People tell me, “Swamiji, we went for a vacation and it turned out to be hell.” I tell you: Hell is inside you; you carry it with you everywhere. Obviously you will find it anywhere you go! When you live, you give hell to others, when you die, you get hell! Wherever you go, you want to carry your hell with you. You are so familiar with hell that even if you are shown heaven, you will feel a misfit there!
A small story:
Three fisherwomen went to sell fish one day and it became late that night when they were returning home.
They decided to spend the night in some house on the way.
They entered the house of a lady who sold jasmine flowers for a livelihood and they requested to spend the night there.
The lady agreed and they went to sleep in the room given to them.
The house was filled with the fragrance of the jasmine flowers.
But however, tried as they could, the fisherwomen could not sleep.
They were tossing and turning, and they did not know what to do.
Then suddenly, one of them got up, brought in the empty fish baskets and kept it at their heads - and they slept in no time!
(Laughter!)
We carry our worries with us everywhere we go and feel comfortable nurturing them. But we also complain that we are so worried all the time! We want to be free from something but we are not willing to transform and be free from it. This is how self-contradictory we are.
Anyhow, how do we be free form this? What should be our attitude?
How to be free and what should be your attitude – both questions have only one answer: Whatever you do, you should be able to do with a feeling of bliss, that’s all. You see, the space inside you, or your consciousness, decides the quality of your life. This space should be pure and blissful always.
______________________
This excerpt has been taken from the book: Guaranteed Solutions.