Acharya Tulsi
Times are very bad. Corruption is on the rise. Cheating is on the increase. There is the problem of terrorism. Secessionist tendencies are growing. The thorny tactics of communalism are spreading wide. Unfortunate incidents of kidnapping, murder, loot and plunder have deprived man of happiness and peace. There is no security anywhere. Banks are looted in broad daylight. No one is free from anxiety. We cannot predict what would happen tomorrow. Such anxieties are making life burdensome.
I often think that if all people in the world are possessed by such negative feelings, no life would be safe, but in spite of undesirable happenings, billions of people are still living. This is because the number of people indulging in wrong doings is very small. But if their proportion increases, then the situation would be fraught with grave dangers. There is still no possibility of such a situation materialising. From this, it should be concluded that the evil people are few in the world and good men outnumber them.
It may be asked that if there are more good people then why are they not visible? One must have an appropriate vision to notice them. Without an appropriate view point, knowledge may become quite the opposite.
A Sanyasi was living in a hut outside a village. A person from another village came and said to him, "Baba, I have left my village and come to live here. What do you think of this village?" The Sanyasi asked, "What about the village you have left?" The wayfarer said, "That village is very good," The Sanyasi said, "Brother, this village is also very good. You may live here with pleasure."
Some time passed. Then another man came there. He too met the Sanyasi. With a view to have some information about the village he said, "Baba, this village enjoys a great reputation. You have been living here. Please tell me what you feel about this village?" The Sanyasi put a counter question, "Brother, how about the village from where you have come?" The wayfarer said, "Baba, it too bad a place to live in. There are no facilities of any kind and there is no order. The people of the village are also wicked. That is why I have left that village and come to live here." The Sanyasi gave a close look at that man and said, "Brother, this village is even worse. You better go back. Your wishes would not be satisfied here."
The Sanyasi had a disciple staying with' him. He was amazed by his guru's words. The Sanyasi asked him, "Son, what is the matter? Why do you look at me like that?" The disciple said, "Respected guru! When a man came here sometime ago, you said that it was very good village and he could live there with pleasure. And you said something absolutely contrary to this man. I could not understand why you said that". Clearing the confusion of his disciple the Sanyasi said, "Son, the world appears the way you look at it. That man's viewpoint was positive. Wherever he goes, he would find everything good. This man is guided by negative feelings. He would find things bad even if he goes to heaven."
Man has in him both positive and negative feelings. If he is dominated by negative feelings, he would never be able to find happiness and peace. If his thinking becomes positive, he can experience joy every moment. The problem would not be solved just by ignoring whatever is undesirable on the face of this world. Before taking the correct view of the problem and finding the right way to solve it, one should at least be convinced that he is living in a good world. Otherwise, it may well be supposed that his desire to live itself may get rusted!
