Our prayer hymn reads:
Namah Shambhavaaya Cha Mayobhavaaya Cha!
May we all bow down to the Blissful Lord, the Beneficent Lord.
But we bow down only to the Blissful Lord;
we do not always bow down to the Beneficent Lord.
It is because the Beneficent Lord is not only Blissful, but also Wrathful.
We see His Favor only in happiness;
and we de-emphasize life's trials as some sort of pitiable mishap.
Therefore, fearful and fragile as we are -
we attempt to save ourselves from trials using various sorts of covering;
we only want to hide from them.
What comes therefrom?
We only deprive ourselves of the complete contact of Truth.
The rich and the epicurean surround themselves with comfort only, shirking all forms of labor.
What happens?
They cripple themselves;
they lose command over their hands and feet;
the talents they were born with in this world - fail to mature owing to a complete lack of exercise -
ultimately leading to wilt and decay.
They live in an artificial world, encased within a hard shell -
made all by themselves.
An artificial world can never supply our nature with all its natural nutrients;
therefore, in that condition, our temperament becomes like a homemade puppet;
it never matures.
If we continuously try to save our subconscious from the blows of trials out of fear -
then an incomplete life gets earmarked for us in this world;
therefore, that life never protects our health, and neither helps mature our talents.
One who did not receive any blow from trials after coming in this world,
(s)he failed to receive her/his complete share of Gifts from God -
her/his allowance decreased.
Those with a hyper-sensitive nature,
friends and relatives all - try to escape them;
it is because they make a big issue out of a tiny problem that people keep saying: 'give up on 'em' -
with respect to them, others' words and behavior - none of those remains natural.
They neither listen completely or correctly -
nor do they receive their proper allowance fully and regularly.
This can never bode well for them.
One who never receives any blows from friends,
only receives indulgence,
that wretched fellow gets deprived of the full taste of friendship -
her/his friends never totally become friends to her/him.
It is not necessary that our allotment of trials in this world will turn out to be entirely fair.
Kinds of behavior we call unfair, we call unjust -
those, too, will need to be accepted by us;
if we try to grow ourselves as human beings only through propriety -
by consulting the minutiae of our accounts ledger extremely carefully;
that turns out to be impossible, and doesn't do us any good even if possible.
Therefore, we need to develop the strength so that we can accept unfairness and injustice appropriately.
In this world, the measure of happiness we receive -
does that also fall completely in accordance with the accounts?
Is it not the case that all too often we end up buying a lot more than have been paid for out of our own pockets?
And yet we never consider ourselves ineligible for that.
Indeed, we usurp all of that in a fit of callous wantonness.
Then, should we check our accounts on fairness and injustice -
only at the time of trials?
There is a reason we don't receive anything exactly in accordance with the accounts.
Our lives' activities keep moving through acceptance and dismissal;
centripetal as well as centrifugal - these two powers are both equally important to us.
Our lives, our talents, our sense of nobleness, our inclination to do good to others -
effectively, all our excellent qualities - have as their underpinning that,
they not only receive, but also renounce.
It is precisely because of this that our food never contains nutrients in exact accordance with our needs;
it contains edible as well as inedible parts.
Our bodies throw away the inedible parts.
If we receive proper nutrients in their exact proportions,
it will not do good to us;
on the contrary, we will get sick.
Reason -
is it only because we have the power to digest, and a digestive mechanism?
No.
It is because we have the power to discard,
and a mechanism to dismiss;
we need that power and that mechanism be engaged as well;
it is only then that a wholesome development shall take place,
by harmonizing acceptance and dismissal.
Similarly,
that in this world we shall only receive our fair share,
that no one shall do us any injustice -
this is not lawful.
The intermixture of justice and injustice in this world is extremely necessary for our character.
Like exhalation and inhalation,
our character needs to possess a natural ability such that we can receive exactly as much as is our due - without effort,
and discard exactly as much as is not - without resentment.
Therefore, the trials and blows -
whether they are just or unjust -
an excessive effort to rid ourselves of their contact endlessly,
only weakens our human nature, and makes it sick.
Not only does this fear issue an epicurean fragility and weakness,
but it also lays waste the purity of those hyper-sensitive people who veil themselves out of this fear.
Under this veil they keep accumulating much dirt;
the more they refuse to expose those before others -
out of fear of public scrutiny,
the more the dirt festers and perverts their health.
Those who can accept -
without any reservation or second thoughts -
the condemnation, the unfairness, the sorrow and the misery this world offers,
not only do they grow strong, but they also become pure,
their faults keep decreasing by colliding fully with this world -
flowing on top of an unveiled life.
Therefore, get ready with all your heart and psyche -
pray to the Lord Who is Blissful, and pray to the Lord Who is Wrathful - as well;
then only shall you gain in health and strength -
and then only shall that prayer reach Him Who is Beneficent - the Most Benevolent.
26 Agrahāyaṇa 1315
(December 11, 1908)
Bengali original: http://www.tagoreweb.in/Render/ShowContent.aspx?ct=Essays&bi=72EE92F5-BE50-4057-6E6E-0F7410664DA3&ti=72EE92F5-BE50-42C7-FE6E-0F7410664DA3&ch=1