The Problem with Problems

The Problem with Problems

The Problems with Problems

There is not a single person on this planet who has not had to face and address a problem in his life. Whether you are a king, a beggar, a priest, a doctor, or from any walk of life, you must have had tough and trying situations to handle. So, it is part of our life to be confronted with problems and solve them. But the main problem with problems is not the problem itself. It is our outlook or approach in dealing with them. People tend to stay at the problem level and not rise above it to solve it.

A spiritual approach to tackling a problem is to look at the problem by rising above and seeing it from a broader perspective. Just like when we climb a mountain and have a broader view of the whole space from where we came. We have a holistic view of that space, which allows us to see all the constituents making that whole. But if we stay at the problem level, which is basically at the ego level, we will not be able to allow the Higher Consciousness guide us to solve the problem. It does not matter if we fall (while rising); because unless we try, unless we take the road to the solution, we will not achieve anything. Satguru Kabir Saheb said:

“Maarag Chale Jo Gire, Taako Naaheen Dosh;
Kahain Kabeer Baithaa Rahe, Taa Sir Karde Kosh.”

(see transliteration and pronunciation guide here)

In other words, we cannot blame someone for falling, because he has taken the steps to embark on the path with a view to attaining his goal. But the one who remains sitting without doing anything is the one who is to be blamed.

Many times when we are faced with a trying situation, and cannot seem to find a way out, we become depressed. Then we go to sleep at night, and in the morning when we wake up, we wake up with a solution, as if by magic. What happened in fact is that all the time we had the problem in our conscious mind – at our conscious level – that is at the ego level, we could not find a solution. We were not rising above the conscious level. In our sleep, a mysterious thing happens. Our subconscious takes control and guides us. In other words, while at the conscious level, we were trying the way out, while in fact we had to find a way in. That is turn within ourselves to let the Higher Consciousness guide us.

Satguru Kabir Saheb taught us to follow the spiritual path, the path that will enlighten us. Unless walk on it, we will stay entangled in the realm of the worldly level, trying to solve problems using attributes of our physical existence. But going deeper within oneself, one is able to reach to the universal consciousness which in fact is the Higher Intelligence of God. That level is the actual nucleus of our existence. Because problems do not exist at the universal level; they only exist at the physical level.

There once was a king who loved birds. He had lots of birds from different species. One time he went to the forest to capture 2 falcons to add to his flock of birds. He took good care of them, and had special people feed them, train them and so on. After some time, he found that one of the falcons started to fly, and he really liked it. But the other one would not budge from its branch. He started to worry and looked for expert trainers from all over his kingdom to make the bird fly. No one could make the bird fly. The king became very desperate. One day, one of his bird trainer came to him and told him that his gardener offered to help make the bird fly. The king, although not convinced that the gardener could do anything, accepted. The next day, the gardener was allowed to see the bird and he made the bird fly. The king was not there to see how, because he was almost certain the gardener could not do anything. When he learnt that the bird was now flying, he summoned the gardener and asked him what he did. The gardener told him he just cut the branch where the bird was, and it flew.

This story teaches us not to ignore what we already have within us. Here the king already had the right person to his solution, but looked away to find it. Also, our potential are already within us; we just have to explore it. Just like the bird which was born with flying abilities, but the branch was its obstacle. Let us look within ourselves and find our potential.

Satyavaani Message delivered by Mahant Jay Jaggessur on February 11, 2017