The force is with you

My year old grandson Tegh Vir Singh, has discovered mobility. He crawls rapidly all over the house, being followed by some member of the family.

There is a heavy drawer in our bedroom which houses all the sheets and blankets etc. Tegh Vir had observed the actions of his grandmother as she cleans up the room every morning.

Children learn by imitating the behaviour of people around them. Even though Tegh is still so little, and unable to pull open the drawer, he persists, in trying to copy his grandmother's actions

This morning the drawer once again caught Tegh' attention. He huffed and he puffed but the drawer would not open. I decided to assist Tegh, so I discretely pulled open the drawer from one corner. Tegh Veer beamed with joy and he looked  around announcing his success in that strange language that only mothers understand.
  
He then pushed the draw shut, again with my discrete help. He was delighted by his success and on discovering his new found capabilities.

We both played our roles in the game several times. After about a dozen cycles I stopped, because the game was becoming boring and hence weary.

Tegh, was so confused. In spite of all his efforts the drawer now refused to budge. He tried and he tried, looked around for support, and when none was forthcoming, began his huffing and puffing all over again. 
"Well, my world is full of other fun things to do", he probably thought as he
embarked on a new adventure.

It suddenly dawned upon me that had just transpired was a great lesson in spirituality. 

Each individual feels that he or she alone is the doer. Everything that succeeds is because of us and us alone. But hands and forces hidden and unknown to us are always working and assisting us. 

Such is the power of creation which many call God, that miracles happen all the time.

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I have experienced, that whatever we do with commitment and all our focus and passion, will automatically draw the energy from the cosmos and from within our higher self to support whatever we do.

This is what all the great masters and teachers tell us, "Be true to yourself" or "seek and you shall find". But be a true seeker.

The spiritually evolved individual knowingly or unknowingly taps into this this vast reservoir of energy. We should remember that the energy of the cosmos or energy within us is just pure energy, and energy is not judgemental, it just follows its own rules.

If we are full of hate, anger, jealousy, then our bitterness and negativity will be magnified and we will be destructive and cause only harm and sorrow.

So it is with goodness. If we are compassionate, loving, friendly and helpful, we will achieve joy and well being, not only for ourselves but we will enrich the cosmos and everyone we come in contact with. 

Believe in yourself and the power lying latent with-in and with-out you.

Make your choices wisely, for the force is always with you.

The Bitter Woman

We may not be aware of it but every encounter with a living being effects us in some way or the other. 

This is why the ancients stressed upon the company we keep. Good, noble and loving people enrich us and some not so good people tend to impoverish us.

With good fortune, it was on Guru Poornima (full moon) at the ashram of Baba Ishwar Singh in Dehradun (India) that my wife Mohini and I met a spiritual man, Kulwinder Singh who drives a taxi in NewYork city (USA) for a living.

Contrary to perception, truly spiritual individuals are genuine egoless people, often witty, deep in character and exuding peace & joy. Their presence always leads to an awakening, like the petals of the bud blooming into a flower. An spiritual person can impart positive energy to us if we are receptive.

Kulwinder had many experiences to share as a cab driver. People drifted into his life for a few minutes to a couple of hours. After much prodding by me he shared several of the experiences he had with various passengers.

Here is an experience he shared about ‘The bitter woman’.

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One day a lady got into Kulwinder's cab. She was busy on her cellular phone and snapped an address at Kulwinder. She was in a terrible mood and was quarreling  with someone at the other end of the phone. Soon after they started they got caught in a traffic jam.  

The woman turned her wrath on Kulwinder screaming and using rather foul language, venting her bitterness and unpleasantness on him also. She blamed Kulwinder for getting them stuck in the slow moving road traffic and then she went back to her war against the unfortunate person on the phone. This was repeated several times during the long drive. Kulwinder remained unaffected by the woman's disgraceful behaviour.

About 10 minutes before they reached their destination the woman hung up her phone, brooding for a while before holding her face in her hands and began to cry.

When they arrived Kulwinder said “ Miss we are here” . The woman just sat unmoving in her seat. Kulwinder reminded her a couple of times that they had arrived at her destination.

She looked up and started crying again and said “ I am sorry, I abused you, I know my behaviour was unacceptable. You may not know it but I am not a bad person, and normally do not behave in this way. However I am very curious as to, why did you not react and say something back?”

Kulwinder replied “ Miss, I do not know what your problem is and why you behaved in the way you did. I cannot change you or your circumstances but I can definitely manage my response. If you permit me I can tell you what I believe in and maybe you will understand why I did not react”

The woman still sniffing requested Kulwinder to say more.

“ Let me first tell you a story about Mahatma** Buddha” Kulwinder said;

One day as he approached a village, Mahatma Buddha met an aggressive man who was in a foul mood. He started abusing Lord Buddha, who merely stood there listening to the man for quite a while as the insolent man went on and on with his acidic tirade.

At last, exhausted and emptied of his toxic anger the man sat down.

Mahatma Buddha politely asked " If you have finished , may I proceed on my journey?

The foul mouthed man looked at the Mahatma in astonishment and said; “ I have been so bitter in my behaviour towards you and abusive in my conduct, yet you just looked at me smilingly. Are you deaf, a coward or mad? “

Mahatma Buddha said “ I have just come from the neighbouring village. As I was departing from that village, a kind man presented me a tray of wonderful sweets. I took the tray, and I shared the sweets with other residents of the village and everyone was happy. Unfortunately my brother, you gave me something which I cannot share with anyone else, therefore I cannot accept what you have showered on me. You must take what you have brought here for me, back with you.”

Kulwinder told the woman “ Had I accepted what you gave me, I would have shared the misery with the next passenger, and whoever I came in contact with for the rest of the day. Imagine the pain and anguish I would have inflicted on my family when I returned home. Forget me for a while , think what will happen to you when you walk around with this toxic anger? How will be your behaviour with your loved ones and your family?”

The woman started sobbing uncontrollably and after a few minutes said “please forgive me and thank you for your words of wisdom”

Kulwinder Singh, replied “ It is God you must thank for his great mercy and kindness and my Guru for his teachings which I imbibe.”

*Guru Poornima is also the auspicious day on which lord Buddha gave His first sermon at Sarnath (Uttar Pradesh, India).

** Mahatma means great soul.