In such a
state he goes to his master’s place, kicks open the door, takes out his hat and
throws it, takes out his shoes and throws them, full of anger. He then goes to
the master and says – ‘‘Oh master! I want peace. I want joy.’’
The
master had been observing this student. He tells him, ‘‘First go to the door
and apologize to the door for banging it. Go to the hat and apologize to the
hat for throwing it. Go to your coat and apologize to the coat for treating it
so roughly. And then come. I will talk of peace to you.’’
When the
student lovingly apologizes to all those objects and comes back to the master,
that very love brings about a transformation in the student. He discovers peace
in that state of love. A beautiful story! It shows that, even inanimate objects
if handled with live and acceptance, contribute to our inner peace and joy.
Have you
observed people eating? Most often eating is a war. Taking bath is a war. Instead
of bathing their precious body with love, it is a ritual accomplished in as few
minutes as practically possible. There is no love, no poetry. There is no dance
and music. There is only war and noise. All because they have not accepted
themselves with love. The moment you start accepting yourself with love, you
even handle inert things with love and care, with a sense of total acceptance.
You will then find there is so much of poetry, music, aliveness, celebration
and dance in your life.
It is
said, a mystic who went to each plant and flower and asked them how they could
contribute to humanity, founded the Unani system of medicine. He literally
begged every plant out of intuition. Thus, the whole system of Unani came into
existence.
With all
the stress and pressure in our lives, it is easy to lose our cool at the
slightest irritation. While we are rushing home from work at the end of another
exhausting day, we scream at the slow driver in front of us who apparently has
all the time in the world. While we shop at the grocery store, we get annoyed
with the stock clerk who sends us to the wrong aisle when we are in search of
the ingredients for tonight’s special dish. And while we are eating our dinner,
we yell at the telemarketer who has nerve to interrupt us in an attempt to sell
us their latest wares.
Hurtful
words unleashed in a single minute of anger have led to many a broken
friendship or relationship. Words are like arrows: once released, they are
impossible to retrieve. So choose yours with care.
An
excellent way to control temper is ‘‘Three
Gate Test’’ as practiced by ancient sages. The ancient sages would only
speak if the words they were about to utter passed three gates. At the first
gate, they asked themselves, Are these words truthful? If so, the
words could pass on to the second gate. At the second gate, the sages asked, Are
these words necessary? If so, they would then pass on to the third
gate, where they would ask, Are these words kind? If so, then
only they leave their lips and be sent out into the world.
