In the hands of man.....

If it were in the hands of man, he would have taken everything ; but whatever God wishes, only that happens.
- from The Sukhmani of Guru Arjan Devji

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If it were in the control of any one particular man, then that man would never allow anyone else in this world to have any wealth, or to make use of the resources which are in this world.

That man would want to have all those good blessings only for himself.

Thus the Guru says that it is all in the hands of God - "Whatever He wishes, only that happens."

Here is an interesting anecdote to illustrate this :

Once there was a poor farmer who did steadfast devotion to God.

God became pleased with him and He granted him a boon - ask the Lord for anything and it would be granted.

God gave the farmer a little bell and said, "Whenever you need anything, just ring the bell and whatever you ask for, will be provided to you. However whatever you ask for, your neighbour will get double - double of what you get."

When God gave him that bell, the farmer was very pleased, but when he heard that his neighbour would get double of what he would get, he didn't like the idea.

So he went home and told his wife, "I have got this bell from God but the condition is that whatever we get, our neighbour will get double of it. So that is why I don't want to ring this bell and I don't want to get anything from God."

As the days passed, the farmer's condition became more desperate - his crops were lost to fire and he incurred more loses than before.

Inspite of all this he did not ring the bell as the thought of his neighbour getting prosperous bothered him.

So he didn't ring the bell and he didn't ask God for anything.

Many times his wife said to him, "Why should you bother about the neighbours? If they get, with the grace of God, double what we get, let them have it; they are also human beings. Let us at least have what we need!"

"Why should they get anything? I did the devotion, I pleased God and He has given me this boon! Why should I use this boon and let them take advantage of it? I don't want to do that." the farmer replied stubbornly.

God put him through many tests, and the farmer became very poor. His small plot of land became barren and the family was left with very little food.

Yet the man did not ring the bell because he was jealous that his neighbours would get more.

Finally he was in such dire straits that he had to leave his hometown to find work elsewhere.

When he had left, his wife decided to make use of the bell as she could no longer see herself and her family suffering.

She had a different attitude from her husband and thought, "What's wrong if the neighbours get something? They are also human! They should also have what we have."

So she rang the bell and God gave her whatever she asked for and the neighbours got double of it. Many days passed and she became prosperous, and the neighbours became twice as prosperous.

After a few months the man returned home, and saw that his family was living very happily and they were prosperous.

His friends remarked that it was all the grace of God.

The man knew that his wife had used the bell and became upset when he saw that the neighbours had twice as much as his family had.

So he rang the bell and said to God, " Please my Lord i humbly request for these ..... firstly I want a deep well in front of my house."

God granted his wish and his neighbours received two deep wells.

"Next my Lord i request you to make me one-eyed - to take away one of my eyes."

When that wish was granted the man lost vision in one eye but his neighbours became blind in both eyes.

When the blind neighbours in their pain and agony came out of their houses, they fell into the deep wells and died.

Only then was the farmer contented.....

This story illustrates that if supreme power were in the hands of Man, then whoever was in control would never allow other people to enjoy the blessings of God.

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That Man would always keep everything - all the blessings from God - to himself.

However God has not done that. HE has kept everything with Him and if HE wants, only then HE gives.

Whatever He wants to give to man, He gives at his own discretion.

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There is no one to question His authority.

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He has not given the control of this to man; He has kept it in His hands.

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Man is a Slave.....

Man is a slave to the five senses of touch, smell, sight, taste and hearing which in turn are responsible for the actions of lust, anger, greed, attachment and ego.

In animals and the lower species one sense is dominant that gains control.

A moth, for example, is governed by the sense of sight, to the extent of burning itself to death in the heat of a flame or bright light.

Fish, on the other hand, are governed by the sense of taste; and although happily swimming about in the water, yet they will rise to the angler's bait--only to be caught on the hook and die in agonies of torment, flapping around gasping for air.

The large black bumblebee has a very strong sense of smell, and through this easily loses his life to a certain tropical flower that has the ability to close its petals over any insect entering within it.

The sense of hearing is overpowering in a deer. Hunters play a certain tune on a special drum, hearing which the deer is drawn helplessly towards it in ecstasy of that sound, until it quietly lays its head down upon the drum and, of course, is captured.

In the male elephant the sense of touch is very strong (mating). In order to capture or kill it, hunters prepare a large pit and cover it with leaves and then station a female elephant nearby. When the male scents the female, he loses all caution and rushes toward her and falls into the pit which lies in his path. It then spends its life in captivity or killed for its tusk.

So, it is noted that when even a single sense out of the five is ruling and overpowering, it can bring death or slavery.

Take a pause and contemplate on this :

What then will be the condition of us human beings who are slaves to all of these five senses?
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Thoughts and their Consequences

Here is a poem by Bhagat Trilochan written in the Guru Granth Sahib.

He describes the relationship between the thought pattern in the mind just before a person dies and the consequence of that thought.

At the very last moment, one who thinks of his wealth( Greed ), and dies in such thoughts, will be reincarnated over and over again, in the form of serpents.

O sister, do not forget God's Name.

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At the very last moment, he who thinks of women(Lust),and dies in such thoughts, will be reincarnated over and over again as a prostitute.

At the very last moment, one who thinks of his children( Attachment ), and dies in such thoughts, will be reincarnated over and over again as a pig.

At the very last moment, one who thinks of his houses and mansions( Ego), and dies in such thoughts, will be reincarnated over and over again as a ghost.

At the very last moment one who thinks of God, and dies in such thoughts, says Trilochan, that man will be liberated;

God will abide in his heart.

The Ocean & the Rain Drop

When you are in the ocean, before birth, you are part of the ocean, you have no identity, you are the ocean itself, but then the cosmic wind stirs the waves and you become separated from the ocean as spray, you become absorbed into the clouds and form into a raindrop.

For a brief moment in time you think that you are separate from the ocean, that you have a separate identity and purpose, but then the rain falls and you return to the ocean.

That is the nature of human life.

We are temporarily separated from the Source of our being but we will all return one day to the Source from which we came.

There are four important questions that we all should consider -

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Who am I?

Where did I come from?

How long will I be here?
Whither am I going?

- Sai Baba