Trials and Tribulations in Life: The distress that is experienced burns to ashes all pleasures derived from worldly things. This is what is called Tapasya. The heartache, the anguish over the effect of obstructions, are the beginning of an awakening to Consciousness. Remember, one is born to experience various kinds of joys and sorrows according to one's desire. For the time being, God comes to you in the disguise of suffering. He is purifying you in this manner. The suffering is for your own best. A mother gives a slap to her beloved child for its own good, in order to keep it on the right path. When a fond mother gives her baby a bath, the child may scream desperately, yet the mother will not let the baby go until she has thoroughly washed and scrubbed him.

(Ma Anandamayî)