Continuous Failures Have Eroded My Self-Confidence and I Am Discouraged. What Should I Do?

भजन मार्ग (पूज्य महाराज जी के सत्संग से) · 2024-05-13

It is not possible that someone's life consists entirely of one hundred percent failure. Just as there is night and day, in the same way success and failure both cycle through your life. It is possible that your desires are excessive and you do not have enough punya to fulfill those desires, and that is why your self-confidence is breaking. For example, if you have one hundred rupees and you wish for a diamond necklace and curse God and yourself when you don't get it, is that right? Similarly, present success and failure result from the effects of past actions. Understanding this requires discernment and knowledge!

What is the True Success of Life?

You can speak, you can hear! How much God has given you—that is true success! God is fulfilling everyone's needs according to their karma. And the things that are absolutely necessary for living—such as air, water, sky, earth—he is giving all of those freely. Take a moment sometimes and think about what the life of those who cannot see, hear, or speak must be like. Thank God for giving you such a beautiful life! Increase your naam jap, increase your tapasya, and increase your righteous deeds—you will receive benefits accordingly.

The Game of Actions—Nothing is Free Here!

Nothing in this world is free. If someone has become a president, they have practiced tapasya. If someone is playing in billions of rupees, they have performed charity and practiced tapasya. And if that person is committing sin now, then the consequences will come later and everything will be destroyed. But in the present, he is receiving wealth due to the merit of the punya he accumulated in the past. Not even a single penny is free here; we receive everything according to our actions and lose everything according to our actions. Now you need to see what harvest you are sowing in the present, whose results you will receive in the future.

Improve Your Present!

Sow good seeds in the present! Remain filled with enthusiasm and keep trampling on failure! You may fail once, twice, or three times, but the fourth time you will gain knowledge of why you are failing and you will move forward. No one's destiny is written to always fail! We are humans, not animals, to be only subject to destiny. We have come to create new destiny by performing new actions. We should not become discouraged. We must do naam jap, keep our character pure, and while protecting the rights of others, remain engaged in efforts for worldly advancement. By doing so, you will surely achieve success.

The Cycle of Action and Time

There was a great sannyasi named Vidyaranya. He was born into a poor Brahmin family. Because of his poverty, he had no means to provide for his parents' sustenance. He was established in brahminhood and kept the company of saints. To arrange for wealth, he performed the Gayatri ritual. One purashcharan is completed by chanting the Gayatri mantra 2.4 million times. He completed twenty-three such purashcharans, but he obtained nothing. During this time, his parents also passed away. He also grew old and took sannyasa! As soon as he took sannyasa, Mother Gayatri appeared before him and said, "Ask for whatever you wish, I am ready to give you anything." He said, "Now I am a sannyasi, I don't need anything anymore." He asked, "Why didn't you come before?" Then Mother Gayatri said, "You had twenty-four great sins from your past. Twenty-three of your sins were destroyed through the purashcharans, and the final sin was destroyed by taking sannyasa. After that, I came immediately."

From this story, we understand that as long as our past sins remain, they will keep creating obstacles to our progress. We should keep making efforts and at the same time also chant the name of God. Chant whichever name of the Lord you hold dear. The name of God has the power to destroy sins. Do not become discouraged when you meet with failure—we are fragments of the Lord, not animals!

Two Means to Achieve Success!

To achieve success in life, there should be two means: one internal naam jap and one external effort! With these, we will succeed. In the Bhagavad Gita, God said the same thing to Arjun Ji: "Fight while remembering Me." This remembrance will destroy sin, and external effort will open the path to your progress.

Keep your character pure, walk in dharma, and fulfill your duties while doing naam jap. If you do all of this, then despondency will never come into your life. And if past sin comes to bring us down, we will destroy it with the power of our bhajan. Sins are destroyed through the power of bhajan, not through external conduct.

Guide: Shri Hit Premanand Govind Sharan Ji Maharaj