Barometer of Spiritual Progress

In the world of money worship, power seeking and success materialization, we mortals tend to measure our worthiness against these yardsticks. I bet most of us will look down some of the following situations as undesirable, unbearable and could consider them outright failure. Are they really?

The following list is unbelievably short and there are as many ways to count our misery and misfortune as of billions of population living in the planet earth.

Let's see what the wise man from India had to say about our soul's progression through adversity.

"Here is an infallible barometer to find out the degree of your spiritual progress. How would you feel, if:

1. Your clean hands or best clothes are stained.
2. You stumbled down or commit a blunder and are laughed at.
3. You are hurt accidentally or stung by an insect or scorpion.
4. You suffer from illness or pain.
5. You do not succeed in your efforts.
6. You do not get a thing that you want, or find that some thing you possess is missing.
7. You are kept waiting for a long time by some other person.
8. You are insulted or abused for no reason.
9. Others fail in their duties towards you.
10. You suffer a loss or bereavement.

If none of these can disturb your peace of mind and you are indifferent to them, you have won the struggle and achieved 50% self control.

God sends trials and troubles to strengthen your character: Greet them and test yourself." Swami Sivananda