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treat distress with contempt and wish that the world could bemade without pain. If God is to be trusted then everything in this world has a purpose. What could be the purpose of distress?

When we encounter something that leads to distress, we tend to start up a whole bunch of mental processes that lead to more suffering - often adding more pain than there was originally. We experience aversion to the dissatisfaction, and then indulge in blaming and criticism. So it's as if our response to being shot by an arrow is to shoot ourselves with another arrow. And often when we experience something pleasurable, we tend to cling to that source of pleasure. Of course, since all sources of pleasure are impermanent, we again end up causing ourselvesmore pain.

One always wants the result of good deeds and ignores the result of bad deeds. By chanting the name of Lord Rama, taking a dip in River Ganges, taking Panchamrit or by doing some religious works, we cannot get rid of our bad deeds. If one consumes poison, one will have to die. Similarly, for any bad deeds done, we have to face the results. Our future is in our hands. We can be what we want to be. All pleasures and comforts of life lie beneath our hardwork. Without hardwork and pain, we cannot claimour right, honour, power and peace. For a happy and meaningful life, it is

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