Delay Is Not Denial: Trusting the Universe’s Timing
Purpose, karmic or otherwise, manifests life. As the soul traverses the worldly plane, its companion, the mind, wanders as the senses sense wonders. It is such, that desire takes root, and chetna and viveka are relegated. This is why the Gita starts with Arjunvishadyog, where despite being predestined, Arjuna’s desire to not harm his grandsire, his guru, his brothers, overshadows his swadharma leading to lament . Blessed was he that the lord dispelled his sorrow and showed him the light. But today, where desires form the basis of all actions and an insatiable lust for quick gratification engulfs us all, how can one not equate delay with denial? Like everything, it starts with a small step; a realisation, often upon introspection, that I am one of an incalculable sum, and I only perceive time as a myopic person perceives the world.
Estimates suggest that there may be up to a trillion species on earth, with over 6 billion humans. This is the first realisation. I may desire rains, but it will impact my neighbor. I may like a specific cuisine, but that impacts another life. Irrespective of what I do, it will impact others. It is then that we can empathize with destiny. If I were the supre]me being, who could grant any wish, would I let it rain, basis the desire of one, when many may wash away? Would I manifest the desire of one to earn a billion, which may result in many being impoverished? Or, must I, the omnipotent, care for all under my stewardship? The answer, to me, is obvious, and I am sure that we are all intuitively practicing this. As a child, I was the first to hog all the sweets. As I grew up, I learnt to share. Though this led to a delay in me getting the sweets, it only added to the joy of having them.
The second realisation is about time. On an average, we live for 70-75 years, that’s over twenty two thousand days, or five and half lakh hours. We seldom realise this. We are mostly predisposed to the notion of “now or never”, and as such, we create false parallels between delay and denial. Think of a quick commerce delivery, there may be rains, traffic or a million other factors that lead to the order being delayed, but just because it is delayed, does it mean that it is denied? Well, not unless we cancel the order. The story is similar for desires as well.
It is possible for delays to become denials, but that can happen in only two cases. Either I transformed the delay to the denial, or I was unworthy of having the desires fulfilled. When a cab takes more time to reach the doorstep, many of us are quick to cancel, making the delay the denial. When we are not granted a promotion that we believe we deserve, we switch to apparent greener pastures. In all such cases, it is not time that robs us of our desires, but we, ourselves, do so. On the other hand are the desires that are denied to us by destiny. This is because we seldom ask if we are the right person to receive the gifts. This is not to say that we don’t have the potential, but to sit at home and hope for a windfall is a fool’s errand. Unless I am ready to receive the fruits of the desires, having them fulfilled can be disastrous. When an unworthy sits upon a throne, it leads to the demise of a dynasty and the destruction of the people. It was true for Ravana, the Roman empire, the Mughals and many others .
Desire is like the north star. We can use it to navigate the oceans, but when we reach the shore is not dependent on when we want to, but on the breadth of the ocean. Most of us, including me, make the folly of believing otherwise, that somehow we can will the ocean to sink its size. Instead, having met my Guru, I came to accept that the wedge desire drives between mundane and magnificence, is a false one. My contentment is not dependent on how much money I have, or the luxuries that surround me, but is dependent on my state of mind. It is then, that the most mundane can become the most magnificent, and the virtue of patience takes hold.
