Facts of Life: IF CHILDREN DO NOT TAKE CARE OF YOU IN OLD AGE:

:Shree Hari:

7th February, 2008, Thursday
Maagh Krishna Amavasya, Vikram Samvat 2064, Guruvar

Question: If children do not take care of elderly members of the family, what must be done ?

Answer: In such cases, the attachment must be lifted from the children. You must hold within that these are not your children. The root cause of sorrow during old age, especially in situations where no one is taking care of the elderly, is expectation of amenities and comforts from family members. "Asha hi param dukham, naraashyum param sukham." Therefore that expectation itself must be renounced and where there is discomforts and lack of proper amenities and facilities, one must consider these as their austerities" It is God's immense grace that we are given the golden opportunity of austerities in the form of unfavorable circumstances. If family members were to take care of us, serve us, then we may get entangled and allured by affection, attachment, delusion and infatuation. By Gracing us, God has prevented us from being trapped in this illusion.

The main obstacle to spiritual progress is when man is trapped in attachment and illusion. We must be thankful and indebted to those who are helping remove these obstacles, freeing us, uplifting us and leading us to salvation. They are showering their grace on us !

When one has been accepting help and service from others throughout their lives, then in old age due to incapability, there is keener desire to receive help and service from family members. Therefore man must become alert and cautious from the very beginning, by thinking that he has not come here to receive service, rather his only aim is to render service to everyone, because this human birth is to serve all. So we must not expect or desire to receive comforts and conveniences from anyone. If from the very beginning we do not desire happiness, comforts and conveniences from others, then in old age we will not be unhappy. Yes! when in our mind there remains no desire to receive service or help from others, then in others, the desire to serve naturally arises.

In all fields, renunciation is essential. With renunciation, there is immediate peace. Remaining happy, even in unfavorable situations is a great austerity. The inner faculties are purified by austerities, not by receiving amenities and comforts. By desiring conveniences and comforts the inner faculties become tainted. Therefore man must never desire these, rather with his mind, speech and body, he should provide comfort to others.

From "How to Lead a Houserholder Life ? " in English pg 10, in Hindi pg 15 by
Swami Ramsukhdasji

Ram Ram

For full online discourses in Hindi, please visit Swami Ramsukhdasji's website.

http://www.swamiramsukhdasji.org
To gain clarification on related issues, please send your questions to:
gita-talk@yahoogroups.com
To read online spiritual books, please visit:
http://www.swamiramsukhdasji.org/swamijibooks/
To read all previous messages, please visit:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sadhaka/
P.S: Please pass on this message to whomever you think would benefit from the same

---------------------------------
Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

__._,_.___

Messages in this topic (1) Reply (via web post) | Start a new topic

Messages

To subscribe to this group, send a blank email to:
sadhaka-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Please do not send any questions or message for circulation to this group as it is a one-way distribution group only.

If you would like to ask questions or circulate any information, please email it to gita-talk@yahoogroups.com and see the reply at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gita-talk/