The centre of today’s glittering Mandala is JOY! One may ask, ‘ What is Joyful in the present circumstances, when everything is uncertain, when clouds of fear surround us and suffocate us, when even a normal touch can be dangerous……?’ In answer to that, I remember the story of the LAUGHING SAINT. This saint would always be laughing, no matter what the circumstances! Once, in a particularly trying situation, someone asked him,” How can you laugh when things around us are so bad?” His answer was, ” Every morning, when I wake up, I ask myself, ‘What do you want to be today…happy or unhappy…?’ And I invariably get the answer, ‘HAPPY ‘! And so, I CHOOSE HAPPINESS and LAUGHTER !!”
Actually, JOY is Innate to all human beings. We are born with the seeds of Joy within us, which, if nurtured well, can convert us into JOYFUL BEINGS. Unfortunately, instead of watering these seeds of Joy, most of us cover them with anxieties and worries and grudges and complaints and anger and all the stresses of this world. But, like the Laughing Saint , if we ask ourselves every morning the same question, what do you think the answer will be ?
And if the answer is ‘Happiness’, do you really think it is very difficult to find something to be happy about ? Even now, during the Lockout, I can hear the koyal singing, can see the squirrels chasing each other merrily on the trees, can hear the birds chirping in my window and can feel a gentle breeze blowing through my hair….is all this not enough to feel Joyous As we spend wonderful time with our families, looking through old photographs and remembering the merry times together, as we play board games and carrom and cards, are we not experiencing a feeling of Happiness ?
If we forget our grudges, if we decide to overlook the minor faults of others and if we let go of painful memories and forgive others, don’t you think we will feel Joy surging through our veins?
All our saints and Gurus have been telling us from ages that the best way to feel Happy, is to be grateful and to Give unconditionally (without expecting anything in return); and now scientific studies are proving this!
Every day when I wake up, I find myself alive, my heart is beating rhythmically ,and the breath which went out, is coming in without any effort on my part….. isn’t all this enough to feel grateful? If our hearts are filled with Gratitude for the innumerable blessings that we have been receiving right from the time of our birth, Joy becomes second nature to us. And then, we can give to others the Joy we have, so that we are surrounded by Joy and Peace.
Of course, all this cannot happen overnight. But a simple practice can help us achieve this slowly. Before going to bed, stand in front of the mirror, Smile at yourself, appreciate yourself for everything good that you could do during the day and go off to sleep with Gratitude in your heart. And next day morning, when you wake up, again stand in front of the mirror and Smile at yourself. And ask yourself the question of the Laughing Saint …………….and let me know the answer !!
All the love
in the world can be
given to you, but if you
decide to be miserable,
you will remain miserable.
And one can be happy,
tremendously happy, for
no reason at all – because
happiness and misery are
your decisions.
– OSHO
