A wonderful parable by Shri Nathji illustrated his maxim to perfection.
There was a King who was beset upon by the worries of the world, so much so, that he fell ill with worry and could not be cured until a Mahatma came to his palace and cured him. From then onwards, the King considered his life as belonging to the Mahatma.
What can I do for you in return? he asked the Mahatma.
Give me your Kingdom and go in exile yourself,” said the Mahatma.
At first the King was startled. But later he acquiesced. The Mahatma had given him his life and could take it back from him, if he so desired.
From today the Kingdom is mine, said the Mahatma, I will run it. But what will you do in exile in the forest? Stay and serve me here! Is there any profession you know?
No, said the King, I am not adept in any trade. All I know is how to rule!
All right, then,” said the Mahatma, I offer you this job–rule my Kingdom for me!
And the King ruled the Kingdom for the Mahatma. He performed all his tasks without greed, lust or anger–for he knew there was nothing to be gained or lost by him, everything belonged to the Mahatma. He became a dispassionate, impartial judge; a just ruler who would never do any wrong. Losses and gains did not move him–he remained content in both, for it was not his Kingdom.
In the past, greed, avarice, anger and lust for power, had guided his actions. He would be good at times and evil at others. He had not been popular with his subjects. And hundreds of mental worries plagued his mind. This was all due to his intense absorption in and his attachment to his Kingdom.
How different the picture was now! How free of all worry the King had become! Everything that happened belonged to the Mahatma. The king would perform all his tasks dispassionately and keep on informing the Mahatma about all the problems that arose.
Let him worry over everything–after all it is his kingdom. All the profits and losses belong to him. I am merely ruling the Kingdom on his behalf and on his orders!
News spread of this just and dispassionate king–one who had become a nirmohi, one who was unattached to the world around him.
A Yogi in the forests was disconcerted at the news. Here was a king in the midst of worldly duties, unattached like no saint ever was. And here was he, a Yogi, practicing meditation and renunciation but getting nowhere. He sought to test the King. He had the King’s son kidnapped and then sent news to the king that his son had been killed.
My son? said the King, it is the Mahatma’s son! I will tell him!
The King was not moved. It was a blow to the Yogi.
If sorrow did not move the King, perhaps joy would. And so the Yogi sent word to the King that his son had been found and was alive and well:
Sir, news has been received, your son is still alive! said the King’s men to him.
Alive? said the King without emotion,
I will inform the Mahatma that his son is still alive!
And the astonished Yogi came before the King and said to him:
The Peace you have within you is the envy of saints and sages. You are living in this world, facing all its tribulations and joys, and are unaffected by them. You are like a lotus that floats on water but is not wet by it. You are fortunate that you have found a Master to whom you have delivered up everything.”
How fortunate would man be if he could deliver up his world to God and perform his tasks in it, taking them to be chores allotted by God. How free of all worry he would be, how unattached! What a perfect renunciation it would be! What a release from all the temporary sorrows and joys of the world!
One could understand now what Shri Babaji Maharaj had meant when he said:
Dile daaram ke dar vai gham na gunjad
Che jaaye gham ke shaadi ham na gunjad
I have a heart in which there is no sorrow-
Nay! it has no place in it for joy as well!
What a panacea for all the ills of the world! What a cure for all the self-inflicted tortures of the human mind!
Those who inscribed these words on their hearts went through life, braving the worst of its storms without fear. In short, the message was: “Leave everything to Him”.