Hope as an Anchor of the Soul

According to Greek mythology, the first woman on earth was ‘Pandora’ (meaning ‘all gifted’). She was bestowed with many gifts including beauty, charm and intellect. Her story reflects how all the evils were released into the world and reminds everyone about how essential hope is. On the eve of marriage with Epimetheus, Pandora was gifted with a box from Zeus which contained all the evil traits. She was even warned that for her marriage to remain happy one, she should never open and look inside the box. Eventually, out of curiosity she lifted up the corner of the box to peak inside and through the narrow gap rushed all the evils including sickness, envy, greed, disease, suffering, death and many other unspecified evils. Pandora slammed the lid of the box back down and 'hope' was the last thing remaining inside the box. Ever since, human race have been able to stick around this hope in order to endure the malice that Pandora had let out.

Hope holds a profound place in human's life even today. In the present times, out of all the notions, hope is plausibly closest to trust. Hope doesn't works on certainty. In the most hopeless situation, we have the trust to see the possibility of something positive to happen and that something is not anything specific. It then instills in you the faith that if you work hard, things will surely give a positive outcome. For example: 

1.     If you aspire to have a great future, you place trust in yourself being capable of making right choices to achieve that.

2. When you jump from an aircraft, you have trust in parachute that will help you to land safely on land.

3. When you throw a baby in air, he smiles because of the trust he has that you will catch him.

4. We become conscious of our diet, exercise regularly with the hope that we will live longer.

5. It is hope which makes a man do hard-work all day and night and then to believe in saving money for his safe future, a future which is most uncertain.

Life is always unpredictable and is full of surprises without any intimation beforehand. In the most pensive state of affairs, Hope acts as a healer for our soul. It can be taken as God's blessing as it bestows positivity by whispering "Things will get better and nothing stays forever, not even bad days". Hope behaves like a guiding spirit in our lives as it gives you the power to make right decisions for better future.

When you feel frustrated and defeated, your brain stops to work logically. You spend days and days trying to figure out the God's reason behind it. Fear, solitude, sadness, helplessness and doubt are all that follows you. You repetitively question ourselves "why this happened to me" and in the end all our questions are left unanswered. You find yourself sinking deep and deep inside without any logic resolution. It's hard to be stay in that phase of uncertainty and despair for a longer period of time. In this time of despair, you need something solid to cling on that could liberate you from the shackles of negativity and brings you back to the surface where you can have a breath of positivity. Now the question is, whom can you hold on to?

If we try to find answer in the spiritual world, we will find out that all religions provide ray of hope for their followers. Humanity has evolved to the present stage just by counting on hope despite the dictum "survival of the fittest". In Sikh religion, the term used for hope is 'aas' and in the times of distress people pray to God with the hope that things will soon amend. Guru Arjan Devi Ji, Fifth Guru of the Sikhs reaffirms the teaching of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of Sikh religion. The message for the followers is to have undying trust in the grace of God who is omnipotent and has solutions to all the problems of his devotees.

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•        ਉ ਤਿਰ ਜਾਇ ਤੇਰੇ ਮਨ ਕੀ ਿਪਆਸ ॥ ਪੂਰਨ ਹੋਵੈ ਸਗਲੀ ਆਸ ॥ [SGGS, M.5, p.179]

     Uṯar jā▫e ṯere man kī pi▫ās. Pūran hovai saglī ās.

    The thirst of your mind shall be satisfied, and all hopes shall be fulfilled.

•    ਹਿਰ ਸੰਿਗ ਰਾਤੇ ਪੂਰਨ ਆਸ ॥ ੨॥ [SGGS, M.5, p.201]

     Har sang rāṯe pūran ās. ||2||

    One, who is attuned to the god almighty, sees all his hopes fulfilled. ||2||

In Christianity, there are so many references of 'hope' in the Bible. In difficult times, it is hard to see or think beyond what is happening at that time in your life and expect to see light at the end of the tunnel. Whether you're having any health issues, hard time for the family or lost someone dear to you, an optimistic frame of mind can help you see a difficult challenge as an opportunity of gratitude. You need to find your own silver lining in every hard situation. Some of the verses on 'hope' in the Bible are:

Jeremiah 29:11: " For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Proverbs 23:18: "There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off." 

Romans 12:12: "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer." 

Romans 15:13: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

"Psalm 147:11:"The Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love."

It is well known proverb by Thomas Fuller “Great hopes make great men”. Life is neither a bed of roses nor it is unending series of hardships. Life is a struggle which can surprise you anytime and it's the gift of 'hope' that helps a man to realize his real potential. If you have an optimistic outlook, hope acts as a companion who never leaves you alone in this life's journey. When you hope, you struggle and sometimes you do fail but that's not the end. It is well known saying by Bernard Shaw, “He who has never hoped can never despair”. So, it is a part of beautiful life that God has given us where things sometimes go out of our control but still its hope that keeps us moving with a belief that we are capable of making it better again.
It's a well known proverb, "Hope sustains life" and it not only gives us strength to overpower the infliction but it also makes the journey for the future simpler. Hope is the essence of life as it keeps the aura of positivity around us and protects us from the negativity. It helps us to ignore the worries of the present and stay mentally strong. I believe hope is like a flickering candle which stands by your side when everything positive fades away. It is hope which keeps you alive amidst adversity. So, never lose the grip of hope because it gives our mind the power to stay strong and not lose courage in the times of despair.

 

Dr. Ranbir Kaur

8th April, 2022