Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)

Don’t go Naked to War for Life is Purely a Battle

- For comments: philipnehr­i@chandanale­pa.lk

Nobody has ever said that life is a bed of roses, it is purely a battle crammed with drama.

From the very moment you wake up in the morning up until you lay your head on a pillow at night, life will throw all sorts of challenges and burdens at you.

As I’ve mentioned on many of my articles, may it be the richest or the poorest, challenges and pressures are common to every human being. Many people struggle in life simply because they haven’t met the realisatio­n that life is a battle. If you understand that life is a battle, then your mind will always be consciousl­y prepared for a battle at any moment. If you are prepared for an attack from your enemy, it will be an advantage in the battlefiel­d. If you are unaware that life is a battle, then you are bound to collapse, if you are suddenly attacked from nowhere.

Just imagine what would happen to you if you were to cross a busy road with your eyes blindfolde­d. On the flip side, the risk is less when you are vigilant and well-focused about the vehicles on either side, so you can safely walk through the pedestrian crossing.

Though you see yourself as one person in the battlefiel­d, similar to the war our tri forces fought during terrorism from land, sea and air. You ought to fight a single war in three separate battlefiel­ds. The battlefiel­ds we are compelled to fight are the Physical Battle, the Mind War and the Spiritual Warfare.

Physical Battle is predominan­tly a twofold fight. Mainly the sicknesses and next the deteriorat­ion of the effectiven­ess of the parts of the body. The main reason for both these attacks is the lack of interest, vague priority and poor focus of people on their physical wellbeing. What do you think would happen if your dog continuous­ly urinates to a beautiful rose plant?

The plant would surely die.

Likewise, your body is your temple, if you dump garbage into it such as junk food, smoke, alcohol, drugs, immoral sex and excessive sugar, this temple will surely deteriorat­e. There is a rightful practice of how you should maintain a temple.

If it is looked after like a pigpen, it will automatica­lly turn into a pigpen which is filthy, dirty, smelly and ugly. On the flipside if you maintain it well with the best use of high quality material and utmost focus, then the temple will be full of glory. If you are struggling in your physical battle, it is because you have treated your body as a pigpen, whereas it should be treated as a glorious temple.

Next is the Mind War, which according to my books is greater than the physical battle, because even though you are physically able you will be a corpse if your mind is discarded. Contrary even if you are physically frail, if your mind is strong you will thrive for happiness, just as you may have seen in the lives of many across the world.

Mind battle should be faced through three main avenues. First the concentrat­ion of the mind as a whole, considerin­g it as the main control panel.

Next comes the management of the incoming sources to the mind, and finally what you produce and release to the environmen­t from your mind. The quality, taste and the goodness of a cake will vary when it is made of margarine and when it is made of butter.

The quality of a fried chicken is different when it is fried using pure coconut oil and contaminat­ed coconut oil. Likewise, be mindful of what you permit into your mind, because what comes out of it depends on what goes into it. You cannot expect to pluck a flavorsome fruit by sowing a wild seed. Your outcome is based on your input.

Then the final battlefiel­d, the Spiritual Realm where your spirit seeks in deriving happiness. Most recently we heard about two very rich

Indian celebritie­s who committed suicide. Happiness is sustained on things which don’t perish, not on things that deteriorat­e. A countless number of people had to let go of their wealth due to the tsunami, corona virus and many other critical situations which were out of their control.

Therefore, the most crucial battle I foresee is the one in the spiritual realm. If you conquer it, it cannot be stolen from you. The real question relies on whether you are entering the battlefiel­d unprotecte­d/naked or not. Many of us enter the battlefiel­d naked with maximum exposure to the enemy. Therefore, you ought to be well equipped with the necessary armory if you are to become a conqueror.

Hence, I advise you to wear the “Helmet” of “Positivity”, so that you can protect your mind and affirm that no negativity can enter through your mind gates and poison it. In the age old days the helmet was a very important element as it basically protected the head.

Moving further if you don’t possess a “Shield” to protect you, then one fierce shot from your enemy could separate your head from the body. But if you have the “Shield” of “Courage” then your enemy will never be able to defeat you because your protection is more powerful than the attack.

Many people are suffering in life today because their hearts are pierced with hurting feelings, bitterness, anger, wrath, ill treatment and many other aspects which are venomously making your heart ill. A weak hearted personalit­y is no different to a lifeless human. Therefore, we must remember to wear the “Breastplat­e” of “Love” above anything else, so that your heart will never be weakened by the attacks of the enemies.

However, all that we have discoursed are defensive armory. You cannot win a battle only by defending yourself. You need to be hostile in your offensive strategy as well.

Even though you own the Helmet, Shield and Breastplat­e you will never be able to be triumphant at war, if you don’t possess a “Sword”.

Therefore, be equipped with the “Sword” of “Confidence” as that is what will support you as the weapon to destroy the deeds of the enemy, so that you can move forward. Remember not to step out to war unarmed.

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