Be Open to receive help

I have often noticed that people sometimes refuse help from others. This is usually due to two reasons -

1) The "help" comes with strings attached or, put in other words, as an obligation where the helper will extract his pound of flesh later - It is best to avoid taking help of this kind.

2) The help offered is genuine but the reciever gets into an ego mode. Deep inside he feels "I cannot take help as I am too self respecting" or "It is below my dignity" and so on. Not only unspiritual, but even spiritual people often fall prey to this mode. These are the very people who go around complaining that God does not help them or does not answer their prayers. Now that is a foolish thing to do. When God (you can call it 'universe') tries to help, He can do so through the agency of other human beings (who are his very own manifestations). People surely should not expect God to descend specially for them (though this has happened in the lives of great devotees but here I am not talking about such extraordinary folks). Refusing such help from others is rejecting God's assistance. One then has no right to criticise God for not helping him. How ignorant it is to reject his help and then critisise Him.

When a person gets into an ego mode he cuts off the supply of the universal abundance that the universe has to offer him. Being concerened about one's self respect is good but then one must also think that the person offering help might have also considered below his dignity to offer help in the first place. Self respect is not one's priviledge alone.

So go right ahead and accept all the genuine help your recive from others. For that is precisely God's intention for you. What happens when you joyfully take help from others - You have one more person to love in this world! That is the ultimate GOAL of your life.

Cheers
Manish