HOW TO HAVE JOY OUT OF LIFE

Written by

J P Vaswani

We had an earthquake, several years ago. Everyone was shaken. Pandemonium prevailed. Some ran out of their houses: some shrieked in terror: some fainted. Some grabbed their jewellery boxes. There was one dear Sister Shanti (Spiritual child of Sadhu Vaswani) who was serene and unperturbed.

Were you not afraid? she was asked.

No she answered. I felt happy to know that I have a God who can shake the world!

There spoke a person who had the joy of life in full measure.

There is an amusing little incident in the life of St. Augustine. A man stood in the market place where crowds had gathered from the countryside to purchase things which they would take to their villages and sell to village-folk for a profit. A man came forward and said at the top of his voice: - Come to me and I shall read your minds!

The people gathered around him and, closing his eyes for a brief moment, he said with an air of a prophet: - All of you are thinking of buying cheap and selling them at a higher rate. All of you are thinking of making profits.

The people said: - He is right! He is right!

He was not right! said St. Augustine when the incident was related him. He was not right because there were many who did not have anything to buy or sell. But if he had said, all of you want to have the joy of life, all of you want to be happy (omnis vos beati esse vultis), he would have been right!

True it is, that everyone wants to have the joy of life, everyone wants to be happy. Since the dawn of civilization, man has searched for happiness. The search has continued down the long corridor of time. Man has discovered that pleasure leads to pain, riches vanish, fame is fleeting, success is an illusion. How, then, is man to be happy? How is he to have the true joy of life?

There is a story told us concerning three men. They were in quest of happiness? Where is happiness? they asked. What is the secret of happiness? How may man have the true joy of life?

The first man felt that happiness abided in pleasure. There is joy only where there is pleasure. He pursued a life of pleasure. He was a wealthy man. He built for himself a wonderful palace and filled it with treasures of art. He lived a life of ease and luxury, ate rich foods and drank the choicest wines. To his court came wise men from different parts of the world, for he enjoyed their discourse. To his palace came great painters, musicians,

artists. His library contained the best and most beautiful books in the literatures of the world. He met the worlds prettiest women, and the pleasure-seeking luxury of his home became a legend.

As a young man, he found life supremely interesting: but as he grew older, he discovered that within every pleasure was a seed of pain, that life given to mere pursuit of pleasure was full of boredom. As he was about to pass away, he confessed that despite pleasures and luxuries, his life was empty to the core. It was a life not worth living. He had not found the true joy of life. He had not found happiness.

Sometime ago, a young man met me. His father had died, four years earlier, leaving twenty lacs of rupees to the young, and immatured boy. He took to a life of luxury and softness. He gambled: he speculated: he ran after women: he took to wine. Wherever he went, he was followed by a group of friends who treated him as a prince. Within three years all his money was spent through. He incurred debts. He had to sell his beautiful mansion, his stereos, his T.V. sets, his cars, everything that he owned. He became penniless. No one cared to look at him. This young man, who was followed by adoring friends wherever he went, now felt all alone in this spacious, star-lit world. There is no one to whom I can go, he said to me with tears in his eyes. I am all alone! I have not a roof where under to hide my head. My health is utterly broken. I want to commit suicide! In many cases, a life of pleasure-seeking leads to suicide. Pleasure does not lead to happiness. Sooner or later man realizes that there is no real, abiding joy in a life of pleasure.

Who was brought up in luxury more than Prince Siddhartha who, later, became the Buddha, and showed to millions the way to true, abiding happiness? He was a son of King Sudhodhana. The king built for his son three palaces in which the prince lived during summer, winter and the rainy seasons. He had everything that the world could give. But within his heart there awoke, again and again, the question: - Where is true, abiding happiness!

Gautama was married to one of the most charming girls in the realm, - Princess Yashodhara. A son was born to them. Gautama named him, Rahula. The word means, fetter. Gautama said: This son is a fetter: I want to be free! I want to set out in the quest of happiness. Where is real, abiding happiness? Where is the true joy of life?

In the dark of the night, when all were asleep, Gautama quietly slipped out of the palace. He became a wandering mendicant. In his heart was the question: What is the secret of happiness?

Happiness, true happiness, is not in a life of pleasure. This is the discovery made by the first man in the story. The second realized that pleasure was transient, ephemeral, transitory. Pleasure is like a bubble that bursts. It is an illusion, and it is unsatisfying. He felt convinced within him that happiness could be found only by withdrawing into oneself, avoiding the world, its trials and tribulations, and retiring into absolute solitude. He became a hermit who had nothing to do with the world. No one could reach him: he sought the company of no one. He, too, missed happiness. For life without human companionship is barren as the sands of a desert. The hermits way is not the road to the life abundant, - a life of joy and happiness.

