*******
A parable of ambition and hurry...
Whenever people become very greedy they become very hurried, and go on finding more ways to gain more speed. They are continuously on the run because they think that life is running out. These are the people who say, "Time is money." Time is money? Money is very limited; time is unlimited. Time is not money, time is eternity--it has always been there and will always be there. And you have always been here and you will always be here. So drop greed, and don't be bothered about the result. Sometimes it happens that because of your impatience, you miss many things.
I will tell you an ancient Hindu parable... A great saint, Narada, was going to paradise. He used to travel between paradise and earth. He functioned like a postman between that world and this world; he was a bridge. He came across an ancient sage, very old, sitting under a tree and repeating his mantra. He had been repeating that mantra for many years and many lives. Narada asked him, "Would you like to ask about something? Would you like some message to be given to the Lord?" The old man opened his eyes and said, "Just you inquire about one thing: how much longer do I have to wait? How long? Tell him it is too much. For many lives I have been doing this mantra, now how long am I expected to do it? I am tired of it. I am bored with it." Just by the side of the ancient sage underneath another tree was a young man with an ektara, a one-stringed instrument, playing it and dancing. Narada asked him jokingly, "Would you also like to inquire about how long it will take for your enlightenment to happen?" But the young man did not even bother to answer. He continued his dance. Narada asked again, "I am going to the Lord. Have you some message?" But the young man laughed and continued to dance. When Narada came back after a few days he told the old man, "God said that you will have to wait at least three lives more." The old man became so angry that he threw down his beads. He was almost ready to hit Narada! And he said, "This is nonsense! I have been waiting and waiting and I have been doing all kinds of austerities--chanting, fasting, all forms of rituals. I have fulfilled all the requirements. Three lives--this is unjust!" The young man was still dancing under his tree, very joyously. Narada was afraid, but still he went and told him, "Although you did not ask, out of my own curiosity I inquired. When God said that that old man would have to wait three lives, I inquired about the young man nearby, dancing and playing his ektara. And he said, 'That young man--he will have to wait as many lives as there are leaves on the tree under which he is dancing.'" And the young man started dancing even faster and he said, "Just as many leaves as are on this tree? then it is not very far, then I have already arrived!--just think how many trees there are on the whole earth. Compare! So it is very close. Thank you, sir, that you inquired." He started dancing again. And the story says that the young man became instantly enlightened, that very moment.
(Excerpt from Osho.com)
*******
To gain the most from this post take sometime to read between the lines. Look at the state of our "world" today. Is it heading in the right direction? When reflecting upon these questions you have the power to change the world merely by changing your perspective. Thoughts create reality change your thoughts and you can change the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment