Guiding Light of The Month

O Lord, how ardently do I call and implore Thy love! Grant that my aspiration may be intense enough to awaken the same aspiration everywhere: oh, may good- ness, justice and peace reign as supreme masters, may ignorant egoism be overcome, darkness be suddenly illu- minated by Thy pure Light; may the blind see, the deaf hear, may Thy law be proclaimed in every place and, in a constantly progressive union, in an ever more perfect harmony, may all, like one single being, stretch out their arms towards Thee to identify themselves with Thee and manifest Thee upon earth. - The Mother

Gratitude

Tring-Tring. The phone clattered, breaking the quietness of the house. Shwetha who picked up the phone was overwhelmed by the news her husband gave her regarding his long-awaited promotion with an overseas offer. Shwetha belonged to a small, loving family, with her husband Mahesh and two daughters, Shreya and Shruthi. In the evening, during a family discussion, a wave of queries arose regarding the transfer for which Mahesh answered that prior arrangements have been done only the school admissions and house hunting still remains, and that they had to leave by the end of the month.




Before heading toward a new experience, they visited the Sri Aurobindo Ashram to seek blessings of the Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. Soon after they left for Hong Kong, which greeted them with it's magnificent buildings and roads which caught the children’s fancy. Very soon they found a convenient house where they settled down, but before they could breathe a sigh of relief, they had another big responsibility - to sort out the school admissions. They applied to 2-3 schools who asked them to wait and lookup the results soon through email, Shwetha thought, “Oh my children are just brilliant, no one can afford to deny admission to my kids.”



Days rolled by, slowly Shwetha started worrying about the school admissions as no intimation was received yet. Both Mahesh and Swetha were disturbed.



After two days they received a phone call from a school asking them to come for an interview the next day. Hoping for the best, the family set out to the school, where they were informed of a problem regarding the change of the board, and they would be provided provisional admission as the formalities would take time. If they were willing to take the risk, they could pay the fees and start the academic year.



Her mind rushed with pessimistic thoughts, remorse of shifting from India and imagined how easy life would have been back home. Suddenly she seemed lost in an unknown land and Mahesh as if suggesting a solution asked her to introspect as to what they might have done wrong during the transfer.



Later in the evening after meditation and complete surrender, Mahesh realized that the defect was within them and not in the circumstance, that they never stepped back even for a second when things flowed smoothly to thank The Mother, but when there came a sudden jerk only then they remembered The Mother. Feeling ashamed of their conduct, they stood before The Mother with tears rolling down and asked for forgiveness.



“A mistake recognized is a mistake pardoned.”



With a certitude that The Mother would take care of the problem, they slept peacefully. The next day, the phone rang giving them news of approval of admission. Oh, how grateful they were to The Mother!!! With a sigh of relief they thanked The Mother for making them understand that “Every circumstance comes to reveal a hidden weakness.”



Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Aravindaya Sharanam Mama.



References

‘Rays of Light’, pg 95, pg 85 Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry.



- Sharadha

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