The man yelled, “God, speak to me. Why all these miseries to me alone?” Thunder and lightning rolled across the sky; a voice was heard from above. "Look, everything should be in perfect balance. After every 10 deer, there should be a lion; look at your own country, India, my most precious creation. It has sparkling streams and serene mountains; rich forests and fertile beds, people have enough spiritual awareness……..I have created enough politicians too, everything should be in balance."
This simply is something more than a piece of joke. It projects a great philosophy that unless in duality, the universe is impossible. The word ‘south’ makes no sense if there is no ‘north’; so are ‘day’ and ‘night’, ‘man and ‘woman’. How can we portrait our pictures if there is only light, no shade? Perfect balancing is seen everywhere in this universe and this diversity is the very beauty of Nature. Everything is in its’ right place and time. It is not the universe but our attitude to the appropriateness of the Universe that is to change. A world with only saints in it cannot virtually exist. This is why accepting everything turns to be important in our life. Acceptance but does not mean ‘inviting everything into life’.
Hear the story of a young woman who told her mother how hard is life for her. The mother took her to the kitchen and she filled three pots with water and placed each on high fire. In the first pot she put a few carrots, in the second pot she put some eggs and in the third she put ground coffee beans. In about 15 minutes she turned off the burners. Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me what you see.”
“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots, they were soft. The mother then broke the eggs, they were hard. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its’ rich aroma. The daughter then asked, “What does it mean, ma?”
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity but varying attitudes have made them different. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting, but turned out softened and weak. The egg had been fragile but turned out with its’ inside hardened. The ground coffee beans could change the water. “Which are you?” she asked her daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?”
