A large number of miseries come in man’s life. but even more are invited by ourselves. The duration of life is very short. Scholars compare the duration of life with a drop of water placed on a hot burning stone in a desert.

 

We measure the duration of life by longevity: we count the longevity by years, the years by months, the months by days, the days by hours, the hours by minutes and seconds. But we come to know the transience, shortness and insufficiency of the duration of life, when we compare the time-span of an average life.

 

There are many tasks which remain incomplete, rather most of them left untouched. Perhaps not even one percent of the tasks get completed. At times the life is cut short before the tasks begin. We realize the reality of life but then we are left to repent. So is the case with our family members, relatives and friends, who only keep on thinking.

 

The continuance of life compels us to remain ignorant about its utility. This envelops us with a type of delusion. as we are lost in an utopia far away from reality.

 

Why then do we not lead this life with a smile on face? We know it well that the life is like a bubble of water.Hence we should make its every moment joyful: we should ourselves be rejoicing, and should bring everybody with us. In the realm of happiness.

 

Why should our face be clouded by sadness? Why should we. like a broomed rose. not emit pleasing fragrance in the garden for all? Why should we not spread smile on every lip? Why should we not bring the lunar glow for every darkened eye? Why should we not cause an everlasting flow of the river of affection?

 

How busy is the man these days! What a topsyturvy life his is! During this age of materialism the atmosphere around him has become so poisonous that he seems to have gone half mad.

 

In such an environment how can he find time to share your sufferings and sorrows, to look into your sad face. to relax for a while with you! Instead, he will be eager to make you share his sufferings. You can imagine his restlessness and come forth with your smiling face to make him happy.

 

Rahim says. ‘Let your mental pain be hidden in your mind itself, otherwise, those hearing it will laugh at it. instead of sharing it.

 

Practice of the doctrine of non-possession is the way to remove sadness. Man becomes unhappy when he cannot possess what he desires. Being unhappy means sadness.

 

We are busy with feeling for nothing. The feelings also are possessions which keep us fastened. And this is an unbroken chain.

 

There was an ascetic. A businessman called on him. Possessing immense wealth he requested the ascetic.’Olord, I am here under your auspices to have some charm which might remove my pains.

 

‘First let me have something to eat. O Seth,’ said the ascetic. The Seth who had come to get his will fulfilled. had to fulfil the will of the ascetic.

 

‘What would you like to take as meals, Olord?’ he asked.

 

‘I will take milk,’ said he and the same was managed by the Seth. Milk was ready to be served, when the ascetic told. I will take the milk in my own bowl, and he took out of his bag a bowl which had hundreds of holes.

 

Laughing at it the Seth told. ‘O Lord, the milk poured into this bowl will all flow away through the hundreds of holes.’

 

The ascetic told, you also have in your mind hundreds of holes of possessions. First you plug them. Then only you can ask me for any charm. Your mind will not retain my charm with all these holes.’

 

The nature of possession has such a tendency that anything will not be retained there because of the hundreds of holes of that feeling in the mind.

 

We perform so many rituals, hear the discourses, attend meetings and seminars, come in contact with ascetics and monks; yet we do not retain anything in our mind: how is it? The mind is already busy with so many trends relating to possession. hence it has no concentraction on any pious thing.

 

It is often amazing how the mind is obsessed by the emotion of possessions. It knowingly goes on being caught in the mud.

 

A king visited a certain ascetic. After a short sitting the king stood up to take his leave when he offered the king a handful of pieces of stone and told, ‘O king, please take these to carry with you to the next birth which you will be having after your death: I will take them back there myself.

 

The king told. You must be knowing that man has been born with empty hands and will die also with empty hands.

 

‘Do you know this?’ exclaimed the ascetic.

 

‘Yes, I know this very well. Rather everyone in the world knows this fact.”

 

I thought, you might not be knowing this. Had you been knowing this you should have not possessed such a lot of wealth and luxury.”

 

The king understood what the ascetic meant to say. He followed his teachings. He lifted the excessive taxes he had imposed on the public. He brought changes in his nature to suit the times.

 

Possession is a type of disease, which ruins a happy man. a happy family and happy society. Enthusiasm disappears because of it. No interest is left. Planning of further programmes is agitated by it like an aggression. Thoughts and activities are hurt in the core.

 

All this results in one, that is, just the slaughter of our own pleasures. The only one idea haunts: ‘Such a life has no justification, it seems. It looks better to end it. Suicide seems to be the only way to get rid of household worries. But this all is not desirable.

 

The idea of suicide brings much more agitation in the mind, a type of fear haunts the mind. and new troubles. coming one after another, create an unnecessary vibration in the thoughts. The idea of suicide coming in the mind, is a signal of cowardice. Leading such a life would resemble to the ruins of a fire-ridden building.

 

The best way to remove sadness is the search of a good friend. It is almost impossible to get a good friend even at the cost of all the wealth in the world. The loss of a friend is not possible to be compensated by all the wealth in the world. It is written: All the wealth in the world cannot buy you a friend, nor can compensate the loss of one.

 

The smile of a good friend pleases us with the heavenly happiness and luxury. His smile signifies his love and liking to your expressing his ocean of happiness. Such a smile is the symbol of lawless and fraud-proof love. and such an expression is never possible in a fraudulent smile.

 

The straightforwardness, love and simplicity seen in the smile of a child, cannot be seen in the smile of young men. Every action, every laughter and every smile of a child has natural love, whereas the laughter and smile of a youngster. of an adult or of an old man are adulterated with selfishness and vested interest.

 

The more vivid one’s heart is, the more faith he attracts, O Bharat, faith, in each case, befits the essence: the faithful one is just the same as the things where his faith is pointed.”40

 

The vivid inner sense brings a style of thinking. understanding and action. The same grows more charming when associated with pious persons. ‘O brother, put all the heavenly bliss and beatitude together on one scale and just a piece of the ecstasy emerged out of the association of the pious ones on the other scale, of the balance: the former will not outbalance the latter.”41

 

“Without the association of the pious ones there could be no eulogy to Hari: without the eulogy to Hari there could be no relief from delusion: without the relief from delusion there could be no firm devotion to the feet of Rama. 42

 

“Tulsi says, ‘Crores of crimes can be erased by the association of the pious ones for very short duration, rather for half of that duration, and even half of that duration too.”43

 

The life is transient. We have to put it on the right path. by pious activities, as per the preaching of the well-versed ones and great men.

 

With this life observed in the pious activities, sadness will itself be removed and happiness, only happiness. will dominate the whole life.