KEEP PATIENCE
Generally, it is seen that people who have time do not have enough understanding and people who have understanding do not have time. Time and understanding do not come together.
When we possess something, we do not understand its value, but the time we lose it, we gain greater understanding about it. Fortunate are such people who have both time and understanding.
This is because people do not understand the reality on time and when they understand, they are left with not much time.
Once there was a king who was in the last stage of his life. He organized a grand festival and invited his Master and all his friends. To please the people in the festival, he also invited famous dancer from his a kingdom.
The event started and the king gave some gold coins to his Master, asking him to give them to the dancer to honor him. The festival was going very well until 3 pm when the dancer saw that the drum player was looking very tired and restless. The dancer then read a couplet:
II Doha II
बह बीती, थोड़ी रही, पल पल गई बिताय ।
एक पलक के कारने, क्यों कलंक लग जाय ।।
Meaning: A lot has passed, and little is left; One small mistake could leave you bereft.
The dancer was going to warn the drummer through this couplet that if we lose focus even for a moment, it would be a disgrace for us. Hearing this, the drummer became energized and started playing drum very enthusiastically. The interesting thing here is that everyone who was sitting there derived a different meaning from that couplet as per their own understanding.
Upon hearing this couplet, the king’s Master gave all the gold coins to the dancer, the king’s daughter gifted his precious necklace to her, and the prince gifted his valuable crown to her. The king was looking at all this, and he was surprised about what the dancer was doing. He was thinking that dancer was robbing people by narrating a couplet.
The king ordered the dancer to stop that performance and said to her, “You narrated a couplet and robbed everyone; this is absolutely wrong.” Before the king spoke further, his Master said, “Stop king! Be calm. This dancer spoke right. Everyone derived
their own meanings from that couplet.”
The Master said, “I had been living in a forest and meditating on the Lord for several years. This couplet taught me that I was sinning by coming to such a worldly festival and appreciating the dancer with gold coins. Her couplet warned me that I should not be
here in such company.” Then, the Master left the palace.
The king’s daughter said, “Father! I have derived a different meaning from this couplet. I was going to marry your elephant rider, but the couplet spoken by the dancer stopped me from doing that. I received wisdom from her couplet; therefore, I gifted a precious necklace to her.”
The prince said, “I was waiting for the time when you would make me king. I was going to kill you tonight along with the soldiers. The couplet taught me to be patient. It also taught me not to commit the sin of killing my father.”
The king’s eyes were opened upon hearing everyone’s explanations. On hearing the different meanings of the couplet, the dancer questioned herself, saying, “What am I doing?” She also thought to stop this work and do something else. The king understood that most of his life had passed. He thought, “Why am I not doing what I should do?”
So, he married his daughter to the prince of her choice, gave his kingdom to his son and went for the Lord’s devotion to a forest.
We move forward in our lives to achieve our targets and destinations, but sometimes we become impatient and take the wrong steps. This story teaches that we should work patiently in our lives to achieve our targets.
Moreover, one learns to live patiently when one joins the Holy Company of Saints. This is because upon joining the Holy Company of Saints, one listens to the Holy Master’s teachings. Since the teachings of the Holy Master are full of all powers; therefore, one receives all those powers which one needs to live one’s life patiently and blissfully.
Wise Ones state:
II Chaupai II
गुन सब गुरु के बचने माहीं । सह जो बिसरे नाहीं ।।
Learned Saint Sanjo Bai Ji states: all virtues are embedded in the teachings of the True Master. One who always remembers the divine teachings is the true disciple.
We are extremely fortunate that we have obtained the sanctuary of Shri Paramhans Supreme Masters who have made the path of devotion straightforward. Now, it is our duty to follow the teachings of the Divine Master and live an ideal life.