Heart's Love and all will be well. Glory be! Jai Jesus Christ! Jai Allah! Jai Sri krishna! Jai Ram!

Hope is like a pageantry of flowers.

They await the spring, so they can unfurl

A tapestry of beauty to the universe.

Hope is like the young dove, longing for

The strength of wings, for it craves a

Sacred freedom, in infinity's blue sky.

Hope is like the crimson sunset,

Heralding the dusk, even while dreaming

Of the effulgent glory of Sister moon.

Hope is like a birthday,

A sweet dream of Love in the Heart of man;

Paying homage to the Absolute.

Indeed! What is hope, if not the seed of happiness?

A young kernel in the soul, carving

A Path to the bewildering Lights of Paradise.

-Manatita, The Lantern Carrier. 9th August, 2019

“Every day you have to energise yourself to such an extent that you will feel new hope and new aspiration. If on a particular day there is no hope, then on that day you are dead. If on a particular day there is no promise, then you are worse than dead. If you want to live on earth, then you must have hope.”- Sri Chinmoy.

I said. “O Sage, I’m lost in my darkness,

Filled with the tears of loneliness and fear.

I have affronted the silent beauty of life,

Now I’m covered with imprints of innumerable scars.”

“Be hopeful, my child. Dark nights are disguised candles,

Through which the light of mercy flows.

Some passions beat, like drums … become painful,

Yet others soar - like the Phoenix - to a translucent Light.”

“O Sage, my hope is diminished, my guilt real;

I’m steeped in a river of past shadows.

Strong is the current of my unworthiness;

Desperation claws through my bale of suffering.”

“Be patient, my child. Christ died and became immortal,

But this took him thirty-three years!

Shouldn’t we humans tarry a little longer?

Spring blossoms immaculately, when the winter’s gone.

There’s an ancient self-transcending Manuscript,

Whose Light somehow never wanes.

So too, night is the precursor of a new dawn,

So as to undeniably wake up dancing.

Hammer beats on the unshaped metal,

Only to give us a magnificent sword.

One day the sun will kiss your cheeks;

The moon will bow, to offer its raiment’s.”

“I see, O Beloved. Pain is inevitable with childbirth,

Until a most joyful miracle comes through.

A thorn is the messenger of wisdom;

Adversity’s scavenger-eagle, deep-cleans in the dark.”

“Yes, my child. Sometimes twilight brings nakedness,

But dawn heralds the melody of the lark.

So too, Love reins us in, in order to bloom

In fullness, the harvest of tomorrows morn.

When the rain falls heavily, the earth is

Flooded with puddles, but soon

The all-nourishing sun peeps out,

And earth blossoms into new life.”

The Lantern Carrier. 3^rd November, 2018

~Awakening The Inner Light

“Every day must come to you as a new hope, a new promise, a new aspiration, a new energy, a new thrill and a new delight. Tomorrow will dawn and you have already seen thousands of days. If you think that tomorrow will be another day like those which you have already seen, then you will make no progress. You have to feel that tomorrow will be something absolutely new that you are going to create in your life.” -Sri Chinmoy