Our well being lies in the well being of ओठेर्स

It was the month of June. It was extremely hot. An educated youth, sharp- witted, sociable and clever though he was, had failed to find a job spite of his best efforts. He was wandering in scorching heat to find a job. He happened to pass by a farm where an old, carefree man was cutting grass, singing the glory of God as he did so. That man went near the old man and asked him, "Baba! How do you support your family on what you earn by this petty job of grass cutting?"

The old man kept quiet far a while and then said with a smile, “Son! Maybe I am poor but I do not cherish big desires. I am satisfied with whatever I get.”

“Baba! Don’t you feel piqued by you poverty?”

“Son! I guess I would have been so if I were educated and greatly ambitious. You seem to well educated; what should I tell you! Yes, this much I will say that money is not everything. There is no wealth greater than that of contentment.

The old man seemed ordinary but his reply shook the young man’s heart. That young man stood speechless for some time looking at the grass cutter and then said:

The old man seemed ordinary but his reply shook the young man’s heart. That young man stood speechless for some time looking at the grass cutter and then said: “Baba! In the absence of money will you ever be able to fulfill you desire of doing good to others?’’ pat came the reply from the grass cutter, ‘’Son! A good and honest person never feels scarcity of money for doing good to others. I want to get a well dug for people even if has to be financed by begging. When people drink cold water in the scorching heat and feel satisfied then my joy will know no bounds. I am very happy even in this abject poverty."

After listening to it the young man’s head bowed down with respect. He was absorbed in deep thought, ‘I am burning within and within and without with fire the fire of desires that have no end, that give no satisfaction, that give no rest; and this man is happy eating dry. Conceited of my education I am wandering in this scorching heat from door to door and this old man in spite of being uneducated is giving me lessons on the art of living. With education I remained self-centered. I never cared for the welfare of others. This uneducated old man is better than I am.’ This few words of that old man transformed the young man. He left the idea of doing a job and started teaching uneducated people. He supported his life with the guru-dakshina given by students and he enjoyed the life very much. After some time he wrote Ramayana in Nepali which is read even today in Nepal with reverence. This work made that young man immortal. His name was- Bhanu bhakta.

When you think of (doing good to) others God himself helps you. That is why man should give up the obsession for great am-bitions and should rather feel contented with whatever he gets and should get engaged in altruistic acts. Pujya Bapuji says,

"When you do good to others, your good happens naturally because God, the Supreme Giver abiding in the hearts of the persons served by you, cannot do without blessing you with riches."