September 15, 2022

Story – 

Once there was a young man who wanted to learn the secret of Happiness and went on to find the wisest person on earth. He wandered through the mountains, deserts, forests and plains to find this wisest person. Finally he reached this magnificent castle on top of a very high mountain where this wise person was known to be living. 

The young man had always assumed that the wise person would be living a simple minimalist life, like a sage. He was surprised though to find the wise person not fit this image that he had in his head. When he walked into the castle he saw hustle and bustle of plush activity, melodious music playing, tables covered with most delicious delicacies, people happily chatting with each other in what seemed like grand celebration.

He saw the wise person chatting with everyone and the young man had to wait for several hours before getting a chance to even speak with the wise man. When he finally got to speak to the wise man, he asked what the secret of happiness was. The wise man listened to the young man attentively but did not seem to have enough time to respond to his profound question with the celebration going around. He encouraged the young man to take a look around the castle and explore the beautiful surroundings. Before he started, the wise man handed the young man a teaspoon with 2 drops of oil. He asked the young man to hold on to the spoon as he enjoyed the celebration and instructed him to make sure not to drop a single drop of oil from the spoon. 

The young man started exploring the different part of the castle but he was barely able to enjoy anything because his entire focus was on the teaspoon of oil. When he went back to see the wise man in a couple hours, the wise man enquired about the tour; about the fancy carpets, the unicorns, the dragons, the master garden, the fabulous books in the library etc. The boy shyly confessed that he did not see any of that because he was so focused on not letting the oil spill from the teaspoon. 

The wise man asked him to go back and check everything out so he could know more about the wise man and his life. The boy felt relieved that he got another chance to check out the amazing place.  He went back to the place and this time really enjoyed the place; the dragons, the books, the flowers, the garden and even the delicious food! When he finally went back to the wise man again, this time he recounted all the details excitedly. After hearing him out, the wise man enquired about the oil in the teaspoon. Well, the oil was gone! The young man got so caught up in enjoying the place and the celebration that he totally forgot to keep the oil safe this time around. 

The wise man smiled and said, “ There is only one piece of advice I can give you. The secret of Happiness is to see all of these treasures and to never forget about the oil in the spoon.”

Lesson from the Story – 

• We should enjoy the world (read books, play games, hangout with friends) but not get so caught up that we neglect our responsibilities like chores, homework etc.

• Balancing out the “fun” while taking care of responsibilities is the secret to Happiness.

• Once we become happy by following out responsibilities, it further nurtures balance in our lives.

Activity from the Class – 

Stand on one foot (like mountain pose) and swing both your arms while rolling your eyes 🙂

Next, stand on one foot (again like mountain pose) and this time around fold your hands in front of you in the prayer pose and focus on one spot in front of you.

We learnt that when we do not know our priorities and are not organized about them, it is very hard to find balance and we end up hurting ourselves. As soon as we find our focus and direct our attention, balance simply follows. When we are clear about our dharma we naturally find our balance.

Announcements – 

Attend Open Home next week and invite your friends and family to learn more about our offerings!