78. Welcome.
Rich man Kuljeeth, who was blind by birth, had fallen in love with a young girl. With joy, he described to his friend about his lover, her qualities, and her way of talking, her activities and interests.
Next day, he introduced his friend to his lover. After the meeting, Kuljeeth broke down on hearing the news from his friend.
'Kuljeeth, she is not as beautiful as you think. I think she is not suitable for you in any way.' The moment his friend said this, the lover who had so far lived like a queen in his mind, appeared no more to be that way. His love also shrank away.
- Life gives shocks as a gift, only to those who do not possess the good quality of 'welcoming'.
For those who welcome whatever is given to them, life cannot give as gift, any thing else other than FORTUNES.
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- 'Whatever comes, let it come; Whatever has come, let it be there' Man may be able to just live possessing the above attitude. But he cannot celebrate his life joyfully. The reason is the absence of the quality of 'welcoming', which is the birth place of joy.
- 'Whatever comes is a boon, whatever has come is a fortune' Only if a person has such an attitude, he can celebrate life with joy.
- The bubbling nature of a child, the strength of a bold person, the clarity of a wise person. A man who possesses all three enthusiasms, strength and wisdom will have the quality of 'welcoming' life and all that comes with it, in him.
In short, the noble quality of 'welcoming' is living life with ease and comfort, duly understanding the subtlety that:
Nature naturally gifts us pleasure for our happiness; and pain for our growth.
Welcome with joy, each and every thing, the divine power has arranged and given to you. To say 'with joy' means, accept with total joyous feeling.
This is good luck; this is bad luck – all these things depend upon your mental point of view only.
Every second that makes you happy and joyful is the blessing of the divine energy.
Every second that makes you suffer is the practising ground for the next stage of happiness in your life.
The occurrence of joy in you depends upon how you welcome each and every incident.
One small story.
Three middle-aged persons traveled in a taxi towards the airport. The taxi driver got upset a little when in an unexpected turning a youngster riding a bike suddenly overtook the taxi.
The vehicles coming on the opposite direction were also affected a little. But without colliding against anybody, the youth maneuvered somehow and escaped nicely.
Unable to bear the tension caused on account of the above incident, one person traveling in the taxi shouted, 'Thick skinned idiot! What is the urgency? Why does he go like this? Having caused tension to so many people, how are people like this going to come up in life?'
The second friend said, 'All the present day youth are like this.'
The third friend said with a smile, 'Oh! How skillfully he is driving the bike? Even though he is riding so fast perhaps due to some emergency, he is skillfully driving the bike in an unexpected turning like this, without colliding against any vehicle!'
Same incident – has taken one person to the peak of irritation and another to the zenith of wonder. Whether you sow your anger or you smile when something happens depends upon the method of your approach and how you welcome it.
After reaching the airport, they got into the airplane. Half way through, that plane was hijacked. After 3 days, that hijacked plane was released.
The first friend said, 'Right from the time I started from home, I experienced bad omens only. A cat went across! A fool overtook on the left side! A lizard fell on my shoulder! When all these happened, then itself I knew some thing like this would happen.' Murmuring aloud like this, he left the airport and went away.
The second friend said, 'All are God's blessings. God has listened to my prayers and he has saved us'.
The third friend, without saying any thing, was walking with a smile on his face showing deep satisfaction.
On seeing him, the other two were surprised. 'How is it friend? Even now you are joyful!' they asked in surprise.
'Even though they had kept us as hostages for three days, they have let us out alive, without killing us. Every second I think about this, it feels so good that without dying a physical death, we have taken re-birth again.' He said with a smile.
The happening of joy in you will depend upon how you welcome each and every incident.
For the sake of working for livelihood, those three persons had gone to another town and taken a house on rent and were staying there. One day when they returned home from work, a big shock was awaiting them. For, the rental house in which they were living, had collapsed and fallen suddenly.
The first person said, 'I know, from the time we started, nothing went right. When I read the astrological forecast in the newspaper, it said that 'You will have to meet with lot of difficulties', then itself I knew that some thing like this was going to happen.' He was heart-broken and was going on murmuring and complaining.
The second person said, 'All is God's will. God is testing us. He is playing the game of hide and seek to change us as better people.' This way he talked some stale philosophy.
The third person was calm and composed and was all smiles. This kindled the anger of the other two.
'Why are you laughing like this at all places?' they asked with some irritation.
'Not at all, gentlemen! If our flight had not been hijacked the other day, we would have returned home three days back and when the house collapsed and fell, we would have been caught inside the house and we would have been killed' said the third person and he continued.
'Now as I thought whether I should express my gratitude to the hijacker or to God, automatically laughter came to me.' He said with a smile.
Your joy will depend upon how you welcome each and every incident.
If you are all the while in a state of grief, and feel irritated and disturbed, then it is for sure, that your way of welcoming is wrong only. It is enough if it is understood that all things which happen are gifts of God. Then automatically joy will fall in place within you.
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A meaningful incident.
Someone asked me, 'It is not at all possible for me to welcome and accept all things. Is my mind a stone? What can be done?'
I told him, 'Leave the worry. First of all accept that you are unable to accept.'
Next morning he said, 'Thank you very much. After accepting my inability to accept everything as it is, I feel very light as though I have unloaded a big burden off me.'
- Welcome your life, as it is. Accept it. You will get peace. Do it and see.
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Meditation chisels. Chisel No.33.
Do you like the rose for its beauty? Be prepared to accept its thorns too.
Do you love to be embraced? You must be prepared for some small pats and even for some frightening and rebuke also. Are you prepared? Think of it.
The reason for the 'loving period' of lovers being sweet always is that in those moments, the thorns of the rose do not hurt the heart at all.
It will only be pleasant and fine for the mind for the red rose to be drowned in love with white rose and vice versa.
This is the reason for any relationship being sweet in the beginning.
It is only when the thorn pricks, the infatuation clears off. It is only when we come to know of the bad qualities of our loved ones that our heart is stabbed and torn to pieces.
Grief drips down from the mind drop by drop.
If you have loved the rose very much, what is the point in hating its thorns alone? There is no rose without a thorn in this world. Why? Even you are a rose with thorns – your flaws. Is it not?
Love the rose with the thorns. That only is the real respect you give for the rose.
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