If we are to maintain a calm mind so we can make progress in our meditation leading back to God, we need to cultivate forgiveness.— H.H. Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj
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A Lesson from Abraham Lincoln
Message: H.H. Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj
Featured in Highlights Newsletter, February 21, 2012
This week in the United States, President’s Day celebrates the lives of two great American presidents, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, whose birthdays both fall in February. We can learn lessons from the lives of great people and adapt them to our own lives.
This account of the life of Abraham Lincoln carries a message on how we can relate to the Divine. One day, a woman in her senior years visited President Lincoln. She had requested an audience with him and was given an appointment. When she arrived, she carried with her a covered basket.
The president greeted her and asked, “My good woman, what is in this basket?”
He had expected her to be bringing him another problem, but she uncovered the basket and said, “Dear Mr. President, I have brought you some fresh-baked cookies.”
He looked at her and said, “And is there anything else?”
She said, “No, sir, I have come here today not to ask any favor for myself or for anyone. I heard that you liked cookies and I came here to bring you this basket.”
Tears came to his eyes and he stood speechless.
Finally, he said, “Your thoughtful and unselfish deed greatly moves me. Thousands of people have come to my office since I became president, but you are the first one to come asking no favor for yourself or for somebody else!”
This historical account can easily describe our relationship with God. If we were to sit in God’s place, we would find most people come to God when they want a favor for themselves or for somebody else. People usually pray to God when they are in trouble and need help. They turn to God when they have physical problems such as sickness or an accident, financial problems, relationship difficulties, or problems with their grades in school or their career. Very few sit in remembrance of God to show their appreciation and love without asking for a favor.
The best gift we can give to the Lord is to just come to God out of love for God. What we do not realize is that God is a loving Parent. God sees everything that is happening to us and is taking care of us. Even unasked for, God provides help. We should just come with an open heart filled with love. We should ask God for nothing but God. Then we will find we will receive far more than if we had come to God for a favor.
God wants to bestow all blessings on us. But we come to God asking for small things. When God grants us our wish to solve one problem, we find we are still left with many other problems. By next week, that problem has been forgotten and a new one has arisen. If we come to God with a basket of love, then we will find that we will receive God’s grace in abundance. If we are filled with God’s love, bliss, and joy then that will help us through many problems in life. We will know that God is with us. We will have the courage and fortitude to face life’s difficulties.
When we sit for meditation let it be a session in which we bring our love to God. Let us meditate with love in our hearts. Let us not sit for meditation with a long list of favors we want from God. Let us merely pray for God to give us what is best for us, and then sit with love in our heart. Then we will find that God will give us more blessings than we could ever dream of.