Let’s make one another happy

There’s joy in making others happy. Let’s not forget to make a life even as we make a living

We Indians are great analysts. But how many of us continually monitor the quality of our thoughts? Recently, in an autorickshaw, the driver was proudly holding forth on the flyovers being constructed in the city. Suddenly, we were in a traffic jam. A motorcyclist, unable to move past us, heaped insults on our hapless driver. Then, by manipulating his bike, he sailed past, leaving our driver fuming in hurt.

The biker could have done the same courteously, making those few moments good-humouredly pleasant for himself and everybody. Our driver was livid. I focused on the back of his head, and silently sent him good wishes: “May these blessings soothe and calm... May you have only pleasant encounters.” He calmed down. Peace prevailed in our little travelling world. The traffic eased and he resumed pointing out the new streets that helped de-congest the main arteries of the city.

Yes, we do need broad, smooth roads to ease our travel; as importantly, we need great mental highways to ease one another’s life. And, as we need fewer vehicles on the road, so we need fewer curses in our hearts. My prayer for us: Please, let not the rush to reach our destination make the blood rush to our head. We should always remember this saying: “Don’t forget to make a life even as you make a living.”

There’s a lot of life to be lived, a lot of wonders to be witnessed, miracles to be experienced, loving thoughts to be generated, shared, spread. So, let’s not vent our venom. Let’s just make this simple yet profound decision: to make whoever we encounter happy. And stick to that decision. The road is blocked? Be thankful that you are not alone in the world. Be grateful you have wheels and a road to roll on. You don’t have to reach anywhere to be happy, you can create happiness right where you are. Give your smile to others even as you give them the right of way. Whenever a driver halts to let another car move on, or for pedestrians to cross peacefully, I feel sweetness warming my heart.

Indeed, the world is a great circle of love. And the wisdom is to see everything in relation to the whole. If we understand that everything in this great circle of love belongs equally to all of us, we will be free of all hang-ups, healed of all afflictions.

Let's remain unruffled in all situations. A cool, calm brain staves off depression by keeping the microglia cells that protect both the brain and the spinal cord, and clear all metabolic debris, healthy. Sleep well too, for sleep rests the brain and helps foster a healthy perspective. Every day, have a few tulsi leaves as clinical studies have shown that they have the power to reduce exhaustion and irritability.

Also, in a traffic jam, practise the ‘Going Nowhere’ meditation: settle down comfortably with an attitude of ‘there’s nothing I can do and it’s liberating!’ From a nice sense of luxury, focus on one cloud drifting across the sky... Everything is still here, everything is moving up there... Relax. A still mind is a cool, transparent lake in our being. Moreover, I’ve experienced: going nowhere makes everywhere else seem so beautifully pleasant. And when we eventually move, we glide forward in synchronised togetherness — it’s not a race with one another, but a collective dance of grace.

Let’s work pleasantly within life’s parameters. Rather than giving undue importance to reaching a destination, let’s reach out to one another. Rather than argue, let’s agree. See how our mind changes, how life changes. If you’re in a boat, mid-ocean, would you rock it? That’s what our world is: a love-boat in the ocean of the universe. Let’s ensure that everybody has the smoothest, safest, sweetest passage ever. Let’s enjoy the ride.