Mahabharat of the soul

My friend is going through a battle at her ex-workplace. Her boss fired her and his wife messed up her salary accounts (it is a family-owned business). Her lawyer says she has little evidence and may not win a court case. This is what she feels: In many ways, this is a battle I am raging for the number of colleagues at work who were laid off all becoz their utility in the organisation had ceased. They call me almost daily and support me, but I know if this battle goes to court I will be alone. It's my lonesome battle. Now I wonder if my fervour was misplaced in some way.... What is God trying to teach me through this ordeal? I haven't slept a single night since it began on 11th july... I am a wreck, simply becoz I thought that truth and justice would prevail and now it seems as though, I was completely WRONG...

Do you believe in yourself? If yes, you know what you have to do. But just to remind you of what you already know, here are some notes:

Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off your goal. Tell me about court cases, and I'll tell you what hell is. Yet, from all my experience with them, I have learnt that hell too has a purpose. The fire is what purifies the gold within us, it is the agnipareeksha for our growth.

If your goal is justice, have faith that the universe is on your side. And then do not look at the obstacles, the lack of evidence, the crooked lawyer. Become junooni, because that is the only way you can overcome the mountain ahead of you. Where there is a will, there is a way. You will find another lawyer, you will get help from ex-colleagues, something will happen to make the cheating duo sit up and be afraid. You just do your duty, your karma, and leave the results to God, that's what my dad always used to say. Take the first step, file for the case. Sometimes, that itself scares the other party that you mean what you say. If it doesn't, don't lose heart, keep at it.

In the last issue (July) of Marie Claire, we carried a story of a woman who fought against sexual harassment at her workplace. Can you imagine what she must have faced? The innuendoes that she asked for it? The lack of support? The sniggers each day that she walked in? Yet this spunky girl stood by her conviction. Finally, her manager was not only transferred but also demoted, and a senior person from the US office wrote her an apology for the trauma she had faced. So you see, if you stand by your conviction, how can the universe not respond? Your surroundings are after all a reflection of what is within you. If you are firm and steady, the mirror HAS to reflect that back. It is your own doubt in yourself that will eventually kill you. Throw it out. You know what you want, you know you are right, you know that justice will be served. Don't move an inch from this conviction. Let everyone else move to it instead.

We aren't ever given a cross we can't bear. Your soul has, in some other time and place, chosen this battle for itself. And why would it choose something it wasn't capable of overcoming? Of course you will win, it is inevitable, because you yourself have chosen it.

Or call it God, if you are uncomfortable taking the onus on to yourself! God wouldn't give you a burden you couldn't bear. He knows what you are capable of, and I know you're capable of a whole lot. So don't doubt your capacity to go through with this and come out a winner.

Challenges are good. They strengthen you. Say 'thank you' to the universe (and to yourself) for this battle. It is going to make you tougher, wiser, spiritually stronger, more compassionate towards others who suffer similarly, and will leave you with lessons and memories that will hold you in good stead for the rest of your life. How boring life would be without challenges!

Your karma is your mission. What you call your bad karma is actually your purpose in this existence. You have always been predisposed towards consumer rights and law; here is a wonderful opportunity to fully understand, implement and learn it in greater detail. Maybe you were meant to help others who go through a similar situation, that's why you chose this particular battle for yourself. You couldn't be a great rights' activist had you not been through those sufferings yourself. Your agnipareeksha is going to prepare you for your true purpose in life.

Of course, you already knew all this! You are now going to smile in rememberance. All the best in your mahabharat. I support you with all my heart and may you emerge victorious many times over! Even through the next few dark, horrid months of court battles, never lose the faith. In yourself, in your God, in the universe.

Demand justice, and ye shall receive. It is but natural.