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When you surrender to the Greater Being, the inner eye opens up and truly wonders start happening.
It is our common daily experience that our mind keeps talking to ourselves. Repeatedly, the hurts and injuries caused to us by others, keeps troubling our mind. The wounds open up afresh and the bleeding is unstoppable. Our mind and heart starts cursing our adversaries. When they come before us, instead of returning the smile and salutation, a frown, a grunt emerges from our face and mouth. We expose ourselves more and more for further attacks and this chain recoils. The mind and heart binds itself to sorrows and pains endlessly.
What is the remedy available to emerge from ourselves and to break from these shackles? The suggested remedy is to keep uttering the litany i.e. praise of Lord Almighty and keep repeating His name and glorify Him. Glorification of Allah’s name, seeking repentance and forgiving others would release us from the futile meandering of the mind and attachments to one’s self-ego.
Attachments to the self, self-glorification, self-gratification causes misery. Self importance is another factor to lead us to pride and anger. To subdue it, one needs to remind of another Greater being, who loves us more than our adversaries, who unasked showers his Bounties and Grace. Hence to change the focus from one self to the over self i.e. to the Higher Being by His glorification will surely release us from much mental torture, agony and despondency.
How to emerge from low self esteem and to broaden one’s own outlook is a familiar question arising in several minds who suffer from it. Persons lacking in self confidence and suffering from a feeling that they are short of talents, suffer from low self esteem. They refuse to mingle with their peer groups; withdrawing in their own shell, with unknown fears gripping their mind. They fear of being laughed at by other friends and relatives. Thus low esteem and lack of confidence would be a cause for nervous breakdown, migraine, nervousness, anxiety symp-toms; leading to neurosis and further on to psychosis. It would also be a cause for hatred for others. What can be the remedy to get rid of this illness? The best way is to put your faith in someone very dear to you as a friend, a teacher or a family doctor. You should speak out your mind and let out all your feelings and seek help to cleanse your mind and heart of the ill-feeling.
lt is often the complaint of the many suffering from depression that no one loves them and they are friendless. They feel that their friendship is spurned and they fail to get proper reciprocation. During the period of depression, life appears listless and you feel you are a failure, that you are meeting failures at every step. It is indeed a period when such persons seek self pity and their lamentation is grave and full of grievance. The faith in the Ever loving unseen Lord is at the lowest ebb and they curse destiny.
As a counsellor for over several decades, my approach to such persons seeking my help has been multi-fold. It is difficult to drive home the point that most of the adverse situations are due to their own short-comings and weaknesses. Such persons refuse to accept their wrongs and mistakes. They refuse to amend and repent. Sometimes, the point has to be driven home by raising hopes and showing that their positive nature can bring them good results. Meditation, patience, doing some good by way of feeding stray animals, birds, ants, poor beggars would bring joy and happiness.
When you submit and surrender to the Greater Being, the inner eye opens up and truly wonders start happening. Your heart filled with love and affection, would light up others’ hearts. You are accepted by others. Their response brings change in you and slowly you set goals for your self-improvement and you begin to see results.
(The writer is Editor of the ‘Sufi World’ Journal)
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