Shri Nathji explained in the book that the objects of the material world had no intrinsic attributes of their own. The same object could give happiness at one time and bring sorrow at another. It was man who experienced joys and sorrows in the objects of the world by forming mental associations with these objects. Shri Nathji illustrated this with another interesting story.
There was a seth -a rich man – who was accustomed to sleeping in a beautiful bed with soft mattresses and silken covering.
One day, when he was out of his house, his guru visited the place. The guru asked the rich man’s servants to throw out the bed of the rich man and to lay a thin bedsheet on the ground for the seth.
When the seth returned, he was surprised to find his guru at his house and his bed thrown out.
He wanted his bed back, and prayed to his guru: Guruji – I can never sleep on the ground on this thin bedsheet. I will die from the cold and hard touch of the ground! I have slept all my life in the comfort of the luxurious bed that I have! Please restore it to me!
The guru said to the rich man:
Listen to me! I have had a great secret revealed to me! If you sleep on the ground tonight, a fortune worth a crore of rupees will be yours in the morning!
The seth jumped with joy:
Really! O wonderful guru! Then let me sleep on the ground right away! O wonderful, wonderful ground! O beautiful ground! Thou art my benefactor!
And saying this, the seth forthwith lay on the ground and tried to sleep, dreaming of a crore of rupees. Just then a friend of the seth came to his house and found the seth lying on the ground.
He was shocked, and said: Sethji, what are you doing? Are you out of your mind! You will catch a cold! Get up and come to your bed!
The friend tried to raise the seth from the ground, but the seth refused to get up and said with great anger: You are not my friend! You are my enemy! You don’t know how great a loss you are causing me by raising me from the ground! This ground is my life, my soul! Go away and don’t disturb me!”
And saying this the seth fell back upon the ground and began kissing it with affection.
In this parable, Shri Nathji illustrated how happiness was a state of the human mind and it was not inherent in any outside object of the world. The same ground, that was abhorrent to the seth a few minutes earlier, became a source of great comfort to him when he saw the profit in sleeping on it!
In a like manner we can derive happiness from any object of the world by properly attuning our mind to it.
The most important thing was Peace of Mind which illuminated all objects of the world. Bereft of it nothing gave the heart of man any happiness.