God's Miracles, Ltd.

Photo Source: Old Sol

We keep hearing about God's miracles or as Hindu's call them, leelas.  According to some, this is how leela works.  Say, something bad is predicted (such as imminent death due to cancer) to happen to Mr. X's close relative.  He prays God for a way out and boom! Just like that, within a short period, his relative's health makes a u-turn and he survives the scare.  There is no explanation for it other than God's special attention.  Then he calls it God's leela.  Or, Ms. Y desires something (like a job), prays God for it, soon after she comes across a stranger in an airport who owns a company, he offers her a job, and she gets what she wanted in no time.  She calls it God's leela.

I too believe in miracles.  I also believe that special prayers comfort and benefit us.  But if we confine the definition of leela only to "apparently" positive outcomes, we, in essence, are pinning ourselves down to earthly desires.  If we say that unexpected good things are God's leelas, what are the (so called) bad things? Isn't omni-present God the cause for everything*? When we say God is every where, He is in all spiritual planes, all physical planes, all atoms, you name it, He is It! This being the case, where is the possibility for bad things when our good God is everywhere?

So, philosophically speaking, we see things as bad due to our ignorance**.  I feel that many of us treat God like an ATM machine - we keep making deposits (daily prayers) so that we can withdraw (expect miracles on demand) when we need.

I think a better way for spiritual progress is to recognize leelas in everyday things like a beautiful sun rise, chirping of birds, blinking of eyes, timely bowel movement,...all "apparently" trivial things that we just take for granted.  Keep counting your blessings till you run out of names of numbers.  The more we appreciate the trivia, the closer we get to Shakti.  Miracles are happening 24/7, but we choose to see them only when they meet our strict quality control standards!

Yes, seek God's help in need, but recognize God's glory in all things - the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Don't define boundary conditions for leelas - my preaching that I need to start practicing! 

I noticed that I just keep typing (on blog) what ever comes to my mind esp. on Fridays.  With two "no-work" days ahead, I feel like I own the world, I could do anything, and allow my fingers to dance on the key board.  But I mean what I typed though (except for grammatical errors).  It is well past bed time.  So, end of my rambling on random thoughts.  Peace!      

*A saying in Telugu goes "శివుని ఆజ్ఞ లేనిదే చీమైనా కుట్టదు". It means, not even an ant could bite without God's approval.

**This makes no sense to me, but I have absolute faith in my ignorance!