:: Article 12

As youngsters, we must realize that our personal agenda’s are short term and have no value whatsoever in the scheme of life. No, I am not trying to be fatalistic. We must have ambitions, we must be competitive and we must plan well. All these are absolutely necessary. But while doing these, we must be constantly aware that our activities are subject to cosmic approval. Let me illustrate. As a family, we plan to go out for a weekend. All preparations have been made. We are in a state of tremendous expectation. Suddenly, on Friday evening our car breaks down and the mechanic tells us that it won’t be ready before the weekend. Naturally, we are disappointed. We feel that we have been let down. We skulk over it and normally complain that life has been unfair to us. Well, it may be true. But there is nothing we can do about it. We must always bear in mind the fact that “Man proposes and God disposes”. Everything that happens to us has a meaning and purpose in life. The Chinese mystic Lao Tzu has a beautiful expression to denote this. He calls it the “The water course way”. Water’s natural tendency is to flow. No matter what the obstacle is. It ultimately flows. Our lives should follow this path. Every twist and turn that life offers us must be taken as an opportunity. Who knows what good lies in every evil? There is an old story in our literature. Listen to it.

There lived a young king, who was fair and handsome. He was so proud of his physical appearance that he would take extraordinary care to protect his body from a slightest scar. In his kingdom, there were a group of bandits who were terrorizing the population. No one in the kingdom dared to stop them. The king had no choice but to attend to the matter personally. So one day, he went along with his soldiers to the jungle, where the bandits were reportedly in hiding. The king was more worried about his own physical well being than catching the thieves. He rode carefully along the jungle avoiding all obstacles that may cause damage to his white skin. It so happened, that a small thorn jutting out a tree scratched the kings shoulder and his hand started bleeding. The king was distraught. He felt that his entire life was finished. He began cursing the gods for having wounded him. As this was going on, from no where the bandits swooped upon the king and his regiment. They handcuffed the king and took him to their den. The bandits were unusually happy because they had to sacrifice a fair young man that day. They did not know that the man they had captured was the king. On reaching the den the bandits started making preparations for the sacrifice. The young king forgot all about his wound. He was now stuck with mortal fear. He was going to be burnt alive. They had killed all his attendants and he was alone there in the midst of the forest. The chief of the thieves came up to him and said: “O young man, we are about to burn you. But our custom states that we can sacrifice only a body that does not have a scar. “. The king had forgotten all about the scar and started pleading with the chieftain that he was a king. All his wailings fell on deaf years. The thieves started stripping him to prepare the body for sacrifice. The chief suddenly noticed that there was blood on the king’s shoulder. He ordered his men to stop the proceedings. He told the king” You are fortunate! You have been saved by the smallest of scars”, now you are free to go”. The young king was let loose. He walked to his palace a changed man.

You see, sometimes we are caught up with our miseries so much, that we don’t understand the higher law at work.

Reflect on this.