Blog

October 2012

The only private treasure we can really possess in this world is our own thoughts within. It is a sacred sanctum and none can invade it.
– Chinmaya

Do you often find yourself complaining and grumbling over everything that is going around in the world – the Government, the roads, the police, the in-laws, the neighbours, the traffic, the politicians, the irresponsible public? Do you often point fingers at others trying to correct them? Do you consider yourself a ‘Mr Perfect’ living in an imperfect society…? In short, do you think that the root cause of all your sufferings is someone/something outside and thus do you hold them responsible for all your miseries?

The above quote asks us to stop complaining and own up the entire responsibility. Master the laws of life to be a master in life.

And a simple inviolable law of life says –You get what you deserve. What happens to us depends on what happens within us. Take care of the ‘inner’, and the ‘outer’ is taken care of automatically. What we think day and night becomes manifest in the outer world. The inner thoughts and outer happenings are intimately connected.

When Abraham Lincoln was a small boy, he husked corn for three days so that he could earn a little money, to pay for the second-hand copy of ‘The Life of Washington’. He read the book avidly and said to a woman he knew, Mrs Crawford by name, “I don’t always intend to do this you know – delve, grub, husk corn, split rails and the like…”

“What do you want to be then?” asked Mrs Crawford.

“I shall be the President,” announced Abraham Lincoln. “I shall study and get ready, and the chance will come.”

The chance came and Abraham was ready to take on the most powerful position in the land!

It is well said, while the winners make goals, the losers make excuses!

The Lord has given us complete freedom in choosing the model we want to make of ourselves. Our mind is the sacred sanctum where every model is designed – devil or divine. Choose the thoughts and you choose your model!

Girish and Ramesh were neighbours. Both men had salon shops, which conducted brisk business. But the competition between them was healthy, and each one was good at his work.

One week, Girish found that there was a large increase in customers in his shop. He learnt that his competitor was ill, and had shut down his shop for one week. Girish worked every day till late night during that week and made a lot of money, over and above his usual intake.

On Sunday, he put on his best suit. He took all the money he had made during the overtime hours that week and put it in an envelope. He visited Ramesh, who was convalescing at home. “There is a little present for you, Ramesh,” he said, handing over the envelope to his competitor. “Get well soon, I miss you!” With a bright smile and a warm handshake, he was gone.

The wise convert every situation to their advantage with the right choice of thoughts.

Miners all over the world use Davy’s Safety Lamp when they descend into the dark and deep mineshafts to carry out their work of digging for coal or other minerals. Dangerous inflammable gases are found in the depths of the earth, and there is constant danger of fire, which could prove fatal underground. Therefore, ordinary lamps cannot be used in the mines.

The man who invented the safety lamp was Sir Humphrey Davy. He had to work hard for several years, before his experiments led him to design the lamp, which would not set fire to the gases in the mineshaft. The Safety Lamp was thus a great boon and blessing to the miners.

Davy could have made a fortune out of his unique invention. But he did not do so. His valuable work was offered freely to the miners. When friends urged him not to lose the opportunity to make money out of his invention, Davy’s reply was categorical, “It was not my intention to gain fame or make a fortune out of my work,” he said. “I don’t think these things can give me happiness. But I did want to help the poor men who work in the mines. My lamp will make life just easier for them, and this gives me the greatest satisfaction.”

Little wonder then, that Sir Humphrey Davy is remembered today as a great scientist, a benefactor of humanity.

 Selfless, noble thoughts, when entertained, instantly bless us with deep satisfaction and fulfilment, while the evil, ignoble thoughts make us exhausted and disturbed. If such a choice be available, why not sow in abundance the thought-seeds of love, purity, kindness and all goodness in our barren hearts, and thus reap a rich harvest of the choicest blessings from the garden of life?

But it is easily said than done. The treasure of perfect life can become ours only when the right key is employed i.e. the key of constant alertness and strict vigilance over the thoughts entertained within the sacred sanctum of our hearts.

Own the key, and you own your uninvadable private treasure, says the quote.

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