Chapter 5 - Rest Within
Day 32
Weak people cannot experience wonder. We need strength in order to feel enthusiasm, joy and wonder in life. You will find energy resting in yourself.
People work to gain strength. Whatever they do in life, they exert themselves only to gain strength, but they lose all their energy by working.
Why do people amass wealth? They do it to acquire power and strength. Why do you want success and fame? It is because there is some power in that.
At home some children are quiet, and others will interrupt you when you talk with a guest. They say, Mommy. I did this," "Daddy, I did that" or "Brother, I did this".
And they show you the pictures they drew, or they bring their toys and arrange them in front of you while you are talking with your friend. Why do children do all this?
This is to attract your attention. What do they gain by attracting your attention? They get power and strength. Without strength, you cannot enjoy anything in life.
When there is digestive fire, we want to eat. If you serve sweets or vada to a person who cannot digest them, he will not be able to enjoy them.
A person who cannot open his eyes due to fever and whose body aches cannot enjoy beautiful scenery, even if you take him to see one.
His eyelids would be heavy and he might fall asleep. Even if you took him to heaven, he would sleep. What do you get from sleep? Strength.
We lose energy chasing what we believe will give us strength. This would be clear even to a fool if he thoroughly analvsed each and every instance.
Then, where is strength found? You will find strength when you rest in your self. Instantly, strength will appear. You are strength. Your essence is strength.
Whether others pay attention to you or ignore you, pay attention to yourself. You are paying attention to others, you would be better off if you turned your attention to yourself.
You worry about what others think of you. Drop this attitude. If you turn your attention inwards, it will become a source of strength.
Everywhere we struggle to find happiness, which is nothing but your own nature. You yourself are the strength you search for; you are a power-house of energy.
In the Bible, there is a story. A beggar dressed in rags went to see Abraham, the emperor. However, this beggar walked like a king.
The gatekeeper stopped him and asked, "Where are you going?" to which he replied, "I have come to this pilgrims' rest house."
The gatekeeper responded, "This is a palace, not a pilgrims' rest house." The beggar insisted, "No, take me to the king, the one who stays in this rest house."
He did not listen to anyone, intent on being taken to the emperor. Noticing his bearing, his manner of walking and the radiance of his face, the king bowed to him, as though compelled.
Afraid, the king wondered who this man could be and questioned him, "Why did you say that you have come to a rest house? You have insulted my palace by turning it into a rest house for pilgrims."
He answered, "I had come here before. Back then, another person was sitting here." Yes, you do not lie. It is true that my father sat here."
The man responded, "I came even before that time. Then too another person sat here." The king said, "Yes, I agree. What you say is correct.
He was my grandfather," and the beggar replied, "Then what is this except a pilgrims' rest house? You sit here, believing that all this is yours.
Many people have come and gone. Anybody who comes here stays only for some time. Is it not the same as a rest house? Nobody lives here forever.
The whole earth is a pilgrim’s resting house, where nobody has stayed forever. For this reason, I called this palace a pilgrims' rest house." This knowledge struck the king like a lightning bolt.
The moment he heard it, he descended from his throne and prostrated before the beggar. "You have opened my eyes. Take this resting house and look after it. I am going and leave it to you."
Saying this, King Abraham left the palace. You search for strength only after desiring it. The desire to be strong, makes people weak. The more ambition a person has, the weaker he becomes.
Where there is a fear in the mind, there is no strength. If you have strength, there is no fear. Desire alone makes you weak. Nothing else can.
Desire changes you into a beggar. Come back to your place, you become strength. In life, we do not take total responsibility everywhere.
What do we do? We take responsibility for particular things and not for others. If everything happens properly, we say "I did it," otherwise we blame someone else, saying, "He has done it."
In a company there was a manager with two assistants. One was in the habit of complaining to his superior about mistakes committed by the people working under him.
He blamed them when they neglected the work that had been given to them. The manager got tired of this blaming and started dealing directly with the workers, by-passing the assistant.
What did the other assistant do? He assumed full responsibility for all mistakes. He would say, "I will look into the matter." The second assistant received a promotion.
Many people suffer under the illusion that they will gain power by complaining or finding faults in others. We have not found where our strength lies.
We ourselves are strength. When you are strong, you can be innocent and loving. These are signs of power. Your mind should be childlike, know that you are in your place.
