indeed a greedy person. While I lead an austere life and charitable, my thought were not as much, he reasoned.
While he ate only one fish, some times, he said he felt hungry after eating one fish. In those occasions, he said, he used to think that he should have kept two fishes instead of one. Is that thought not reflect greed?
He observed that it is easy to live an austere life while living among poor or in seclusion. Even though my mentor lives in a luxurious environment, he lives a life free of greed, jealousy and anger. That is really a difficult task.
It is more to do with the mind and less to do with the matter. In our normal life, this extent of greed is tolerable. But, in the spiritual life, it is a great obstacle.
The students of the greedy fisherman understood the underlying concepts. Did you?
Theme: Our Real Problems:
Often our problems are just that someone else is seemingly happy and prosperous. We make wrong comparisons among ourselves. Life is a package deal. Let us see, what these mean through a simple story.
Theme: Our real problem
Short Story 23:
Revolt against the god.
That was a time when Gods frequented earth to know how then people who were created by them lived. When they find the need they did interfere in their affairs and set things rright.
In the by gone era, the gods should have felt obliged their devotees whoever they meditated on them. Some devotees undertook severe penance in order to meet the god. While many sought special material favours some wanted merely their grace.
When the god finally appears before them, invariably they give three boons. That is, three wishes of the devotee will be fulfilled.
The god decided to visit a particular village where the people were revolting against god. At that point in time, every one of the villagers believed that the God is doing good to everyone except them.
Gods in the celestial world examined the life of each and every one of the villagers and found nothing wrong in their plan for them.
Then one of the gods decided to descend on the planet and meet the villagers and clarify their doubts.
Every one had the same problem. They felt that their neighbor, their relatives, colleagues were better-off than them. No one was ever happy.
The god realized what the problem was. They also knew that when people had agitated minds, explanations won’t work.
So the God got down to the job right earnestly like an expert Management consultant.
The process followed, was as follows.
By dawn, on the following day, they need to write what were all good about their lives and what were not. They need to write a number allotted to them, on the envelope and leave it in the government elementary school. The school declared a holiday so every children were joyous.
The day next every one can examine every cover for its content. Note down the best according to their understanding and retire for the day.
The Third day, when they raise from their bed, they will have a life what they thought the best.
On the third day, every one got up as what they were some three days ago.
The god who came to earth returned immediately after making this announcement. He was pretty sure that the problem was solved for ever.
He explained his fellow gods as follows:
(1) Everyone looks at other’s pleasures and compare with their problems or pains.
(2) The day when some one compares their pleasure and pains with others pleasure and pains, they discover that their package is better than others.
The simple logic is, they are already familiar and used to their problems. So their problem looks acceptable or liveable than other’s.
When once they know others are no better than their own situation, people become content and happy.
These villagers understood this secret and do not curse the gods, any more.
EPILOGUE
Dear readers,
I came across people who believed that living with good principle always. is impossible.
Some others say, living by such value systems invite only problems.
Greed, jealousy are, mere reflection of ingnorance. They bring upon endless misery to us.
Acquiring knowledge, is the only way to mitigate our miseries. Wiser among us do not wait to learn from their experiences alone. Our life span is inadequate to learn all that during happy living.
A great deal of information on how to become knowledgeable, can be found from the free ebook titled:
Knowledge. Go, get it
Reading books, trying to be familiar with the environment where we live and wisdom of men of knowledge.
Learning from other’s experience and also from our own is a must.
NATARAJAN
Many more to come as free ebooks.
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