717. Message on Endurance from Jagat Jyothi Basaveshwara.

http://www.speakingtree.in/spiritual-blogs/seekers/self-improvement/message-on-endurance-from-jagat-jyothi-basaveshwara

Endurance is efforts with patience and wisdom. The power to hold on in spite of anything is the quality of a winner and this is termed Endurance. Our greatest wisdom is not in never to fail, but to rise every time we fail. It's our constant and determined effort that will eventually break down all resistance and sweep all the barriers before us. Endurance is the crowning quality of success.

Many of us have this attitude of dropping the efforts if it is not achieved in a specified time, and venture into something different hoping to get success there.  Jagat Jyothi Basaveshwara, the 12th century philosopher and a social reformer from Karnataka has illustrated that endurance will take us to the goal.

It so happened that one morning his father was engrossed in worshiping at home. At the same time Basaveshwara returned from playing, he was tired and thirsty. His mother did not allow him inside when he asked for water. She did not want Basaveshwara to disturb his father’s pooja. But his father was involved in worshiping many deities. He was offering pooja to Ganesha, Saraswathi, Shiva, Vishnu, Parvathi, Lakshmi, one after another. Instead of meditation and spiritual thoughts which were essential for spiritual attainment, a mechanical recitation of verses was going on. Once in every ten minutes 

Basaveshwara used to come in and enquire his mother whether his father's pooja was over. When he learnt that his father had not yet completed, he came out and started digging in front of the courtyard. After worshiping all the deities in the pooja room, his father came out to worship Sun, the threshold, and Bilva tree. 

There he noticed many small pits dug by Basaveshwara. He became curious and enquired, “What play is this Basava? Why have you dug so many pits in the courtyard?” He asked his son. 

“Father, I was very thirsty. When I asked mother for water, she told me not to disturb your pooja and asked me to wait. But I was very thirsty, so I started digging these pits to fetch water and quench my thirst.” 

"You fool! Does water come so soon? Does it come if you dig like this? Instead of digging so many pits, you have to dig only one and deeply, only then you get water, is it not?" Father said.

”Exactly father! To get close to God we have to channelize all our attention on one with the help of only one mantra. Instead of this if we worship different deities mechanically; can we experience God who is the confluence of knowledge and bliss?"

Father was astonished by this answer, and then Basaveshwara pronounced that endurance is belief in Energy that has to be without any flaw. 

Now a days we are influenced by others on the approach towards God, and even go to the extent of conversions. It is not the philosophy which can enlighten us but the belief in it. All philosophies talk of the same faith; it is good to know about all the philosophies but to get some enlightening knowledge it is important not to compare one with another but to relate one with other.  

Today is the appearance day of Sri Jagat Jyothi Basaveshwara   

“Saranu Saranarthi” (really, You are my refuge)