Amar Vani

Author(s): Amarmuni
Publisher: Sanmati Gyan Pith Agra

Page 27

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planting the saplings of others and watering them. Why is there this difference? Why this contradiction? The gardener should equally love all the plants and trees in his garden. How is it, then, that he seems to love some plants and hate others?
AMAR VANI
The gardener would reply, "No, my brother, I am not prompted by any distinctions of love and hatred between one plant and the other. I love them all equally. But I have to keep in view a higher aim. I must look to the over-all good of the garden. I have to preserve the beauty of the garden. I must see that the garden as a whole must progress and prosper well. It is in this spirit and with this aim in view that, for the sake of the over-all good of the garden, I have to make some distinctions. Should my sense of duty fail to distinguish between one and the other, I shall be failing in my final duty. You should not miscalculate the outer appearance of my actions; you should look into the spirit of my actions. Mine is not a case of love and hatred it is a case of duty. I have to do my duty for preserving the beauty of the garden."
Joy and Sorrow are our Guests
Do you not welcome a guest who comes to your house? Joy and Sorrow are both your guests. Welcome Sorrow as cheerfully as you welcome Joy. Sorrow is your guest. It has come on your own invitation. How can it, then, go to the house of your neighbour? No, it will not go there; it cannot go there. It will stay with you in your own house, whether you laugh or weep. It is your guest. Remember, it is always honourable to seem cheerful rather than unhappy before your guest.