Radhanath Swami – Watch this before you judge your situation

My beloved Guru Srila Prabhupada would use an analogy. When you see through green colored glasses everything looks green. And if you see the same sight through yellow colored glasses it looks yellow. And if it’s blue colored glasses it looks blue, and if it’s clear glasses you see it for its actual color. So similarly we are seeing through the mind, not just through the eyes. Even people with the same type of eyes and the same vision, what they see in the world is so different. In my 65 years, I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who sees anything the same way, because everyone has a very unique state of mind. We can give some general psychological categories to the way people think, but still, everyone is so personal and unique according to the experiences that they had, the education they’ve had, according to what they identify with, and who they identify with. It all very much colors the way we see everything in the world. An example, a flower: one person will see a beautiful rose flower. If she is a botanist, she will start thinking about the Latin name and where its original seed was grown and become really fascinated by that idea. If a boy is in love with someone he’ll see that rose: “Let me get it and give it to my lover. How beautiful she will be if it’s in her hair.” Another person will see the rose. If she is an artist, the texture, the shapes, the colors, and how beautiful a work of art it is! If a person has allergies she’ll see the rose and just see it as an enemy. “I have to get away from this rose or I’m going to start sneezing.” But if a person loves God, she will think: “Oh! This is God’s creation, God’s art within the world.” So everyone is going to see the same thing in a different way. Similarly people see situations, either as opportunities or as impediments. That’s our choice. And generally, a person who is really successful, especially from a spiritual perspective, sees opportunities everywhere – even in apparent setbacks.