Also in "First Edition" Oct. 01-15 isuue
Buddha said “Sarvam dukkham.” i.e. Everything is pain and suffering. People grow old; suffer with and in their old age. They die and go. Thus, the whole life of human beings is filled with pain and sufferings. This is worsening with the advancement in the modern and consumeristic world. New problems and sufferings are born, and hope to get rid of them, becomes all the more vague.
We all have problems of one or the other kind. We have tension, sickness, breaking relationships, mental problems, physical problems and struggle of getting along with the competing world. In fact, problems remind us of our difference with those who lie in the graveyard, without any problem. Only because they are dead! Since we are living beings, so we also have problems, our own sufferings and grievances. There is also a universal fact that no problem is ever born without a solution. But sometimes we are unable to find that solution and these problems become too much, they weigh too heavy. We feel sometimes too weak to withstand so many problems. We feel totally crushed when problems go on increasing and multiplying one after another without any solution..
In such a situation one is compelled to ask oneself, “Is there a way out? Is there any solution to all these problems?” How nice it would be, if there were someone who could solve all our problems, or how nice it would be if we ourselves had the key to solve all our problems. Reflections on some of the very common problems generally faced by the people and my own reflections attracted me to delve into the problem of ‘all problems.’
God solves all our problems and at the same time as John McManus would say “to some He grants restored health of mind and body; to others he grants inner healing and new freedom in the Spirit, while to others he grants the interior grace to unite their suffering with the suffering of Christ.”
The Beginning of Journey towards God
Human beings are on a journey in the world. We come from God and one day we have to return to Him. “The Lord created human beings out of earth, and makes them to return to it again” (Sir 17, 1). We have no permanent dwelling here. However, sometimes we forget this fact and keep ourselves in illusion that we are going to live here eternally and we prepare accordingly. When we forget, from where we come and where we are going to, we lose our way and wander in the dark. To keep ourselves always on the right track, we must always keep in mind our source and destination. We must keep our eyes on ultimate goal and be assured of not going astray. Because He says, “Whoever follows me will have the light of life and will never walk in darkness” (Jn 18,12b).
Our journey begins when we are born into this world. When we forget God, we lose the path. We have restlessness because God’s presence is not there in our hearts; we are not at peace with other human beings, because we do not realize His presence in them. We face problems because we do not trust Him. According to St. Augustine, our hearts will be restless until they rest in God. Therefore, to complete this journey successfully, we must be in constant touch with our source and destination. In other words, we need to communicate to Him in prayer and surrender ourselves in faith.
Faith – The First Step
God is the source of all; trusting him in everything is the first step of getting answer to all our problems. We must have faith and all things will be done for us. Jesus says, “If you are able! – all things can be done for the one who believes” (Mk 9,23). The only thing we need is have faith in God and we will get solutions to all our problems. We just have to ask God to help us because he is ultimate source of us all and we belong to him. Often we don’t find answers to all our problems because we do not take them to the Lord and ask for his help. When we face trials, unexpected situations, failures and defeats, we must have faith in God, just put first step towards God and behold he stands ready to embrace us and rid us of all our problems. It is because of faith, that we get courage to face the challenges and change the things and accept the situations that are not in our hands. George Cheruvil says, “Faith, like life-giving water, refreshes us when the tensions and tragedies of life drain away our strength and energy. It helps us to conquer obstacles and limitations… It heals our wounds and renews us. It brings us back when we have wandered from the right path and are lost.” We are children of God, we need to realize this and act accordingly.
Prayer – A Communication with God
Not only in our problems and difficulties, we need to talk to our heavenly father, but also we must share our joyful moments with him. Talking to him is called ‘prayer’ though it may be defined in different ways. Some would say prayer is actually asking God to provide us what we need, whereas some would say, prayer is actually thanking God for what we have received. I would emphasize on ‘prayer being a constant communication with our eternal source i.e. our God.’ “Prayer is really just talking to God – sharing our hopes, our dreams, our fears, and our heartaches with the only one who understands us completely.” In the world, there is nobody who can solve all our problems except God. Therefore, it is most apt that we share our problems with him. According to Catholic Encyclopedia, “Prayer is often described in terms of intercourse and spiritual communion with God… By it the petitioner’s will and activities are identified with God, effecting an ultimate personal contact and relationship with him.” Thus it is not only sharing our problems with God but prayer is actually the means to be in constant union with God, whether we are happy or sad.
Advantages of Prayer and Faith
When we are one with our creator, what else is there that we should desire? We can get solution to all our problems through faith in God and prayerful communication with him. Our faith and prayer bring us healing. Our faith gives us eternal life (Cf. Mt 9:22; Jn 11:25). It gives us healing, from not only our sicknesses but healing in our soul, healing in our relationships, healing in our thoughts and actions. Our whole self is guided by Divine Providence. Faith and unconditional surrender help us to receive divine grace. Whether it is meditation, prayer, introspection or self-enquiry, the route used would depend on person’s temperament and inclination.
We are rational and spiritual beings, and many of our problems are also because of being away from God. William Johnston in his book Silent Music: the Science of Meditation says- “Assuredly it is acknowledgment that up to eighty percent of modern sickness is psychosomatic in origin, or has a psychosomatic dimension.” When we have no peace within, we are overcome by sickness. To get rid of all problems, we must surrender ourselves to God and pray to Him to help us.
To summarize in brief it can be said that God created man, and takes care of him in all his adversaries. He has created us out of his own free will, and we will return to him one day. We should not wander away from him; he gave grace, faith, and a method of always remaining in communication with him. The method is prayer. Sometimes worldly may not allow us to communicate with God, so these distractions are to be handled carefully. Actually, most of our problems are only because we forget our real source and real destiny. Many of our problems and sicknesses, difficulties and failures are because of losing touch with our Divine source. To get solution to all our problems, we must try to introspect so as to where we have gone astray from God, and consequently mend our ways. Without faith and prayer, it is impossible to have a permanent solution to all our problems.
- B. Johnson Maria
