The Secret To Happiness

Many years ago, a certain shopkeeper sent his son to learn about the secret of happiness from the wisest man in the world. The lad wandered through the desert for forty days, and finally came upon a beautiful palace on top of a mountain. It was there that the wise man lived. Rather than finding a saintly man, this guy, on entering the main room of the castle, saw a hive of activity; tradesmen came and went, people were conversing in the corners, a small orchestra was playing soft music, and there was a tale covered with platters of the most delicious food in that part of the world. The wise man conversed with everyone, and the boy had to wait for two hours before he could get the man’s attention.

The wise man listened attentively to the boy’s explanation of why he had come, but told him that he didn’t have time just then to explain the secret of happiness. He suggested that the boy look around the palace and return in two hours.

“Meanwhile, I want to ask you to do something” said the wise man, handing the boy a teaspoon that held two drops of oil. “As you move around, carry this spoon with you without allowing the oil to spill.”

The boy began climbing and descending the many staircases of the palace, keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. After two hours, he returned to room where the wise man was.

“Well,” asked the wise man, “did you see the Persian tapestries that are hanging in my dining hall? Did you see the garden that it took the master gardener ten years to create? Did you notice the beautiful parchments in my library?”

The boy was embarrassed and confessed that he had observed nothing. His only concern had been not to spill the oil that the wise man had entrusted to him.

“Then go back and observe the marvels of my world,” said the wise man. “You cannot trust a man if you don’t know his house.”

Relieved, the boy picked up the spoon and returned to his exploration of the palace, this time observing all of the works of art on the ceilings and the walls. He saw the gardens, the mountains all around him, the beauty of the flowers, and the taste with which everything had been selected. Upon returning to the wise man, he related everything that he had seen.

“But where are the drops of oil I entrusted to you?” asked the wise man.

Looking down at the spoon he held, the boy saw that the oil was gone.

“Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give you,” said the wise man. “The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.”

My Experiments with Truth: DOES GOD EXIST?

There are many wild, wacky, bizarre, absurd, foolish and irrational ideas and beliefs when it comes to the subject of God. One hears many things related to this subject, different people have different viewpoints. Whether the truth is among them is not clear. And, of course, the big question familiar to all of us: Does god exist? Many people believe that he does; and is the supreme creator and destroyer. Many others (atheists) think more skeptically and refuse to believe in God without any evidence. Then there are others (like me) who are somewhere in the middle, they don’t completely have faith and neither are they ignorant like atheists; many of them are looking for answers, trying to find the truth.

Let’s look at some real life experiences and incidents, and see if we can conclude anything and resolve this dilemma.

A six- year-old boy, the only son of his parents was on his way back from school. As usual with children on their return journey, he was impatient to get back home. Without bothering to look on either side, he ran across the road and was knocked down by a speeding truck and killed instantaneously. The truck driver sped away and was never traced. An innocent life was lost, the man who took his life escaped punishment.

Is there a God? An all powerful and just God? The holy book promises: “No ills befall the righteous, but the wicked are filled with trouble” (Proverbs). The holy book asks: “Consider, what innocent ever perished, or where have the righteous been destroyed?”. Let those who believe in God and His infinite mercy explain why a child whose parents had committed no sin had pain inflicted upon them and then the man who caused them suffering went scot free.

So this was one incident that suggests that there is no God, or at least it does suggest that God (if there is one) is above the notions of fairness and moral rules, that apply to us mortals; He is in fact (if He is) one who is the wadda beparwah-the uncaring great one. 

Well, this incident and the conclusion that it provides does appeal to me as it would to many. But I have a reason not to believe completely in what it suggests. It has incubated out of my own experience.

In June 2010, I had an extremely rare and severe case of typhoid. I was in the hospital for nearly two weeks. It was a very painful experience, particularly for the first few days as I was living only on tasteless juices and also had to undergo many tests and scans. Anyways, getting to the main part, I was discharged after two weeks though I was not completely alright but well enough to go home. After getting discharged I was visiting the hospital for the medicines, tests, scans, and frequent meetings with the doctor continued. Till that time I had no idea about how rare and severe my illness had been.

Then, sometime in August, during my meeting with the doctor, he told me that my H.I.D.A. scan (it’s a nuclear scan to see your gall bladder) results showed that my gall bladder was still inflated and was not functioning, and that I would have to get my gall bladder removed if even after taking loads of antibiotics it didn’t function. (This is because a non-functioning organ can act as a carrier of infections). A fourteen-year-old is bound to get scared on the thought of an operation and the removal of an organ. (Though the body functions perfectly well even without the gall bladder) So, I sat there on the doctor’s chair, terrified at the thought of an operation. To the surgeon, though, it was no big deal, for him it was just a typical hour long surgery which he had performed many times. The other doctor whom I was consulting prescribed me with more antibiotics and told me that there was a chance that the gall bladder may start working. He told me that I was going to take another HIDA scan after two months, and if the gall bladder still didn’t work, it would have to be removed. Petrified, I went back home. For the next two months I ate cautiously, took the prescribed antibiotics in the hope that my gall bladder starts functioning and I don’t have to undergo an operation.

So, in November, I again underwent the HIDA scan and the result was astonishing. My gall bladder was functioning. I took the report to the Doctor and he was also very happy and exclaimed that there was no need for any operation. Then he revealed all the “dark secrets” about my case that were hidden from me so far: My case had been so rare that out of all the typhoid cases in the country, only 1-2% were similar to mine. The doctors in that hospital had never seen a case like that. And, they had held a seminar on my case in which doctors from all over the city were present! “Wow” I thought. “A seminar on my case, it was so rare!” It was blowing my mind. Then he went on to disclose that my case had been so severe that doctors had lost all hope that they would be able to treat it with antibiotics. They were prepared for an operation from the beginning. But he had told them to wait, and see if they could cure me with antibiotics. He didn’t want a fourteen-year-old kid to lose an organ of his body. Even though he knew that the chances were EXTREMELY less, he tried, and he succeeded. “It is all due to God’s grace” he said.

A doctor saying that I had been cured due to God’s grace? My case had been so severe that an operation seemed unavoidable? Then how did I escape it? How was it that I was cured completely with only antibiotics?

Was my illness cured because God (if He is) listened to my family’s prayers and his blessings got me out of it? Yes and No. Yes, because there is no other scientific explanation. No, because, well as the doctor had told me that the chances were extremely less but there were chances, so I might have been lucky. Atheists will most likely go for the second option: I was lucky to get out of it. But think about it. If I was lucky, why did I get typhoid in the first place? Why did luck favor me only when I needed it the most, and only when my family prayed? I am not concluding anything here.

There must be some supreme power that created us and keeps a watch on everything that’s going on and responds when there is someone need. Think about it.

P.S.-I'm not saying that there was some dude who wanted to help rescue his kidnapped chick with the help of some flying monkey. But there must be something. What do you think?