Journey to Enlightenment Part 02

Author(s): Chitrabhanu, Nirmala Hanke
Publisher: Create Space

Page 68

Life is a comedy for those who think, for minds have all kinds of crazy desires. We don't know what we want to be. Sometimes we want to be this, and sometimes we want to be that. We can't fulfill all our desires. So, it is good to take a break sometimes, to step back, to think, and to see the humor in our situation. So if you think, life is a comedy.
I know one man in New York, a thinker, who was walking one evening near Central Park. It was late. A mugger came and held a gun to his head, and said, "Give me your money or I'll blow out your brain." The thinker answered, "I'm a philosopher and I live in New York. You know that living in New York is very difficult. You can live without brains but not without money. So, you want to blow out my brain? It is all right. But I'm not going to give up all my money." In a split second, he saw that the situation was funny. He said, "You want money? Let's be fair. I don't have a lot of money but I'll give you $20. Then I'll feel safe and you'll feel gain. But if you try to kill me, who knows, the cops may catch you and put you in prison. So, instead of having a good dinner, you'll be in prison. So be fair. Take this $20 and go." He saw that life is a comedy and you have to play with it. You have to learn to make it lighter.
Don't make life heavy with your emotions and don't make rules. Rules that the husband should do this, the wife should do this, the mother-in-law should do this, the father-in-law should do this, and the daughter should do this. That way we slowly, slowly make our minds into fossils. We become rigid. And things don't work out the way we expect. We become jittery. We become angry. We become nasty. We become unhappy. And when we are alone with ourselves, we ask, "Why did I become like that? It was not nice." Take it as it is. It's funny. See the funny part in everything. Change your perception and don't make it so serious. Don't make everything into rules. And don't become so righteous. Too much righteousness will make you stiffer and stiffer. People are people, accept that and liberate yourself. And instead of worrying about the potholes, celebrate your journey.
The teachers who have got enlightenment, who have experienced their home, their essence, often went away for many years. What they were seeking was their origin. What they were. And going deeper, and deeper, and deeper, they realized themselves and found their origin, their root, their connection.
So when I read life is a comedy for those who think, I thought, "There must be something extra." And I thought, "Life is a journey for those who travel." It's a journey. We are all travelers. It's a trip. We don't die. We change the places.
On the Wings of Light and Love - Volume Two - 67