HOW TO HAVE JOY OUT OF LIFE - 4
One of the joy-killer is hatred. Another is resentment. So long as we have feelings of resentment within us, we do not, - cannot, - get joy of life. Our daily life is full of little irritations which cause resentment: this is what keeps us away from the true joy of life.
Yet another joy-killer is fear. It has been rightly said, there is no medicine for fear. The ancient Vedic Rishi prayed: “May I be fearless of the friend, fearless of the foe; fearless of the known, fearless of the unknown; may our nights be without fear, our days without fear!” When fear gripped the mind of Buddha, he said, “I never stood still, nor sat nor lay down until, pacing to and fro, I had mastered that fear and terror.” To have real joy of life, we must develop the spirit of courage. “What is it that rescues man in all danger?” Yuddhishtira was asked. And he answered: “Courage!” It is courage that comes to the rescue of man in all types of danger. So it is that Cervantes said: “He who loses wealth loses much; he who loses a friend loses more, but he that who loses his courage loses all.”
Put an end to the joy-killers. Give them no place in your mind and heart. If you get no joy out of life, sure as the sun rises in the East, there is some joy-killer lurking somewhere in your sub consciousness. A man, with a cavity in one of his teeth, came to a dentist. As the dentist cleaned the cavity, the end of his drill broke off. He was sure every little piece of metal was removed from the patient’s mouth. About three years later, the man began to complain of a pain in his neck. The doctors could not find anything. About six years later, he complained about a pain in the shoulder, and again the doctors could not find anything. About twelve years later, the man complained of a pain in the arm and, this time, the X-rays revealed a small foreign substance, which proved to be a tiny fragment of the dentist’s drill, which had been causing him pain for twelve years. Similarly, a man may have some fear, hatred, jealousy, envy, resentment lurking in his consciousness. If he does not get joy out of life, he must find out and eliminate the joy-killer, - howsoever tiny it be, -that he carries about with himself in his consciousness.
One of the joy-killer is hatred. Another is resentment. So long as we have feelings of resentment within us, we do not, - cannot, - get joy of life. Our daily life is full of little irritations which cause resentment: this is what keeps us away from the true joy of life.
Yet another joy-killer is fear. It has been rightly said, there is no medicine for fear. The ancient Vedic Rishi prayed: “May I be fearless of the friend, fearless of the foe; fearless of the known, fearless of the unknown; may our nights be without fear, our days without fear!” When fear gripped the mind of Buddha, he said, “I never stood still, nor sat nor lay down until, pacing to and fro, I had mastered that fear and terror.” To have real joy of life, we must develop the spirit of courage. “What is it that rescues man in all danger?” Yuddhishtira was asked. And he answered: “Courage!” It is courage that comes to the rescue of man in all types of danger. So it is that Cervantes said: “He who loses wealth loses much; he who loses a friend loses more, but he that who loses his courage loses all.”
Put an end to the joy-killers. Give them no place in your mind and heart. If you get no joy out of life, sure as the sun rises in the East, there is some joy-killer lurking somewhere in your sub consciousness. A man, with a cavity in one of his teeth, came to a dentist. As the dentist cleaned the cavity, the end of his drill broke off. He was sure every little piece of metal was removed from the patient’s mouth. About three years later, the man began to complain of a pain in his neck. The doctors could not find anything. About six years later, he complained about a pain in the shoulder, and again the doctors could not find anything. About twelve years later, the man complained of a pain in the arm and, this time, the X-rays revealed a small foreign substance, which proved to be a tiny fragment of the dentist’s drill, which had been causing him pain for twelve years. Similarly, a man may have some fear, hatred, jealousy, envy, resentment lurking in his consciousness. If he does not get joy out of life, he must find out and eliminate the joy-killer, - howsoever tiny it be, -that he carries about with himself in his consciousness.
-to be continued:
(Written by: J P Vaswani)