The third man in the story avoided the two extremes. He did not embrace pleasure to the exclusion of everything else. He did not cut himself off from the world realizing that where there is no battle, there can be no victory. He devoted his life to duty, - the duty of his daily task, the duty he owed to his family, his community, to humanity and to brother birds and animals. For he realised that creation is one family. Birds and animals are mans younger brothers and sisters in the one family of creation.

He did his duty by everyone. He gave his love to everyone. He loved God and he loved every child of God. He loved, also, trees and flowers, rivers and rocks, stars and streams. He loved birds and animals, ants and insects. And he had the true joy of life. He made the great discovery that when your heart is full of love, your life is full of joy.

He did not turn away from pleasures: he enjoyed as many simple pleasures as his life would allow. And every day, he spent some time in silence, in solitude. He went apart from men and, in silence, communed with the Wonder of the Ages, the Wonder that is radiant in the sun, the moon, the stars, in every atom and in the atman within. Every day, he spent sometime in silence and sought to understand the meaning of the mystery of the endless adventure of existence.

Thus he lived, and when he was about to pass away, he said: I die a happy man! Those that were around him said: He was truly a happy man!

The lesson is so obvious that it is superfluous to emphasise it. Yet men and women the world over have failed to take the lesson to heart. Some restlessness pursue unsatisfying pleasures: others, disillusioned by life, seek comfort in solitude. Very few tread the path between the two extremes, devoting their lives to a noble aim, a great ideal.

Very few do this and so life seems to have lost its flavour, and an ever-increasing number of young men and women complain: Life is not worth living! We seem to be entering into an age of gloom. It is true, science is advancing. We have reached a zenith of technological brilliance. Man stands on a planet of limitless promise. He has probed the secrets of the atom, the depths of the sea. He has unravelled the mysteries of his own mind and body. Yet is he unaware of his real being and purpose. He is faced by a terrible loneliness, and his mind is filled with a thousand fears which he cannot name.

The great historian, Arnold Toynbee, was a man gifted with many insights. He said that, with the rise of the industrial civilization, man has received many benefits, but for them he has had to pay a terrible price. That price is peace of mind. As we have grown in material and technical know-how, peace of mind has declined. Industrial civilization has come to stay: we cannot, at this stage, abandon it. But we must find out a way so that, living in this computer age; we may find new happiness and a new ability to get real enjoyment of life.

How may we do that? How may we get the true joy of life? So let me pass on to you some practical suggestions which are not merely to be heard but to the put into practice. Suggestions which are not put into practice are like a bottle of medicine lying on the table. It is only when you drink it that it can have any effect on your system.

A friend of mine was indifferent in health. To him I gave some powders to be taken thrice a day. He met me after few days and I enquired about his health. It is just the same, he answered. When I asked him, Did you take the powders? he said: They are in my pocket! Medicine that is in your pocket will have no effect on your health. Likewise, suggestions which are not put into practice will not yield results.

PRACTICALE SUGGESTION No. 1 is a very simple one. If you wish to have joy of life, keep away from all joy-killers. One of them is hate. Let there be no feeling of hatred in your heart.

A man met me. His face was black as coal, as he said to me: There is a fire burning within me. The flames will not be quenched, until I have shot the man who caused my fathers death. There you are. Hatred is a fire. So long as the fire burns within you, you cannot have joy of life. And as the Buddha said: Hatred ceaseth not by hatred, hatred ceaseth by love! When a thought of hatred comes to you, trample it under-foot and breathe out a thought of love and good-will.

There was a man who led an evil life: his wife and children sought comfort at Beloved Dadas satsang. One day, the man came to Beloved Dada and shook his fist at him and said: If you only knew how much I hate you!

Beloved Dada looked lovingly at the man and said to him: If you only knew how much I love you!

What was there in Beloved Dadas words! The man came and fell at his feet and, with tears in his eyes, begged forgiveness. His life was changed. He turned away from his evil ways. He accompanied his wife and children, every evening, to the satsang.

When Jesus was crucified, he prayed for his persecutors. There he stood on the Cross: nail after nail was struck into his hands, his feet, his throat. Blood flowed out of his gentle, pure body a body that had never caused harm to anyone. And on his lips was the prayer: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!

Rishi Dayanand had been poisoned by his cook, Jagannath. He had been bribed to kill his great master. On his death-bed, Rishi Dayanand called Jagannath and said to him: Here is money for your ticket to Nepal. Escape, before my disciples find out what you have done, else they may tear your body into pieces.

Such is the witness of all the great ones of humanity. They have met hatred with love and shown that the true joy of life is in loving. If you would be truly happy, love one another. Meet hatred with love and forgiveness.

