Читать книгу Secrets About Life Every Woman Should Know: Ten principles for spiritual and emotional fulfillment - Barbara Angelis De - Страница 12

Once upon a time in a very small village in India, there lived a poor but pious woman who worshipped Lord Vishnu, the form of God that is responsible for maintaining all of creation. Each morning, before she did anything else, this dedicated woman would perform a puja, or ceremony, to the statue of him that she had in her house. She would offer flowers and fruits and incense before his form, and then bathe and dress the statue, chanting special hymns of love and gratitude. As she loved the Lord in this symbolic way, the woman’s heart would swell with joy and wonder.

One day, Vishnu, moved by this woman’s devotion, decided to appear before her. The woman was overcome with ecstasy at the miracle of seeing her beloved Lord, and tears of joy poured down her cheeks.

“You have pleased me with your diligent worship,” the Lord said to his devotee. “I have decided to reward you. Ask me to fulfill any wish you desire.”

The woman could hardly believe what she was hearing. What amazing good fortune! The Lord was offering her anything she wanted! Her mind began to race: “What should I ask for? Riches? Many healthy children? A large and luxurious home? What about lasting beauty?” She was so busy trying to decide what she wanted the most that she almost forgot about Vishnu standing right there in front of her.

“Please, Lord,” she implored in a trembling voice, “May I have some more time to think this over? I just can’t seem to make up my mind.”

“Take as much time as you like,” Vishnu replied compassionately, and with a parting smile, vanished.

The woman was beside herself with confusion. What should she do? How could she make such an important choice as this? She decided to ask her friends for their advice on what she should wish for, feeling that perhaps they would be more clear-minded about this than she was.

The next day, she called all of her friends together, and posed the question to them: What should her one wish be?

“Ask for money,” the first friend insisted. “If you have money, you can buy whatever else you want.”

“No, don’t ask for money,” the second friend disagreed. “What good is wealth if you don’t have your health? You won’t be able to enjoy the money. I tell you, you should ask for good health.”

“Health isn’t specific enough,” a third friend advised strongly. “Ask for a long life, not just a healthy one, and give the Lord a specific number of years.”

The devoted woman’s husband, who was not very devoted himself and lacked good understanding of spiritual matters, had been standing there listening to these suggestions. “All your friends are fools,” he declared in an irritated voice. “If this lord said you could ask for any boon you wanted, what about asking him for the boon of even more boons?”

All this time, the woman listened anxiously to everything her friends and her husband had to say, but still, none of their answers satisfied her.

Weeks and then months passed, and all the woman could think about was what to ask Vishnu. This dilemma consumed her awareness so completely that, without realizing it, she stopped worshipping the Lord in her morning ritual as she had done for her whole life. She stopped thinking about how much she loved him. She stopped chanting songs of praise to him. Instead, her mind was totally focused on what she wanted the Lord to give her. Soon, she began to lose all the joy she had possessed in her heart, and even her love for Vishnu began to evaporate.

Finally, a day came when the woman felt the last shred of inner contentment vanish from her soul. In a panic, she fell down on her knees and prayed fervently: “Oh, Lord Vishnu! Help me! You promised that you would grant me a great boon, and asked me what wish I wanted you to fulfill. But I cannot answer your question myself, and I can think about nothing else. Please, I beg you, tell me what to ask for!”

Before the woman could even finish her prayer, Lord Vishnu was manifested before her in all his splendor. “I thought you would never ask,” he said, smiling. “Here is the boon you should request from me: Ask to be happy in life no matter what you get”

The woman bowed her head, realizing the great wisdom in Lord Vishnu’s teaching. And then she did as he said: she asked for and received that gift. And she lived out each and every day of her life on this earth with great serenity and joy, for no matter what she ever got or didn’t get, she was always happy.

This is my highest wish for you—that like the woman in our story, you remember the source of happiness is always already inside you, offering you all you need to experience true joy in this and every moment.