Amma narrated the following story -. One day a man named Gopal who had a
very good job in Dubai, suddenly lost his job due to the recession there. He was ...
Vol. 9, No: 2 July - Dec 2013. Page 1 - 44
Amrita Journal of Medicine
Spiritual Message
Amma’s Parables We are all lost in our own world and have no time or sympathy for other people. Often we are so immersed in our own problems that we become completely oblivious of the sufferings of others. Developing empathy and understanding other people’s problems and helping them in a meaningful way, will help enormously in calming our own mind and will go a long way in making the world a more peaceful place. To emphasize this point, Amma narrated the following story One day a man named Gopal who had a very good job in Dubai, suddenly lost his job due to the recession there. He was forced to return to his native place in Kerala. His wife and nine year old son also had to return with him. The whole family was very stressed at this sudden turn of events. Gopal began to apply afresh for jobs in Dubai. As the days went by he and his family become increasingly anxious. His wife would go every day to the nearby temple and pray fervently for Gopal to get another job, so that they could go back to Dubai and restart their lives as before. She promised the diety in the temple that if Gopal got another job then she would conduct a bhajan session in the temple. After an extremely tense couple of months, Gopal got another job in Dubai. The relief and joy of his family is difficult to describe. Gopal’s wife kept her promise to the local diety and arranged a bhajan session at the temple.
Gopal, his wife and son, and other relatives all attended the bhajans. After they had sung seven or eight bhajans the session ended. But Gopal’s young son refused to leave. “Can we not sing at least two more bhajans?” he pleaded to his parents. “No, the session is over,” replied his father. His mother was also very firm. She said, “I had promised the diety that when your father gets another job, we will sing bhajans in the temple. Now he has got a job and we have finished singing and we have to go back home and pack our bags to return to Dubai.” “But, mother,” pleaded the boy, “can we not sing just two more songs?” “Why are you so adamant ?” asked Gopal. The innocent boy replied, “Father, now you have got a job and our problems are solved, but can we not sing two more bhajans for so many other children whose father’s have also lost their jobs and who are suffering just as we had done for the last two months ?” Gopal and his wife were touched by their young son’s compassion for others. How many of us would spare a thought for others once our own problems are solved? It is this attitude of compassion that we need to have towards our patients. If we all had the attitude of the innocent boy then this world of ours itself will become heaven.