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 patients 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 Xrays revealed a small foreign substance, which proved to be a tiny fragment of the dentists 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.

Practical Suggestion No. 2.

One of the worst of all the joy-killers is the habit of thinking and talking negatively. I read of a businessman who carries a card in his pocket. On the card were written the words: I shall not speak any negative words today. I shall not think any negative thoughts today. The business man takes a new card every morning and writes the words afresh. He has been doing this daily for about a year and, as a result, he says, my conversation is almost cleared of negative s. Before I started this practice, I spoke negatively about almost everything, - and I found that there was no fun in life. Today, life is so much full of joy that sometimes feel that I may burst.

Life is full of joy to the man who thinks positively and speaks positively. Many of us are in the habit of thinking negative thoughts. We exaggerate misfortunes which may never come to us at all.

There is the amusing story of a man and his wife who set out to visit a friend, whose house was some miles distant from their own. On the way, they remembered that they would have to cross a bridge which was very old and was considered unsafe. The woman began to worry about it.

What shall we do about that bridge? she asked her husband. I shall never dare to go over it, and there is no boat that can take us across the river.

Oh, said the man, I never thought of the bridge. It is most unsafe to cross it. Suppose it should give way while we are on it! We should be drowned!

Or suppose, said his wife, you step on the rotten plank and break your leg, who would take care of me and the children?

I dont know said the man, what would become of us, if I broke a leg. Perhaps, we should all starve to death.

And so it went on. Both of them kept on worrying, imaging all sort of misfortunes would happen to them, until they reached the bridge, and found that a new bridge had already been built, and they crossed over in safely.

Practical suggestion No. 3.

If you would have joy of life, fill your heart with love love of God, love of your fellowmen, love of brother birds and animals, love of nature, love of yourself. Where there is love there is joy. If there is one thing India and the nations need today to come out of the dark night in which we find ourselves, it is a resurgence of love.

I read of a dying miner, trapped in a coal-mine. Before he died, he scribbled a few words to his wife. He wrote: I love you more than you will ever know. Take care of the children and raise them to love and serve the Lord. I am holding on to the hem of His garment, and there is no fear in my heart. I die a happy man! When rescue workers reached the victim, eight days after the accident, they found the note attached to his safety-lamp.

The brief message, written in a dark, underground death-chamber, is an eloquent tribute to the miner. The miner knew how to get joy not only out of life but even out of death. So, even in those harrowing circumstances, he could write: I die a happy man! His heart was filled with the love of God, the love of his family, the love of his fellow-beings. Wherever there is love, there is joy, - happiness and fun.

We often feel there is fun in teasing others. There were some labourers engaged in the work of construction of a building. They had taken off their shoes. The students wished to have some fun. So they took away the shoes of the labourers and hid them behind bushes. They thought it would be fun to watch the labourers search their lost shoes. Beloved Dada learnt of this, and he said to the students: Come, I shall show you how to have better fun.

He asked the students to keep the shoes in their original places and insert a rupee coin in every shoe. Then, Beloved Dada said to them, watch the faces of the workers when they wear the shoes, and you will have the greatest joy of life.

The students followed the directions. When the labourers came and found rupee-coin in their torn, tattered shoes, they could not believe their eyes. They felt astonished beyond words. As the students watched the happy faces of the workers, they said to each other: Surely, there is greater fun in loving, in giving, than in teasing.

Practical Suggestion No. 4.

If you would have real joy of life, dont remain idle for a single moment. Keep yourself busy all time. Two centuries ago, William Cowper said, Absence of occupation is not rest; a mind quite vacant is a mind distressed!

Keep yourself active. The best and noblest of all action is to bring comfort to the comfortless, joy into the lives of the sorrowing, struggling ones. The happiness we give to others comes back to us. Happiness moves in a circle. The happiness that moves out of us flows back into us.

A doctor related to me an incident which I cannot easily forget. He was called to see a pale, sad, seventeen year old girl. A number of physicians had examined her and unable to arrive at a diagnosis, had said that she was a psychological patient. When my doctor-friend saw her, she lay on a sofa in a small room which was filled with silk tapestries. Her eyes were half-closed, her head was bowed and she was pale like a marble statue.

The doctor easily guessed her sickness. She suffered in her gilded cage because she had never gone out to give happiness to those in need. The doctor asked her to get ready to go out with him and her father.

With you? asked the girl. Where?

In an undertone, the doctor said to her: That is my secret. I can tell you that it is for your good and that of your father.

