Robin Williams died today and my facebook page was full of disappointments over the tragic event (sure it is one). Apparently, it was a suicide case (not confirmed as yet though) but it did keep me thinking about what does a man want in his life. By society's standards - he was pretty successful and yet so depressed and lonely from inside. With each passing day, I am getting convinced that the definition of success needs to be re-defined by society. There is no point in running towards fame, name and money. It is very short term success that guarantees no satisfaction. In fact, I see ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in this materialistic world that can ever have an end and that can make a person feel content.
This incident also kept me pondering over the concept of pain. I have never met anyone in my life who does not have problems. I had an intelligent conversation with someone last weekend who mentioned that reading books helps us find answers to our problems that someone else might have faced in their lifetime. Impressive thought! Under the weight of our own limited world and problems, we tend to oversee the big picture. I would like to go a step further and add that we should also try to solve our problems for others ...meaning by setting an example of 'how to solve such situations". E.g as mentioned in Geeta (Mahabharat) - Karan could have solved his problem - of being undervalued by society - by helping others learn his super powerful skills & techniques. Instead, he chose to become selfish and resorted to take revenge from Pandavas - which caused no benefit to society ...and so his life ended as that of just another warrior (and not in a good light). I feel that whenever we face a problem, we should look at it from 1000 miles from above and not from 10 miles and find out exemplary ways to face it.
Are our pains good or bad for us? Simple answer is - 'I don't know' because it depends. However, when I look back at my own life - all the challenging times have always helped me push further and have made me matured in life. I value people, their emotions and have become much more compassionate and grounded than before. Waheguru has given this life to learn something from and to get closer to him (that power). So although we all detest bad times + pains + suffering -- reality is that these times help us achieve our ultimate goals more quickly. Suffering is a medicine as Guru Nanak dev ji also said - "Dukh daaru sukh rog bhaiya"
This incident also kept me pondering over the concept of pain. I have never met anyone in my life who does not have problems. I had an intelligent conversation with someone last weekend who mentioned that reading books helps us find answers to our problems that someone else might have faced in their lifetime. Impressive thought! Under the weight of our own limited world and problems, we tend to oversee the big picture. I would like to go a step further and add that we should also try to solve our problems for others ...meaning by setting an example of 'how to solve such situations". E.g as mentioned in Geeta (Mahabharat) - Karan could have solved his problem - of being undervalued by society - by helping others learn his super powerful skills & techniques. Instead, he chose to become selfish and resorted to take revenge from Pandavas - which caused no benefit to society ...and so his life ended as that of just another warrior (and not in a good light). I feel that whenever we face a problem, we should look at it from 1000 miles from above and not from 10 miles and find out exemplary ways to face it.
Are our pains good or bad for us? Simple answer is - 'I don't know' because it depends. However, when I look back at my own life - all the challenging times have always helped me push further and have made me matured in life. I value people, their emotions and have become much more compassionate and grounded than before. Waheguru has given this life to learn something from and to get closer to him (that power). So although we all detest bad times + pains + suffering -- reality is that these times help us achieve our ultimate goals more quickly. Suffering is a medicine as Guru Nanak dev ji also said - "Dukh daaru sukh rog bhaiya"
