Radio Ruhaniyat: March 10, 2018

Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Radio Ruhaniyat!

Grandma, almost a hundred years old, sat feebly on the patio bench. She didn't move, just sat with her head down staring at her hands. When her granddaughter sat down beside her, grandma didn't acknowledge her presence and the longer she sat, she wondered if she was OK.

Finally, not really wanting to disturb her but wanting to check on her grandma at the same time, she asked her if she was OK. Grandma raised her head and looked at her granddaughter and smiled. 'Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking,' she said in a clear strong voice... 'I didn't mean to disturb you, grandma, but you were just sitting here staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were OK,' she explained to her.

'Have you ever looked at your hands,' asked her grandmother. 'I mean really looked at your hands?' The young girl slowly opened her hands and stared down at them. She turned them over, palms up and then palms down. No, she thought, she had never really looked at her hands as she tried to figure out the point she was making.

And then Grandma smiled and related to her: “Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, how they have served you well throughout your years. These hands; though wrinkled shriveled and weak have been the tools I have used all my life to reach out and grab and embrace life. They braced and caught my fall when, as a toddler I crashed upon the floor. They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back. As a child, my mother taught me to fold them in prayer. They tied my shoes and pulled on my boots. They held my husband and wiped my tears when he went off to war. They have been dirty, scraped and raw, swollen and bent. They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son. Decorated with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved someone special. They wrote my letters to him and trembled and shook when I buried both my parents and spouse.”

“They have held my children and grandchildren, consoled neighbors, and shook in fists of anger when I didn't understand. They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the rest of my body. They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken, dried and raw. And to this day when not much of anything else of me works real well these hands hold me up, lay me down, and again continue to fold in prayer. These hands are the mark of where I've been and the ruggedness of life. But more importantly it will be these hands that will reach out to God when my time comes.”

Her granddaughter sat there thinking. She realized that she would never look at her hands the same way again. But she remembers her grandma’s folded hands when God reached out to her and led her home. When her hands are hurt or sore or when she strokes the face of her children and husband, she thinks of her grandma.

We often take our blessings for granted. We forget to thank the Almighty for the little things in life: the little things that play a vital role in life. “I was complaining about not having shoes, until I saw a man who had no feet.” God had to make a man with no feet so that the others, who are blessed with feet, could learn to count their blessings. If the man with no feet started complaining to God saying: “Why Me?” then God’s purpose would not get fulfilled. Blessed is the one who is deprived and does not complain because with his existence, he is fulfilling God’s purpose, in one form or another.

“I used to complain about not being able to warm up my food when I used to work somewhere, until I saw a man pulling out left over pizza crusts from the trash can outside the Pizza Place”. God has made this world in perfect harmony. The “BAD” exists to showcase the “GOOD”. Blessed are the people who are negative in nature because with their negativity, they teach us how important it is to always be ‘NICE’. When people hurt our feelings, we realize how much insensitivity hurts and remind ourselves to always be considerate towards others. Blessed are the moments when we feel sick, because those are the moments when we remember to pray to God and seek His blessings. We then realize that the moments spent in unison with the Almighty are much more precious than the moments spent in regret over a body that is: “Dust to dust & Ashes to ashes!’

We all have a nature of our own. Some of our qualities might be good some might be bad. We are all constantly trying to improve ourselves at our own pace. Let us all be tolerant of each other because creating harmony around us, bounces back at us as our very own and cherished: PEACE OF MIND!

And always remember: We need the muddy water if we want to bloom like a lotus!

From the young girls, to the grandmothers, we wish all the women, a very Happy International Women’s Day!

It is hard to be a woman, but we do it so effortlessly.

Being a woman who is comfortable in her own skin is the most graceful thing in the world.
From all of us at Radio Ruhaniyat, a very Happy Holi, to everyone!!!

-Until next time, this is Preet Sahi reminding you to Stay Spiritual!

Radio Ruhaniyat is inspired by thoughts and views from members of the Sant Nirankari Mission, along with Inspirational & Motivational speeches, posts, articles & stories. The Foundation of this program and the message being conveyed is inspired from www.nirankari.org