The contented shall be given more

-



The sun is barely up

We have one here who is ready to begin a new day. Just now though there is a little time to sit down over a cup of coffee, to worry about so many things humans have to worry about every day of their lives, to deal with their fears and to make plans to escape them, plans against so many different problems that can arise in a life. Soon he must dress up and rush to work. The work shall be weary, that daily grind, but it will serve to distract from worries, fears and insecurities for a while.

But today he is greeted by Babaji,

“Son you are worrying about so many things but you are forgetting the most important one. Soon these weary days shall become to an end, suddenly, unexpectedly. While your flesh and bones returns to the Earth from whence it arose, your soul shall escape. It shall look down at your body and say,

“Look at this pitiable body that lies here in the ground, soon it shall rot and the stench shall be unbearable, or the maggots will get to it. Its days were spent in worries, fears and insecurities while it walked the land. A sorry end to a sorry life indeed! Then the soul shall rise up and escape to a place from whence it came.”

“But tell me son, do you have enough bread for the day.”
“I do’”
”Do you have a clean dress for the day to wear.”
“Yes, I do.”
“And a roof over your head for the night!?”
 “Yes, Sir. I sure do.”
 “Is the air fresh enough to breathe and the sun warm enough to touch your soul?”
“It sure is Babaji.”
“Then pray tell me, is there a pain in your behind?”
“No, not in the least Babaji.”

“Then be happy and immerse yourself in the magic of a new day. If there is a concern or two to handle today, then go ahead and deal with that, why are you adding those of tomorrow to it? When tomorrow comes it will take care of itself. Let your day be a celebration of life not a distraction from your worries. Soon the body shall be in the grave. Make the most of it while it still dwells upon the earth in a spirit of gratitude. Be contented with what you have for,

“The contented shall be given more and whatever they presently have shall be taken away from those who lack gratitude.”

Is this not the story of so many of us dear readers?


Comments

Sudhir Goyal said…
Ashok,
Being contented and being grateful for everything big and small makes journey of life beautiful.
It also makes us full of love for ourselves and for all beings.
February 14, 2017 at 3:56 AM
ProfAshok said…
So true Sudhir, Patanjali said in his yoga darshan that contentment is a necessary step before yoga ( one of the five niyams in part 2 of ashtang yoga) and that it is the biggest of happiness. Gratitude leads to contentment just as peace to happiness

You may have noted at some things suited to western culture like coffee in morning instead of tea and burial instead of cremation. I use those examples because a large proportion of readers of this blog are from USA as also from many western countries.
February 14, 2017 at 4:50 AM
Vinod Khurana said…
Lovely post, dear Babaji:

When one has everything
one worries to lose even a small thing
and when one has but just a little
the little becomes everything
in being content with what one has
one finds joy, fullness and peace
and gratitude overcomes all worries

with regards
Vinod
February 14, 2017 at 6:11 AM
ProfAshok said…
So true, those who have more tend to worry more whereas the impoverished worry only a little. While one may strive to improve one's condition, it must be in a spirit of joy not worry while appreciating what one already has in a spirit of gratitude for in that lies contentment and happiness.
February 14, 2017 at 8:48 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

From Birds to Telepathy

-
Image
  Sparrow by  Laitche T he house that I live in presently was built in stages  beginning in 1991 during  vacations and sabbaticals in my career. By 1995, the ground floor of the house was more or less complete except for some finishing that continued later. In the center of the roof of the living room was a hole meant for a center light. To hide the protruding wires a small round plastic sheet covered it with another circular hole in the center of it for the light. A similar one existed in the front porch of the house. I lived in the house through most of 1995 with frequent visits of three or four days to Delhi. At this time a pair of house sparrows occupied the porch roof cavity and made it their home. There were no complaints about that since it was not intended to fix a light there in a hurry. Sparrows are cute little birds anyway and I often leave seeds out for them in the garden. Sometime later the female of the pair moved into the living roo...
Read more

The Palash Tree - Magic of Medicinal Herbs and Flowers and Back Pain

-
Image
The Palash Tree Flower B efore modern medicines became prevalent, humans treated many ailments with flowers, leaves, roots and barks of plants and trees. Ayurveda,  an ancient Indian medicinal science, makes use of many herbs and plant materials without substantial extraction of active ingredients as modern medicine does. The idea is that additional compounds in a medicinal or edible plant is an organic whole and a part of life that supports other life.  The complimentary compounds appear to play a useful balancing role whereas individually extracted and isolated compounds can be harmful. A modern example in wide use as food is sugar, a pure chemical isolated from the juice of sugar cane. Indeed there is no food or herb that does not contain a compound or two that could be from mildly to extremely dangerous if isolated and consumed but is beneficial as a group with other compounds. That is the reason why alcohol distilled from a natural fermented fruit juice and ...
Read more

You are what you eat, and drink

-
Image
C onsume an ounce of whiskey and you will notice the change in mood and behavior immediately. However, it is not just whiskey everything we drink, even the quality of water, or anything we eat has some subtle or significant influence on our behavior. Consumed over a period, not just the weekend binge, the type of food we consume literally shapes our personality prompting ancient thinkers like Hippocrates to remark, “You are what you eat”. Some question this by saying that it is our experiences and habits that shape our personality but the two are linked because it is our habits that shape our tastes and food choices. In another post in this blog it was  mentioned that a human personality is shaped by memory and experiences and one might ask which of the two is more significant - food or experiences?. My understanding is that humans gravitate towards the foods and actions that agree with their inner inclinations and personality and so in the end both causes are two sides of th...
Read more