It All Goes Wrong Anyway, by Ajahn Brahm

“यह सब गड़बड़ तो होना ही है”
— अजहन ब्रह्म

चाहे आप कहीं भी रहते हों — किसी आश्रम में, किसी शहर में, या किसी शांत पेड़ों से घिरी गली में — जीवन में समय-समय पर समस्याएं और कठिनाइयाँ तो आती ही रहती हैं। यही जीवन का स्वभाव है। इसलिए जब आपकी तबीयत खराब हो, तो यह कहने की बजाय कि “डॉक्टर, कुछ गड़बड़ है, मैं बीमार हूँ,” बेहतर होगा कि आप कहें, “सब ठीक है, आज मैं बीमार हूँ।” क्योंकि कभी-कभी बीमार होना तो शरीर का स्वाभाविक हिस्सा है। जैसे सीवेज सिस्टम कभी भी भर सकता है, पानी का हीटर अचानक काम करना बंद कर सकता है — यह सब भी जीवन का हिस्सा है।

हम चाहे जितनी भी कोशिश कर लें कि ज़िंदगी एकदम सुचारू रूप से चले, पर ऐसा होना असंभव है। जब भी कोई तकलीफ़ या परेशानी आए, तो उस पल यह याद रखें कि दुख का एक गहरा अर्थ है — “इस दुनिया से ऐसी चीज़ माँगना जो वह कभी दे ही नहीं सकती।”

हम इस दुनिया से असंभव चीज़ों की उम्मीद करते हैं — एकदम परफेक्ट घर, नौकरी, रिश्ते, और यह कि हमारी बनाई हर योजना बिल्कुल समय पर और पूरी तरह सफल हो। लेकिन यह सब माँगना वैसा ही है जैसे किसी रेगिस्तान से समंदर की उम्मीद करना। हम आज, अभी, गहरी साधना और आत्मज्ञान की माँग करते हैं — जबकि यह संसार ऐसे काम नहीं करता।

तो फिर चाहे आप कोई काम कर रहे हों या ध्यान, यह स्वीकार कर लेना ज़रूरी है कि चीज़ें समय-समय पर बिगड़ेंगी। आपका काम दुनिया से नामुमकिन चीज़ें माँगना नहीं है। आपका काम है देखना, समझना, और स्वीकार करना। बार-बार दुनिया को बदलने की कोशिश करने से केवल और दुख पैदा होता है — शरीर, मन, परिवार, सब जगह टकराव होता है।

कभी-कभी जब हम अपनी रोज़मर्रा की दौड़-भाग से थोड़ा हटकर सोचते हैं, तो पूरी तस्वीर साफ़ दिखती है — कि आश्रम में कुछ गलत नहीं, हमारे भीतर कुछ गलत नहीं, जीवन में कुछ गलत नहीं। यह सब केवल जीवन की स्वाभाविक चाल है — जैसा बुद्ध ने अपने पहले सत्यमार्ग में कहा था: “दुख है।”

हम अपनी ज़िंदगी को “बिल्कुल सही” बनाने के लिए दिन-रात मेहनत करते हैं — अपने घर, शरीर और मन को परफेक्ट बनाने में — और फिर भी सब गड़बड़ हो ही जाता है।

⸻

चिंतन के लिए बीज प्रश्न:
• आप इस विचार से कैसे जुड़ते हैं कि जीवन में चीज़ें कभी-कभी बिगड़ना ही तय है?
• क्या कभी ऐसा अनुभव हुआ है जहाँ आपने किसी स्थिति को जैसा है वैसा ही स्वीकार किया, और उसे केवल साक्षी भाव से देखने की कोशिश की? तब क्या हुआ?
• जब हालात बिगड़ते हैं, तो “साक्षी” बनने की क्षमता आप कैसे विकसित करते हैं?

