Tinted glasses

 Hari Aum.

We all go through ups and downs in life. When we go through a particularly difficult time, we rely upon our own inner strength but also upon support from our network of family and friends. For those who are spiritually-minded, Guru and God also become an important source of strength.

When we go through a rough patch in life, our perception of the world and the people in it can alter significantly. Instead of wearing rose-tinted glasses and having an optimistic vision of life, we may find that we are wearing some grey-tinted ones that show life as being rather lacklustre and gloomy. (Unlike the usual usage of the term, in this article, when I say 'rose tinted glasses', I am referring to a positive approach to life based on reality-- not delusion).

In other words, the tint of our glasses can powerfully shift our perception of reality. As spiritual seekers, especially, it is important for us to be aware of this. When we are in pain, we are often less able to perceive that others in our lives may also be in pain. We may be so busily absorbed in our own experience of our suffering, that we have a reduced ability to notice that of others. We may even incorrectly feel that everybody else is having a good time in life except ourselves and become resentful for no reason at all!

The yogis say that this life is certainly not a bed of roses. According to them, it is more like a bed of thorns with a few roses scattered about. Hence the reason they urge us to seek the everlasting rose of God realisation, which provides a joy and peace that cannot be found in the material aspect of life.

Coming back to human relationships, our expectations play a key role here. When we feel down and gloomy, we often expect to receive comfort from our close circle of family and friends (and if we feel we do not not receive this, we may be seriously upset and offended!). 

However, if a particular family member or trusted friend that we go to for help, is also going through a rough patch of their own, they are unlikely to be interested in us and our problems (as they too are busy sorting out their own issues in life).

We may then (while wearing our grey glasses), perceive them as being cold, cruel and indifferent to our problems. We may blame them for not being there when we needed them the most. Our relationship with them may be severely impacted by these negative and untrue perceptions. 

It is often difficult to be fair and objective when we are suffering in life. We may see injustice where there is none, we may see indifference where there is actually suffering. 

Generally, two people who are both wearing grey-tinted glasses at the same time, cannot be of much help to each other. In fact, they are more likely to end up quarreling and cause more damage to each other! 

And, this is exactly why forgiveness is key for the long-term success of human relationships (it is a sort of life-saving oxygen in many ways). Over time, people are bound to upset and annoy each other, sometimes by mistake, sometimes deliberately. And, this is more likely to happen at times when they were wearing the wrong shade of grey glasses, i.e. they were going through unfavourable circumstances in their lives. 

It is likely that we would like people to forgive us for the mistakes that we made when our vision was obscured by our grey-tinted glasses. Similarly, we should also be prepared to forgive others for the mistakes that they may have made while they were wearing their own grey glasses. 

Life is very much a two-way street. It cannot be one-sided; there has to be give and take, there needs to be balance.

How can we remove the grey tint from our glasses? What is the solution to change our vision and our perception of life? 

I would suggest that, when we are struggling, what we really need is the company of someone wearing rose-tinted glasses who can share their optimistic vision of life with us (this may be a close family member, friend or Guru). 

We also need them to bring along a magical polishing cloth that can help us get our own glasses in order. We need their help to polish away the gloomy grey tint from our glasses and reveal the pretty rose colour that is present underneath. 

We cannot expect others to do all the polishing of course, though they may support us; the main work of polishing has to be undertaken ourselves. As Krishna says in the Gita 'Lift yourself, by yourself'! 

We cannot expect others to set right our vision. We need to recognise that there is an issue with it and work to set it right ourselves. 

And (as you probably guessed that I was going to say!), the ultimate polishing cloth to clean the grey tint off and bring back the rosy hue to our glasses, is the name or mantra of God. This is simply a fact according to the yogis (especially in this gloomy age of quarrels known as Kali Yuga).

Any mantra of God has the power to dispel all gloom from our lives and bring peace, harmony and a rosy hue. It also helps us to develop empathy and understanding, forgive ourselves and others, and set right our vision of the world. These are all very useful qualities that are necessary to have harmony in our relationships as far as possible.

As we know, in the yogic tradition, God has both gentle and stern aspects. When seeking harmony and peace in life, it is good to recite a mantra of a peaceful and loving aspect of God. Some examples would be mantras of Lakshmi, Narayana and Shiva. E.g. Om Sri MahaLakshmyai Namah, Om Namo Narayanaya and Om Namah Shivaya.

May God bless us all with peace and harmony in life (and with healthy rose-tinted glasses!).

Om Namo Narayanaya.

Hari Aum Tat Sat.