Good And Kind
Remember what happened last time?..... Narayan Gupta was reading Jagjit's book, he came in while she was reading it and said, "I see you've found my secret to happiness and success!".... Then Gupta asked her friend with pure curiosity, "My dear man... I don't get it. Why did you put so many diamonds and all that beautiful gold work on this little diary?" He told her that is was not a simple diary, he said, "Listen my beloved friend. What you hold in your hand is an incredible secret.... I haven't told anyone. In that book I have written down some very specific things." What he had written seemed random to her, so he explained, "My friend, I wrote down two things. Number one: I wrote down every single time someone did something kind to me!" Narayan Gupta thought for a second and said, "I'm not sure if I could fill a book with things people did that was kind to me." He gave her a mischievous smile, "You would be surprised, If you really paid attention, you would realize that there is a lot more kindness in the world than you think!"
As Narayan held the book in her hands, she felt a flutter of hope in her heart. She started to think there actually might be some magic on these pages, "OK what was the second thing you wrote down?" Jagjit stood up straight and said with a radiant and totally satisfied smile, "I wrote down every time I honestly felt good!" The room echoed with a the purity of his cheerfulness. Narayan asked, "So, all you did was write down: Every time someone did something kind for you... and: Every time you felt honestly good!?... It seems so simple." Jagjit smiled, "This universe we live in is simple my friend.... I've never been sad for too long in my life. Whenever I feel bad, I would just read from this book. It reminds me of all the good stuff. It also reminds me of the kindness. I could never stay down for too long. How could I? If everyone else did this, no one would stay sad for too long."
She interjected, "But some people have really hard lives. What if no one is ever kind to them, and they never feel good?" Jagjit paused in a deep silence. Then he said, "Even they might be surprised if they wrote it all down. They might find they didn't realize how much kindness people give them. Certainly, I will give them kindness."
Narayan felt honestly good when her friend said that.
She just let the feeling sit in her heart until she thought of another question, "It's a beautiful and wonderful idea... just tell me why you put so much gold and diamonds on the cover of this book. It must be worth a fortune!" Jagjit kindly explained to her, "Kindness is the real wealth. It is more valuable than anything I own. All these jewels and gold will stay here on the earth when I leave this body of mine. Kindness... my friend... THAT I take with me." The room seemed to fill with light. "This little book reminds me of all the kindness that has been given to me. Then I am filled with kindness! It is because I am full of this kindness that people trust me, and I have become wealthy in this world. It is because I was full of this kindness that I have all the friends that I have. This book reminds me of all that makes me feel honestly good. It is this goodness that inspires me to share! It is because I am full of this goodness, that I know what I want. It is from being full of this goodness that I am totally satisfied with my life. This little book sincerely and truly is the secret to All Happiness and Success."
Just then Narayan remembered something kind some one did for her earlier. She said, "Actually just today, I got lost on the way to your house. I asked some one for directions and the guy who helped me was being so nice. He took ten minutes to explain how to get here. He really went out of his way when he didn't have to. It was very kind of him. I felt good when he did that. I feel good again now just thinking of it again!"
Jagjit pulled another book from under the altar. It was totally plain on the outside and all the pages were blank. "It's not hard, try it. Go ahead by dear friend! Write down what he did for you... Write down how it made you feel... You can use this book." She took the book, "Thank you so much. I guess it can't hurt.....Huh, it's funny, now that we're on the subject.... giving me the book was very kind of you! Oh! I'm going to write that down right now!" And she started writing it down... Then she got a smirk on her face, "This book doesn't have gold and diamonds on it." Jagjit told her most confidently, "Not yet my friend.....but you would be surprised.... you would be surprised...."
See if you can think of the last time some one did something kind for you? Will you remember the next time you feel honestly good?