Ajahn Brahm is an UK-born Theravada Buddhist monk, who currently the Abbot of Bodhinyana Monastery in Western Australia. Brahm was ordained in Bangkok at the age of twenty-three by the Abbot of Wat Saket, and subsequently spent nine years studying and training in the forest meditation tradition under Ajahn Chah. Exceprt above is the opening chapter of his book, Art of Disappearing.

Seed Questions for Reflection

How do you relate to the advice to accept that things go wrong from time to time? Can you share a personal experience of what came up for you when you accepted things as they were and focused on observing? How do you develop the strength to become an observer when things go wrong?

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Add Your Reflection

7 Past Reflections

Alfm

Mar 17, 2015

I am but a seed trying to find the the Light. In my world, beneath the soil, it is dark and sometimes too wet/too dry (which in either circumstance, could cause death)! As my roots spread out to seek nourishment, I run into every physical obstacle imaginable (as if I have been set up to fail). There are even living organisms living in that dark place that prey on "Light seekers" like me. However the Light above the the soil literally pulls me and insists that I "press on"! (And so I will).
To know . . . To Love . . . And to serve The Light.

Kristin Pedemonti

Mar 17, 2015

I understand the point, however my view is there is no "wrong or right" there just IS. And that has made all the difference. Acceptance is valuable either way and not judging, just being.

paashi

Mar 17, 2015

Personally, I'm trying to accept the challenging situations as integral part of existence. We all have our share of experiences that bring about varying degrees of suffering. This acceptance does lessen the anxiety to avoid pain and gives energy to build resilience around the situations both personal and impersonal.

Bradley

Mar 16, 2015

I can understand, accept and move on when my own life happens. But I have difficulty with this when I see and hear about injustices that exist in the world still today. Watching the lives of other people happen, watching them suffer...that is quite the challenge. I can work on myself to understand their lives, but do I then accept it and move on? What good comes of that? There must be more than just accepting it. My adaptation of the Serenity Prayer:

Life, grant me the mindfulness to understand and accept the things that are to be;
the courage to affect and help heal those that are unnatural;
and the wisdom to know the difference.

david doane

Mar 15, 2015

Things often don't go how we want. Things that don't go how we want we tend to call "wrong." We'd be better off calling them life. Things go how they go. That's life. I can't control outcome. I can behave impeccably, or at least strive to, and hope for the best, knowing there are no guarantees and things often don't go as wanted. My mantra for a long time has been process, not outcome, a reminder to focus on good process of communicating and behaving and not focus on trying to make a certain outcome happen. By becoming more mindful, that is, by observing nonjudgmentally, we become more accepting and less controlling, more aligned with life rather than fighting with life. I've grown a little bit in that way. I think you develop the strength to become an observer when things go wrong by practicing being an observer always, so that the practice is in place when things don't go as you would like. What has helped me is... View full comment

Abhishek

Mar 13, 2015

To me, the creation of an idea of 'right' also includes naturally the birth of 'wrong' - so essentially my ability to accept life on its own terms (and not mine) has been a part of my practice. Rather than classify it is right or wrong, it just IS (and the right - wrong divide is a mental construct almost mirroring pleasure-pain / my wishes-against my wishes) In meditation practice (and life in fact) I find it much easire to observe when things go 'wrong' - when there is pain, it naturally draws attention. It is in fact when things are smooth and flowing that one has to attend to being as mindful. So to that extent when things go wrong, it is an opportune moment for observation too.... And the beauty of this passage (and of Murphy's Law and so on) is that the nature of the world is so and yet we struggle against it life long - almost as if someone whispered in our ears when we were very young "Someday it will all be right".... To grow up is to know that if it is right it will eventual... View full comment

xiaoshan

Mar 13, 2015

A surprising perspective. Although I think it goes a bit too extreme to the other side of the swing, there is a lot of truth in it. Right and wrong is our own construct, which is why 'the world is divided by the people who believe they are right." In one way, the world is perfectly fine as it runs its own course, until someone comes trying to fix it. In the other way however, life has its own course as well, and doing all these rights and wrongs is certainly part of the natural course of the universe, suffering included. I suffer, and I accept that I suffer.