All World
Gayatri Pariwar

Forget the Past and Cherish the Present

We don't have control over all our circumstances. The events which are destined to occur, take place all of a sudden; and then there is no option other than bearing their consequences. Upheavals like accidentally losing a body part, separation from loved ones, suffering a huge loss in business, failure in examination, etc are such incidents which can shatter our lives; and when it happens, we feel that everything has come to an end. Amidst such circumstances, numerous questions come to the mind, viz. what should be done now? How to do it? Why have only I suffered all this? Besides these questions, the mind gets overwhelmed by dejection. In such a state, the restive mind is unable to find peace and gets threatened by an unknown fear regarding the future course of life. The life gets overshadowed by the dark clouds of disappointment and frustration. But, even in this situation there are still ways to move forward.

The famous lines of poet John Milton are-`Everything has not come to an end.' So we should first try to consolidate whatever has been left with us. We should make a new beginning because time never stops even if we halt or stagnate at a place. Therefore, in the incidence of afflictions, the first thing is to control oneself. Obstacles come before everyone but when we face them boldly, we become familiar to our virtues of courage, patience and endurance and the hidden potentials present within us. All those who have attained success in this world never had an easy way to go. Helen Keller, the deaf-blind woman who struggled for women's rights,

scientist Stephen Hawking, author JK Rowling, Dashrath Manjhi, who carved out a road through a hill, Saint Seechewal, who cleaned the Kali Bein rivulet are some of the successful people. But, none of them had an easy course. All of them had to pass through a long phase of struggle and make efforts by employing the resources available to them before they could attain success. The story of Arunima Sinha, the first female amputee who climbed the Mount Everest is very inspiring. Arunima was born in 1988 in the Ambedkar district of Uttar Pradesh. She had been a national level Volleyball player until her adolescence and was attaining new heights of success with every passing day. But the night of 11th April, 2011 proved catastrophic for her. She was travelling by train, in which a few anti-social elements entered and around midnight they snatched the gold chain from her neck. When she retaliated, the culprits pushed her down from the moving train. She fell down on the railway track. Before she could do anything, a train passed over her legs. She remained in this injured state for the entire night. One by one, forty nine trains moved over her legs. She suffered an extremely severe pain throughout the night.

In the morning, people got her admitted into the local hospital where her legs were amputated. Later on she was shifted to a reputed hospital. When she was discharged after a period of four months, she did not go to her home; instead she went to meet Bachhendri Pal, the first Indian woman to climb the Mt. Everest. This was so because in the hospital she had already planned for climbing the Everest. So she began her journey in that direction.

Arunima took the training of mountaineering, in which she had to face numerous hurdles. Later on she began climbing the Everest with her guide, Sherpa. Though she was initially scared when she saw numerous dead bodies on the path, but she kept on moving fearlessly. She was extremely happy on reaching the summit of Mt. Everest. But Sherpa told her to move down quickly as it was inappropriate to wait at the peak for a longer period as most of the deaths occur while moving downwards. Following the advice of her guide she began to downclimb, but on the path her prosthetic leg got detached. At that time, the temperature was -30 degree centigrade. Her hands stopped moving and began bleeding. She thought that she had already lost her feet what would happen if even her hands get amputated. Tears began to flow from her eyes as soon as this thought came to her mind. But she controlled herself the very next moment. She thought that nothing could be achieved by weeping. Therefore, with one hand she held the rope and with the other she picked up the artificial limb and began coming down by dragging it because she had nothing else with her. In this way, she began moving downwards with whatever resources she had and safely crossed the mountain slope. Thus, on 21st May, 2013 she became the first woman amputee to climb Mt. Everest.

She was awarded Padma Shri in 2015 by the then president Dr. Pranab Mukherjee. But she was not satisfied only by climbing the Everest. She decided to reach the other higher peaks located across the globe. As of now, she has already hoisted the Indian tricolour at Kilimanjaro in Africa, Alps in Europe, Kosciuszko in Australia and Aconcagua in Argentina. Only the mountain peaks in North America and Antarctica are left for her to climb. She is preparing to head for these peaks as well. Numerous people draw inspiration from her head-strong courage and unflinching enthusiasm.

Siddhartha Mukherjee, the cancer specialist and author who has won the Pulitzer Prize says -`Whatever has occurred has already been passed. So, we should think to protect whatever has been left with us.' Therefore, under no circumstances should we allow our past to become the shackles for the future. If a loved one has left us, we should look for scope in those relations which are left with us, make these relationships better and move forward in life.

If a person is seriously ill because some vital organ of his body has been damaged, then we should pay attention to the fact that other parts of the body are still safe. So, the parts of the body which are safe should be strengthened. If a person has suffered some sort of economic loss or has lost his job, there is still no room for dismay. Instead, Udyamena hi sidhyanti kaaryaani na manorathaih Na hi suptasya simhasya pravishanti mukhe mrigaah II L Meaning: Work will get done by acting on it, not by inspiration and dreaming alone. If the lion (in spite of being strong and king of the jungle) stays quiet, the deer (animals) would not enter into its mouth.

Strong willpower is a must in order to accomplish a noble aim. the focus should be on the inherent potentials and jobs which the individual can still pursue. Then he should begin working on his favourite project in a planned manner. Our mind is most adversely affected by the unfortunate incidents which occur suddenly and which push us in the darkness of disappointment. But we should not lose hope in the infinite possibilities present before us. Instead, we should try to materialize the possibilities into reality. The person who is overpowered by the circumstances and gets into despondency, wastes a lot of time of his life worthlessly. But one who finds a ray of hope even in the moments of dejection and makes requisite endeavours begins to move forward. No matter how deep the wounds are caused by the circumstances, the medicine of time heals them all.

A wound could be healed by treating it timely. But if it is scratched repeatedly and is not treated properly, then it gets sore and this could even become life threatening. Therefore, instead of repeatedly remembering the unfortunate incidents of life, one should try to come out of them. If possible, we should approach some noble person residing near us and share our feelings with him. We should also read inspiring literature and get involved in altruistic activities. This also brings a lot of peace to the mind. In such a situation, we should keep a proper check on our diet and try to return back to a regular routine as soon as possible. What has already occurred is past; whatever will occur in the future is yet to come. But what we have at the present moment is our real strength. Therefore, in moments of hopelessness, the only remedy to bring the life back on track is to protect and uphold what is left with us and move forward.

The undiscovered is not far away. It's not something to be found eventually. It is contained within what is right in front of us. The essence of reality is being born right now. It has never existed before. Reality is constant creation and destruction, and in this constant change is something unborn and undying, something that cannot be approached through the known or the past. It isn't seen through striving to become something based on ideals stemming from former experiences. It comes to that which is being, not striving. In this state of being in the moment, without the known, without knowing at all, with neither past nor future, is a space that is not filled with time. And in this space, the undiscovered and ever-changing moment exists—a moment containing all possibilities, the totality of existence, absolute reality. Reality is now, and in the now, we can experience the true nature of the universe and the universal mind. - H.E. Davey