Members are invited to send their 'story' conveying 'Positive' thoughts/experience/incident for publishing on this web page of "My Story". Please ado not make personal references in your story. Such story should not exceed 400 words. Please send your story to us by submitting it on "Contact Us" page. We will keep your story on web page for 1 - 2 months. So that other members' stories can be published.

I WANT TO REMEMBER YOU WHEN I MEET YOU IN HEAVEN FOREVER

When Indian billionaire Shri Ratanji Tata was asked by a radio presenter in a telephone interview: "Sir, what do you remember when you found the happiest in life"?

Shri Ratanji Tata said: "I have gone through four stages of happiness in life, and finally I understood the meaning of true happiness."

The first stage was to accumulate wealth and resources. But at this stage I didn't get the happiness I wanted.

Then came the second stage of collecting valuables and items. But I realized that the effect of this thing is also temporary and the lustre of precious things does not last long.

Then came the third phase of getting a big project. That was when I had 95% of the diesel supply in India and Africa. I was also the owner of the largest steel factory in India and Asia. But even here I did not get the happiness that I had imagined.

The fourth stage was when a friend of mine asked me to buy few wheel chairs for some disabled children. There were about 200 children. At the behest of a friend, I immediately bought 200 wheel chairs.

But the friend insisted that I go with him and present wheel chairs to the children. I got ready and went with them. There I gave wheelchairs with my own hands to all the eligible children. I saw a strange glow of happiness on the faces of these children. I saw them all sitting on a wheel chair, roaming around and having fun.

It was as if they had reached a picnic spot, where they were sharing a winning gift. I felt real happiness inside me that day. When I was about to go back from there, one of those kids grabbed my leg. I tried to gently release my leg, but the child did not let go and he looked at my face and held my legs tighter. I leaned over and asked the child: do you need anything else?

Then the answer that the child gave me, not only shocked me but also completely changed my outlook towards life.

The child said: "I want to remember your face so that when I meet you in heaven, I can recognize you and thank you once again."

The heart of the above wonderful story is that we all should look into our inner self and think that, after leaving this life and world and all worldly activities, how will you like to be remembered?

UNIVERSE IS NOT RUN BY GOD, IT’S ON AUTOPILOT

Spirituality is a search for answers to basic questions such as: Who is Ishwar, God, and what is this jagat, world? Vedanta philosophy has an explanation for these.

God is supposed to be the creator, controller and destroyer of the world. It is a combination of universal consciousness and body. But the body of God, as per Vedanta philosophy, is the entire body of Universe called Prakriti, Nature. It is the Prakriti, on which the consciousness of Brahmn shines, which controls the manifested creation in an autopilot mode.

Universal Consciousness is a non-dual, single element, which is Sat, always present everywhere; Chit, the cause for making the Universe sentient; and Anand, pure bliss. It is, therefore, referred to as Sat-Chit-Anand. In Vedanta, it is referred to as Brahmn. The same Brahmn is known as atman in the context of an individual.

God is not someone running the Universe sitting in heaven. It is an autopilot system set in motion, with clear cut results coming out of specific actions. For example, if you sow a mango seed, mangoes come, and not oranges. It is a perfect rule of Prakriti. That includes the law of Karma, according to which one gets karmphal, results, as per one’s karmas, deeds.

God as Prakriti is difficult to visualise, so we give the Divine names like Ram, Krishn, Allah, and Jesus and worship Him in different forms. Since entire Prakriti is manifestation of God, one can pick up any object of nature and worship it. This explains the worshipping of 330 million gods in Hinduism. By nature, God is Nirgun, formless. In fact, God is controlling the world sitting inside each of us and residing in every part of the nature in an invisible form.

A saint was sleeping in a temple verandah with his feet towards the idol. A person scolded him for this act of affront to God. He replied, ‘Can you please tell me the direction in which God does not exist, I will keep my legs on that side.’ The man soon realised his mistake and apologised to the sage.

Jagat is a field of experience created by God to help us exhaust our karmas. Jagat is like a fully furnished accommodation along with some inmates for a jiva to enjoy or suffer his karmphal.

The world consists of Nature, flora, fauna and all beings. Some people who have good karma enjoy this world, while others suffer. The suffering in the Jagat is not something which God doles out arbitrarily. It is a result of our own karma, either of this or past birth.

A question arises: If an individual’s karmas decide pleasure or pain, what about the natural calamity in which thousands of people suffer? The answer given is that whenever the collective karma of all people in that place fructifies then such a calamity happens.

If karma decides everything in our life, is there any purpose served by praying to God? The answer is, yes. Just as in case of a democratic set up, after the verdict of Supreme Court, the President has power to give reprieve to an offender, similarly God can always forgive us even though we might have committed some bad karma. So, one can trust God and pray for mercy.

• Shri Hasmukh Adhia  (From “Speaking Tree” – Times of India Publication)