Bhagavan Sriram Sir says, “God’s ways are very contradictory when seen from outside. We talk about Him from our level, in our manner. His ways are different. He seems not to talk to us face to face about it, but it seems as if He is rejecting all that we desire.
But, later everything gets done on its own momentum. Krishna did like that. When Kuchela came to see Him, Krishna did not speak anything. But, in the meantime, all that was to be done for Kuchela was done. It appears as if Krishna was indifferent, indeed not bothered about anything.
It’s a trick, if you ask what is this..?? If you really want your problem, whatever the problem, to be solved, simply love Him; leaving everything to Him with utmost belief in His abilities. That’s enough.
Why have doubt, why despair, why brood over it..?? Just like it’s for your Mother to take care of you, is it not for Him to sort out your issue or solve your problem. Don’t we say, “God is unconditional love..??”
Let me explain..
There is perhaps no greater bewilderment to the human mind than the apparent silence of God sometimes. We pray to Him, we beg, we wait and still God appears indifferent to us when we need His help the most. We first become desperate, then frustrated and then angered.
That silence looks like absolute rejection to our prayers from Him. We lose control. But what Sir says here is, “that it is not rejection but divine concealment; a paradoxical way of God resolving problems while appearing detached.” PERIOD
To call God’s ways “contradictory” is to create a gap between human logic and divine play. While our eyes see the delay; His will sees perfect timing, while our ears hear the silence; His love works in quiet secrecy. What we think as God’s indifference is in fact His most meticulous attention.
Let me now tell you a story.
During World War II, Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsie were imprisoned in Ravensbruck concentration camp meant for hiding Jews in the Netherlands. The barracks they were placed in were overcrowded and filthy. The worst part was their bedding was infested with fleas.
Looking at it, Corrie broke down asking her sister, “why did God give us this unbearable suffering”. But Betsie consoled her saying, “give thanks to Him in all circumstances. The Bible says so. Thank God even for the fleas.”
Corrie resisted her sister as she did not see any sense in such a contradictory claim. However, after her sister’s repeated urging, Corrie reluctantly thanked God for the fleas. Then the miracle happened.
After a few weeks, the sisters realized to their surprise that the Nazi guards never entered their barracks. They wondered why. They later came to know, they didn’t come because of the fleas.
To their utter surprise, the same fleas that Corrie saw as proof of God’s indifference turned out into God’s strongest divine shield that allowed the sisters to hold secret Bible studies in the barracks and also encourage other prisoners to stay without fear.
Finally, the two Dutch sisters were among the few lucky ones who survived Hitler’s genocide.
Moral Of The Story
God works in ways we don’t understand, and in dimensions we will never be able to measure. Here in the Dutch sisters’ case, God had been working all along to protect them; not by removing their problem as they prayed for, but by transforming their very problem into complete protection.
What looked like rejection for them initially, was His observation, and what appeared like cruelty was His care for them.
With reference to the same, Krishna said in Bhagavad Gita, “sarva dharman parityajya mam ekam sharanam vraja, aham tvam sarva papebhyo mokshayishyami ma shucah.” which means “abandon all varieties of dharma and surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.”
The Isha Upanishad also more or less says the same, “the Self is you. That which appears distant is near; and that which appears silent is full of voice.”
Remember, God works by inversion. He appears absent only to make His presence stronger; and appears contradictory only to reveal His divine accuracy in the end. Have patience, do not lose hope. God can never be wrong, our understanding of Him can always be.
Even neuroscience supports this by stating, “in moments of uncertainty, our brain rewires more rapidly than when it is in comfort. The silent intervals in life, therefore, are transformation unseen.” PERIOD
Key Points
- Resist the urge to judge God quickly. When your prayers seem unanswered, do not jump to conclusions. God’s script is longer than our impatience.
- Practice surrender as trust, not fatalism. True surrender is not giving up in despair but in trusting God with more confidence, like a child who rests in the arms of her mother.
- Always see the hidden hand of God in delays. Many times, a closed door or a postponed blessing hides a greater opportunity for us and also a more appropriate solution. Never in your life forget the fleas of Ravensbruck in the above story. What looked like a curse for the Dutch sisters turned out into a shield. A pure miracle.
- Love God without bargain. Sir says, “simply love Him; leaving everything to Him with utmost belief in His abilities.” Your love for God should be unconditional, it shouldn’t be like an unsigned contract demanding quick results.
- Finally, stop brooding, stop blaming, and from now on start trusting Him fully and wholly, come what may. Because your doubt in Him corrodes your faith in Him. While your despair blinds your vision, your brooding paralyses His action. Therefore, keep telling your mind, “If He’s my Mother, will He not provide relief to my problem..?? Should I pray for it..??”
Conclusion
The contradictory ways of God are the most consistent proof of His love for us. If He gives us everything instantly, we humans will never mature; and if He explains everything to us in detail, we will never trust His words. Therefore, He does everything in silence.
What you must understand here is, “His silence is not His absence, but assurance; His delay is not His rejection, but protection; and His contradictions are not His denials, but His play.”
Bhagavan Sriram Sir summed up this truth about God in His glorious statement by saying, “just like it’s for your Mother to take care of you, is it not for Him to sort out your issue or solve your problem..?? Don’t we say, “God is unconditional love..??”
If we have this realization, “all our questions will disappear, all our contradictions will dissolve; all the silence around us will become music; all the delays will become gifts; and all the indifference will become rewards.”
Bhajare Sriramam
Narrenaditya Komaragiri
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