Contentment

By Dr. Bipin Nair

Many of us try to follow Amma's teachings in everything that we do. Sometimes, friends or colleagues who are curious about Amma but have not been fortunate enough to meet Her and experience the bliss of Her divine presence ask us about Amma. One question that I have been asked on numerous occasions is "What is the single most prominent change in your life since you met Amma?" My answer to that question is always, "The hope for contentment."

What is contentment? It is a state of peace, happiness and satisfaction. Contentment is not the fulfilment of what we want, but the realization of how much we already have. Someone once said that contentment is a pearl of great value and whoever procures it at the expense of 10,000 desires makes a happy purchase. In general, it is easy to feel contented when we are successful and when things are going our way. However, it is difficult to maintain a sense of contentment when we are faced with frustration, disappointment or adversity.

Amma says that we should learn to be content with what we have. We should not desire what we do not have or covet what others have. Amma also says that we should not think that someone else's pain is nothing compared to our own or that we would feel much better if only we were in someone else's shoes. We cannot exchange our troubles for someone else's because we would not be able to bear anyone else's pain.

The same is true of happiness. We cannot have more or less than what is intended for us. What we have is what is meant for us.

The most well-known expression of contentment in the Bible is what the apostle Paul said to his friends from his prison cell: "Not that I speak from want or need; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I can do all things through the Lord who strengthens me."

When our heart rests in God, we will feel contented. Contentment is possible only if we accept everything that enters our lives as coming from God who is too wise to err and too loving to cause a needless teardrop.

An anecdote captures the true spirit of contentment. One day a fisherman was lying on a beautiful beach with his fishing pole propped up in the sand and the solitary line cast out into the sparkling blue surf. He was enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun and the prospect of catching fish. At about that time, a businessman came walking down the beach trying to relieve some of the stress of his workday. He noticed the fisherman sitting on the beach and decided to find out why this fisherman was fishing instead of working harder to make a living for himself and his family.

"You aren't going to catch many fish that way," he said to the fisherman. "You should be working rather than lying on the beach."

The fisherman looked up at the businessman, smiled and replied, "And what would my reward be?"

"Well, you can buy bigger nets and catch more fish," answered the businessman.

"And then what would my reward be?" asked the fisherman, still smiling.

The businessman replied, "You will make money and be able to buy a boat which will then result in larger catches of fish."

"And then what would my reward be?" asked the fisherman again.

The businessman was beginning to get irritated with the fisherman's questions. "You can buy a bigger boat and hire some people to work for you."

"And then what would my reward be?" repeated the fisherman.

The businessman was getting angry. "Don't you understand? You can build a fleet of fishing boats and sail all over the world and let all your employees fish for you."

Once again, the fisherman asked "And then what would my reward be?"

The businessman turned red with rage and shouted at the fisherman, "You will become so rich that you will never have to work for your living again. You can spend all the rest of your life sitting on the beach, looking at the sunset. You won't have a care in the world!"

The fisherman, still smiling, looked up and said, "And what do you think I'm doing right now?"

Contentment is a difficult state to attain, but a necessary one. It is easy to get caught in the world's trap of working harder to earn more and more when we may already have what can provide us with the greatest possible happiness.

Contentment comes from having the right priorities: godliness instead of gain and a perspective of the eternal instead of the temporal. A college student once wrote, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." If we live our lives in accordance with this truth, we will surely become contented.

Amma tells the story of a rich landlord who was never satisfied; he always wanted more. Once, he heard about a wonderful chance to get more land. For $1,000, he could get all the land he could walk around in a day. But he had to make it back by sundown or forfeit his money. He rose early and set out. He walked on and on, his greed driving him just a little further as he saw new territory. Finally, he realised that he had to turn back and walk fast if he was to get back in time to claim the land. As the sun neared the horizon, he began to run. At long last, he saw the starting point. His heart was pounding rapidly and he was gasping for breath, but he gave it his all as he dashed towards the finish line. There, he collapsed, seconds before the sun disappeared below the horizon. A stream of blood poured out of his mouth and he lay dead. His servant took a spade and dug a grave. He made it just long enough and just wide enough and buried him. The title of the story was "How much land does a person need?" Six feet from head to heels!

(continued in March)