Today, most of our friendships are transactional. They are essentially based on the principle—“You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.” This is not friend-ship. This is a ship that is sure to sink. Sailing on this doomed ship, we are seeking ‘treasures’ which are just ephemeral bubbles on the surface of the sea.
There is a story about a billionaire. When this wealthy man died, his soul stood before God. God looked at him and asked, “My dear child, you have been away for many years. How have you spent your life? What have you done to impress me?” The billionaire proudly said, “God, I impressed thousands and became very famous.” God asked, “Where is your fame now?” The rich man replied, “Sorry God, I had to leave it behind.” God asked, “What happened to your property and wealth?” The billionaire said, “Now that you ask me, I couldn’t bring them either. My once handsome body is also burnt to ashes.”
God smiled and said, “The only thing that you can bring back here is the love engraved on your soul. I sent you to earth with a huge treasury of love. To how many did you give that love? How many tears did you wipe and how many hearts did you soothe? With how many people did you share your wealth?” The sad billionaire said, “I was so busy with my own work that I had very little time for anything else. Now I have nothing to offer you.”
The scripture Yajur Veda prescribes, “Behave with others as you would with yourself. Look on all the living beings as your bosom friends, for in all of them there resides one soul. All are but a part of that universal soul. A person who believes that all are his soul mates and loves them all alike never feels lonely. The divine qualities of forgiveness, compassion and service will make him lovable in the eyes of all. He will experience intense joy throughout his life.”
If we spend all our time in fulfilling our own personal needs and ambitions, we forget the very purpose of life. Selfless service and true love engrave beautiful patterns on the soul. What is impressed on the soul is what we express outside. The deeper the impression, the more divine the expression. As we create impressions of selfless love on our soul, waves of joy and contentment flow from us to the world. Then we will never waste time trying to impress anybody. We will simply shower them with love.
The way we view life will change completely. It brings in peace, purity and loyalty in all our relationships. We develop high sense of communion with all which establishes universal peace. Every soul we help will be our wealth and every pain we remove will be our gain.
ashram-india@shrinimishamba.org