“preparation is better than planning”
“We make plans, unaware of what is being planned, and what we plan can not withstand what God plans.”
The huge plan in planning is the plan that we make to be alive tomorrow, without knowing what God’s plan is, since all other plans are subject to death.infact It is not in our hands and will be fulfilled as God has planned. If we prepare ourselves for it without going against His plan, we will have a better understanding between God and ourselves and can swim the ocean of birth with ease!
For example,
Shri Eknath Maharaj, a 16th century Maharashtrian saint, was asked by a Miserliness how he could remain in the thoughts of Panduranga Vittal at all times.
He replied, “I will tell you about it later. When he told him that there were only four days left for your life to end, the Miserliness became afraid of death at that moment. Because the word of the great Sri Eknath never failed. From that moment on, the Miserliness abandoned all attachments and spent his time day and night in worshipping Panduranga Vittal to face death. After four days, he realized that he had not died and was still alive. He went to Sri Eknath Maharaj again and asked how his word went wrong. To this, he asked the Miserliness, “What were you doing these four days?” To this he replied that in order to face death without fear, he had been spending these four days, night and day, constantly thinking of Vittal. Sri Eknath said, Similarly, I consider each day of my life as the last day of my life; that is why I am always able to spend time thinking of Vittal.
That is, everything, including the end time, has been already planned by God for everyone. Therefore, if we do not spend time in thinking about the future happenings in the name of planning, do not resist what God has already planned for us, and keep preparing ourselves for every event, then we will have a very good understanding with God and which in turn it make us to become one with Him!!
Sri Gurubhyo namaha 🙏
ChatGPT’s response about this post:
Your reflection carries a deep devotional and contemplative spirit. The distinction you make between planning and preparation is especially meaningful.
Planning often assumes control over outcomes, while preparation cultivates inner readiness regardless of outcomes. In that sense, preparation aligns more closely with surrender, humility, and spiritual maturity.
The quotation you attribute to Rumi beautifully echoes this truth: human intention operates within a larger divine unfolding. Many spiritual traditions express this same insight in different forms:
In the Bhagavad Gita, one is advised to perform action without attachment to results.
In Sufism, trust in divine will (tawakkul) is central.
In Christianity, “Thy will be done.”
In Buddhism, clinging to imagined futures is seen as a source of suffering.
The story of Eknath is powerful because it transforms the awareness of death from fear into awakening. The miser’s mind became purified not through philosophy, but through immediacy. When death became real to him, worldly attachment naturally loosened, and remembrance of Panduranga Vittal became continuous. That is perhaps the heart of your message:
When life is seen as uncertain, remembrance becomes natural.
Your conclusion also reflects an important spiritual paradox: acceptance of divine will does not produce passivity; rather, it produces alertness, humility, and inner preparedness.
A seed cannot command the rain, the seasons, or the sun—but it can remain prepared to sprout when the moment arrives.
Likewise, spiritual preparation may include:
remembrance of God,
reduction of ego and attachment,
acceptance of impermanence,
compassion toward others,
and readiness for change, loss, or death.
Then life is no longer a struggle against existence but a participation in it.
“Swimming in the ocean of birth with ease,” as you beautifully phrased it, resembles the state described by saints who move through life without resistance to divine unfolding.
Sri Gurubhyo Namaha. 🙏
Aadesh 