Remembrance of God
in Times of Ease

To forget God when you are happy and at  ease and rush to God when you face some difficulty has no value whatsoever.

In May 1982, the editor of the Hindustan Times did a field study to understand the mentality of Indians. His research concluded this about them: “When a catastrophe strikes, God is at the top. However, money manages to push God to the second place when all is tranquil.”

This is true not only of Indians, however. It applies to most people across the globe. For example, a person remembers God when he is in difficulty or feels helpless. At that time, he  thinks only of God. However, when the situation improves, and he is no longer faced with any problem, he makes his perceived  material interests his sole concern.

However, this sort of religiosity is not religious at all. It simply expresses a person’s mindset—who has forgotten his Lord. He does not remember God when he should, and then God shows him how utterly helpless he is. In making an individual face various trials and troubles, God lifts the veil of negligence from his eyes, forcing him to recognize how utterly dependent he is on Him. A person gets frightened when this happens and calls out to God.

A human being is entirely free, having been bestowed with the gift of free will. God desires that a person should, of his own free will, and not out of compulsion, worship and surrender Him. Thus, a person’s remembrance of God is true remembrance when he remembers God during his moments of comfort and ease. To forget God when you are happy and at ease and to rush to God when you face some difficulty has no value whatsoever.

Those who consider wealth the greatest have made a false god their deity. How can something that cannot be a support when you are in trouble, something you forget in moments of extreme difficulty, be your deity?