________________
refuge, my help, Thou art now by my side; then let misfortune pour down on me, I shall not lose heart, nor complain. All I ask of Thee is to increase my strength and fortitude!"
Rabindranath Tagore puts it thus:
"Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers but be fearless in facing them.
Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain but for the heart to conquer it.
Let me not look for allies in life's battlefield but to my own strength.
Let me not crave in anxious fear to be saved but hope for the patience to win my freedom.
Grant me that I may not be a coward, feeling your mercy in my success alone; but let me find the grasp of your hand in my failure."
The true devotee not only accepts calamities without grumbling or quaking, but is actually eager to meet them half way and bear them, for he has nourished and developed within himself a special kind of strength. And of what is this special strength the fruit, if not of a self-reliant and balanced mind?
You might have observed that when you are physically healthy, suffering from no illness, there is
5
