Do not lose your life’s purpose

The truth is that many of us are so wrapped up in worldly tasks and material pleasures that we do not make the effort to grow and evolve spiritually. There is more to life than growing older in years or richer in terms of material wealth

Have you ever asked yourself as you snuggle into bed and drift into sleep: What have I done with my day today? Have I moved closer to God? Have I brought happiness to anyone? Have I spoken kind words? We imagine that we are so busy that we do not have time for such pursuits as prayer, reflection, introspection, etc. As for meditation or other disciplines, well, that is meant for senior citizens, is it not? Well, I beg to differ! Of course, senior citizens have more time to devote to such spiritual practices, but that does not mean that youngsters can live the life of soulless creatures!

Have you heard this story about the poor gardener? It was his dearest wish to have a darshan of the Lord in his lifetime. To achieve this wish, he fasted and prayed and sent out his fervent aspirations that this boon may be granted to him. God, in His infinite mercy, heard his prayer, and conveyed to him the message that He would appear before His humble devotee in the garden where he worked, the following day. The man was overjoyed that his lifelong aspiration was to come true. He was excited and ecstatic; he felt that he simply would not be able to eat or sleep till that precious morrow arrived, and he would behold His God face to face.

That evening, a rich man came round to the hutment area in which the gardener lived. To celebrate the birth of a son, he distributed velvet blankets to all the poor people in the locality. Our gardener too, received a velvet blanket; he had never seen anything like it; it felt so soft and smooth and quite luxurious!

“Why, the Goddess of Fortune has begun to smile on me, at long last,” he thought to himself. “Tomorrow, the Lord Himself is coming to visit me at my workplace. And today, He has sent me this rich gift for my personal comfort! I am indeed lucky!”

That night he covered himself in the velvet folds of the blanket and fell into a deep sleep. When the cock began to crow at daybreak, he covered his face and ears and head, and snuggled deeper inside the velvet blanket. He did not get up in the early hours of the morning, as he usually did.

In deep sleep, he muttered to himself, “The Lord can wait for me…”

When he finally opened his eyes, it was too late. The Lord had already passed through the garden and he had missed the opportunity of having His darshan. The gardener wept and moaned and begged the Lord’s pardon. Once again, in His infinite mercy, the Lord promised him that He would appear in his garden at the sacred hour of Brahma Muhurat. The gardener promised himself that he would get up at that holy hour and receive the blessings of the Lord.

But the soft warmth of the velvet blanket made him too lazy to get out of bed, leave his hut in the early hours of the dawn and walk to his garden for the promised darshan of the Lord. In this way, he lost the golden opportunity of experiencing the presence of God.

We may laugh at the gardener; but the truth is that many of us are like him. We are so wrapped up in worldly tasks and material pleasures that we do not make the effort to grow and evolve spiritually.

There is more to life than growing older in years or richer in terms of material wealth. Such ‘eminence’ is of no use to anyone! In the words of Kabir: “Futile is the lofty eminence of the date tree, which offers no shade for travellers, while its fruit is hard to reach.” Kabir also tells us, gazing at the grinding machine, “Caught between the two grinding stones, nothing remains intact.”

Time is fleeting! If we are to make the most of this life, the time to begin is NOW!