A few days ago I had the
pleasure to give a lecture in the beautiful city of Nagpur... In most
cases my work schedule pushes me to fly back home the very same day, but
this time I stayed back and decided to explore the city and its nearby
localities.
One of the places I got to visit was the Hindi Vishwavidyalaya (International Hindi University) at Wardha.
Located at a hill top, this beautiful and picturesque institute provided a perfectly silent environment for reconnecting with the self.
Marveled by the beauty around, I suddenly found that a young gardener, Ramu, looking at me with lot of amusement.
I asked him - "what are you looking at?"
Ramu - looking at you sir.
I asked him - why?
Ramu - So many "city people" like you come here every year... spend a few hours or days in our institute... you take photos and try to capture the beauty of this scenery... then finally smile and go back... forgetting this place even existed.
I queried - You are very right, so how does this effect you?
With a smile, he answered - I was wondering are you lucky or cursed?
Further amused, I ask - why lucky or cursed?
calmly sitting on the ground, plucking out weeds in the garden, he said - a few minutes of this silence and scenery gives you peace of mind... I was wondering are you "city people" so lucky that your stress is so less that a few minutes of this silence cures it... or are you so cursed, because your stress is so high that a few minutes of this silence is a quick momentary escape away from it...
... pausing to pluck some more weeds, he continued -
"...sir you might think I am just a gardener, but I observe people and understand... People who come from the city are always busy in their mind...
you know, this garden is beautiful because I give it so much love... every single plant is my child.. i love them all... I rejoice when one of them blossoms... I feel sad when one of them dies... but I never stop, I plant new ones and again give them more love..... our mind is also like this garden... but people have stopped loving it.. people have stopped working for it... they expect it will be beautiful without any work... they see the whole garden as one... never focus on the single flowers that make it..... and thats why they look at others for beauty rather than looking deep inside themself."
I was amazed, amused and surprised... I had just been given a beautiful lesson in the power of self-awareness.
I spent another hour with my new "guru", who peacefully, openly and without expectations talked about a lot of things...
As I drove away, I knew probably i would never return here or see Ramu again... but i thanked him, as in his naive, innocent way he just gave a very powerful lesson on happiness.
written by -
Dr.Hemant Mittal (MBBS, DPM, MD(mindmantra))
(Psychiatrist, Motivational Writer and Counselor)
email – eksoch@gmail.com
website – www.mindmantra.in
clinic address- 15, shreeji plaza, next to ice n spice restaurant, opposite seawoods station, seawoods (east)
Navi Mumbai
One of the places I got to visit was the Hindi Vishwavidyalaya (International Hindi University) at Wardha.
Located at a hill top, this beautiful and picturesque institute provided a perfectly silent environment for reconnecting with the self.
Marveled by the beauty around, I suddenly found that a young gardener, Ramu, looking at me with lot of amusement.
I asked him - "what are you looking at?"
Ramu - looking at you sir.
I asked him - why?
Ramu - So many "city people" like you come here every year... spend a few hours or days in our institute... you take photos and try to capture the beauty of this scenery... then finally smile and go back... forgetting this place even existed.
I queried - You are very right, so how does this effect you?
With a smile, he answered - I was wondering are you lucky or cursed?
Further amused, I ask - why lucky or cursed?
calmly sitting on the ground, plucking out weeds in the garden, he said - a few minutes of this silence and scenery gives you peace of mind... I was wondering are you "city people" so lucky that your stress is so less that a few minutes of this silence cures it... or are you so cursed, because your stress is so high that a few minutes of this silence is a quick momentary escape away from it...
... pausing to pluck some more weeds, he continued -
"...sir you might think I am just a gardener, but I observe people and understand... People who come from the city are always busy in their mind...
you know, this garden is beautiful because I give it so much love... every single plant is my child.. i love them all... I rejoice when one of them blossoms... I feel sad when one of them dies... but I never stop, I plant new ones and again give them more love..... our mind is also like this garden... but people have stopped loving it.. people have stopped working for it... they expect it will be beautiful without any work... they see the whole garden as one... never focus on the single flowers that make it..... and thats why they look at others for beauty rather than looking deep inside themself."
I was amazed, amused and surprised... I had just been given a beautiful lesson in the power of self-awareness.
I spent another hour with my new "guru", who peacefully, openly and without expectations talked about a lot of things...
As I drove away, I knew probably i would never return here or see Ramu again... but i thanked him, as in his naive, innocent way he just gave a very powerful lesson on happiness.
written by -
Dr.Hemant Mittal (MBBS, DPM, MD(mindmantra))
(Psychiatrist, Motivational Writer and Counselor)
email – eksoch@gmail.com
website – www.mindmantra.in
clinic address- 15, shreeji plaza, next to ice n spice restaurant, opposite seawoods station, seawoods (east)
Navi Mumbai
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