All of us seek to be happy. There is not a single soul in the world who does not wish for happiness. And why not? Happiness is our birthright. It is a quality of our soul. We are never our body which changes birth after birth. We are the Immortal Soul which is a spark of God. Our inner self always yearns for happiness and seeks it in all things. When we seek happiness in objects, possessions and people, we get happiness for a short period of time. The unending bliss and inner serenity that we yearn for is not ours and we are left searching and seeking. The story of the happy farmer given below is the story of our lives and what we seek:
In a small village, there lived a farmer. He had a small home and a small land and few animals. He worked cheerfully and was always happy and smiling. Whenever he met someone, he had kind and encouraging words for them. His smile and words boosted them and pushed them towards hope, cheer and improvement. Anyone who met him felt better and happier. The villagers knew they could rely on him; he was trustworthy and never criticized. They all regarded him as a great friend.
One of the villagers was very curious about the secret of the happy farmer. The farmer was not rich or powerful. He was a simple normal man. The villager often wondered if he could learn the secret of the farmer’s happiness and become like him. It felt so good to be in the presence of the happy farmer. How much more better it would be to actually become like him? He wanted to live a life without grudges, vengeance, with a happy word for all and radiating love and cheerfulness. He really wanted to be like the happy farmer.
Once, the villager met the happy farmer in the village square. He asked him: Please explain to me how you are always kind and happy. Most people I see are selfish, self centred and not satisfied. They rarely smile. The happy farmer smiled and replied: Our happiness depends on the happiness of others. When I help by a smile, an encouraging word or even just by listening, I give happiness to another and this makes me happy. We must understand that we are all one and interconnected. The spark of God that is within me – my soul – is the same spark in you and all others and in the entire creation. I have understood this truth and hence I am at peace with myself and the entire world. We have to transform ourselves from within and change our entire personality. We have to change our habits and personality.
The villager thought over and was aghast at the amount of work such changes required. To develop good habits, control the mind and thoughts was not an easy task. The work was so difficult. So many inner layers of bad habits had to be chipped away slowly and replaced by good habits. And in the meantime, temptation and wrong advice from all sides was at maximum force to prevent any such change in self. How could anyone manage?
The happy farmer smiled and said: Do not focus on the difficulties. Take one step at a time and keep walking. You will reach your goal. Start now. Just quieten your feelings and thoughts and watch them. Do not react to them. When you think and act you will get good results. When you watch your thoughts, there will be few moments of peace within yourself. As you practice more, these moments become longer and more frequent. You will be filled with love, kindness, peace, power and strength. Over a period of time, you will realise you are one with Divinity. You will think and act from that level of consciousness and not your small limited ego.
The villager explained a genuine concern. When we are good and kind and help all, would we not be exploited by everyone? The happy farmer said: When you are good, you are strong. Being good and being kind is not weakness. You help because you want to and not because someone forces you to. People sense your inner strength and purpose and do not take advantage of you.
The story of the happy farmer teaches us the process of self transformation and gives us hope that we too can reach the state of inner peace and bliss. The process given by him is the same process that takes place in us when we do SitaRam mantra, meditation and follow the teachings of the Guru. So let us take firm steps in this direction.