The girl got ready and the doctor took her and her father to a quarter where poor people lived. They took with themselves many things in cash and kind. At the first house which they visited, the doctor had to help her to keep her balance, as she walked. At the second, she went ahead of the doctor. At the third, she almost ran. When the children kissed her hand the poor women thanked her, both she and her father cried for joy. That outing seemed short to her. And everyday, she searched for those whom she could make happy. She attained health, joy and happiness, which were not found in her palatial home but in the broken cottages of the poor to whom she gave the service of her generous heart.

Those of you who are frustrated with life, who feels unwanted, useless and bored, try this same medicine, and there will be no end of real joy for you.

Beloved Dada said to us:

Did you see him on the road?

Did you leave him with the load?

On the road of life are many who carry loads on their weak shoulders: and the loads are not merely physical. As you bear the loads of others, you will find that your hearts are filled with a wondrous feeling of happiness and joy.

Practical Suggestion No. 5.

See the good in everyone. There is not a man on earth who does not have some good in him, which you and I will do well to emulate. See the good in others: be blind to their faults. The great Prophet of Iran, Bahaullah said, If a man has nine virtues and one fault, think of his nine virtues, forget his one fault; and if a man has nine faults and one virtue, think of his one virtue, forget his nine faults.

There is a beautiful story told us concerning the boyhood days of Yudhishthira, the King of Indraprastha, who passed through many vicissitudes of life, faced many storms, but was always contented and happy. To him life was always full of joy. Duryodhana, the Kaurava prince, even at the height of his power and glory, did not feel happy. There always was something which he lacked, and his cup of joy was never full. During their boyhood days, both of them studied in the Ashrama of Dronacharya.

One day, Dronacharya said to Yudhishthira: Go into the town and meet different types of people. When you return in the evening, tell me who was the worst of all the persons whom you met.

Then, calling Duryodhana to himself, Dronacharya said, Duryodhana, my child, go into the town and meet as many people as you can, then come and tell me in the evening who was the best and noblest of men that you met.

Yudhishthira and Duryodhana entered the city. They met a number of people, young and old. They met men belonging to different walks of life. In the evening as Yudhishthira met his teacher, he said to him: Sir, I met many people. But everyone that I met there was

something which I lacked. I have returned with the feeling that I am the worst of all persons. Everyone that I met was superior to me in one respect or the other. And Duryodhana said to the teacher: Sir, whomsoever I met had some fault or failing, some weakness or imperfection which I did not have. I have returned fully convinced that there is no one better or nobler than I am.

Practical Suggestion No. 6.

In everything that you do, pour the best that is in you. Whatever be the task that you are handling, pour into it the best of which you are capable. The smallest duty not done or badly done leaves a lack or a blemish on the whole worlds work. The great Arabian poet said, Are you an artisan, a mason, a house-builder? Are you helping in building a house? Do it in the consciousness that your Beloved will occupy the house some day. Are you a weaver working on the loom? Weave your cloth in the consciousness that your Beloved will wear it some day! There you have the secret of true work, - work which will never be a drudgery but always a source of joy.

Practical Suggestion No. 7.

Be a master, not a slave. Be a master over circumstances, passions, desires and animal appetites. Therefore, learn self-control. Develop self-discipline. The man who is a slave to his desires and appetites soon finds that life becomes a burden. Do not allow yourself to be ruled or defeated by those things of which you should always be a master.

Practical Suggestion No. 8.

Let go, let go, let God! If you are frustrated, disappointed, hurt, unhappy, if you find that, in spite of putting forth your best efforts, you have failed, then let me say this to you: Let go, let go, let God! Let go of everything. Let God take charge of all your affairs! If only you can do this, you will find miracles happen in your life.

Begin right now to repeat the words: - Let go, let go, let God! As you continue to repeat this mystic formula, either silently or audibly, it will open the way for the flow of divine power, and you will be blessed.

A man fell seriously ill. The best of doctors could do nothing to help him recover. His wife wept, shed tears, prayed to Lord. There was no answer. The mans condition became, more and more, critical. Then some one suggested to the wife: Let go, let go, let God!

What do you mean? she asked.

Let go your husband, she was told. Do not cling to him. He does not belong to you. He belongs to God. Surrender him to the Lord and let Him do what He will.

The wife followed the advice and soon her husbands recovery began. Today, he is hale and hearty.

Do you find yourself in a difficult situation? Are you passing through a period of storm? Are you in financial trouble, almost on the verge of bankruptcy? Are you filled with apprehensions in regard to some situations? Then let go, let go, let God! You will not be disappointed. You will find frustrations and fears dissolving. You will find tension and unhappiness vanishing. You will see limitations washed away and new opportunities open. God will work through you to bring your highest good into visible expression in your life. Letting go permits divine ideas to flow, divine light to shine, divine power to work, divine order and rightness to bless your mind, body and affairs.

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