Destiny

‘My destiny pulls me through’ this is a thought that comes to my mind often. Through the ups and downs of life, I believe in a force that somehow helps me overcome obstacles and though I may falter or dip for some time, I rise again to continue the journey. The is not to say that I do not believe in perseverance. I strongly advocate the fact that nothing will work if you don’t. What I am saying here, is that when life comes up with challenging situations, there is something that helps me through it.

The debate about the importance and relevance of both destiny and perseverance in life has been going on since time immemorial.

There are those who believe strongly in destiny alone, and try to somehow  court Lady Luck for their benefit. To achieve this, they consult astrologers, graphologists, palmists, face readers, fengshui and vaastu consultants….. the list can go on. There is no right or wrong to this. If you believe that keeping a plant somewhere or sleeping in a particular direction works for you, please go right ahead and do it.

My personal belief, borders more on maybe…..karma. My heart accepts the theory of cause and effect strongly. What you have sown, you shall reap. If not immediately, then sometime later.

Krishna has explained the whole theory of cause and effect in his conversation with Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, and to me that makes a lot of sense.

We humans cannot choose the parents or place or circumstances we are born in. What we can choose is what we can make of the life given to us. How often we have seen people from humble backgrounds touch the zenith of success. And conversely, many who are born in affluent families, squander away their riches and die paupers.

So, what is the formula of life ? Do people get what they rightly deserve? Or is the distribution uneven? Do some people get away with murder while others get no results for their hard work and good deeds? So many questions and no answers.

So what is the way forward?

I would say that let’s just focus on our karma and leave the rest to the force called destiny. The circumstances in which the world finds itself today are something beyond our wildest imagination. If living through these times is not destiny, what is?

And yet what can we do if not persevere even in these circumstances? Doctors, nurses, social workers, our government are all persevering to keep us safe and we’re doing our best too by following rules.

In conclusion, Destiny and Perseverance do go hand in hand. Such is Life!!

Stay home and stay safe!!