PROBLEM OF MEMORY
By right thinking one should refrain oneself from the imprudence of magnifying relatively minor issue into a major problem for oneself.
A certain person was continuously disturbed on account of some bitter memories of the past. Because of this, his health deteriorated. One day, I recited a couplet to him that was written by an Urdu poet, Akhtar Ansari (1909-1988):
Yaad-e maazi azaab hai ya Rabb
Chheen le mujh se hafiza mera
Remembrance of the past is a curse, O Lord!
Snatch away from me my memory.
On listening to this couplet, the man remarked that it was beautiful. In response to his comment, I said I disagree with it. Explaining my opinion, I said that memory is a great blessing. It is because of our memory that we know things and recognize them. If the supplication made in the above couplet was actually accepted and a person’s memory was wiped out, he would only externally appear to be a human being but in actual fact would become lower than even a goat and sheep. I added that I knew many people who had lost their memory because of illness in old age. Their condition was such that they could neither speak anything nor recognise anyone. They lived in this way in a state of helplessness for a few years and then died.
The right way of thinking in the above matter is that instead of wiping out their memory, one should try to transform one’s bitter memories into happy memories. For instance, suppose a person owes some money to somebody and is unable to repay his loan, and because he constantly remembers this, he is in deep sadness. The right method for this person is to distinguish the loan from the sorrow of being presently unable to pay it. Of course, he should make efforts to repay the loan, but he should not be obsessed with it to the point that he becomes overwhelmed by sorrow about it. He should recognise that the problem of mental tension would be more severe than the problem of his debt. If the problem of debt is just a problem, mental tension is a sort of mental suicide.
By right thinking, one should save oneself from the foolishness of converting a relatively small problem into a big problem for oneself.
