Once, a wealthy man requested an old scholar to wean his son away from his bad habits.
The scholar took the youth for a stroll through a garden. Stopping suddenly he asked the boy to pull out a tiny plant growing there. The youth held the plant between his thumb and forefinger and pulled it out. The old man then asked him to pull out a slightly bigger plant. The youth pulled hard and the plant came out, roots and all.
"Now pull out that one," said the old man pointing to a bush. The boy had to use all his strength to pull it out.
"Now take this one out," said the old man, indicating a guava tree. The youth grasped the trunk and tried to pull it out. But it would not budge.
"I – It's impossible," said the boy, panting with the effort.
"So it is with bad habits," said the sage. "When they are young it is easy to pull them out but when they take hold they cannot be uprooted."
The session with the old man changed the boy's life.
Often we believe that we are young and should enjoy life now to the max, "spiritual life can wait till I'm older, let me experience this world now, then later meditation.."
This sounds very nice, yet whilst trying to enjoy the facilities of this world, fulfilling our material desires, we acquire certain mindsets and conditionings contrary to our pure nature. Contact with materialism brings material attachments and conditionings. "I am just acting according to my nature!" Yes, but our conditioned nature not our pure spiritual nature. How we think determines how we will talk. As we talk, so we will act. As we act, so we form habits. From our habits, we develop our character, and from our character is born our destiny. All throughout our life we are planting seeds and strong roots are forming that will affect not just this short life but our future existence also. And who knows how long this life will last? For one who is born, death is certain. But when? Could be today, could be tomorrow.
However, if we take advantage of our human intelligence we can instead sow the seeds of purity and cultivate a forest of pure love and selfless service. We can become an expert gardener and protect our forest from the weeds of envy, lust, greed, pride and anger as well as the deep roots of material illusion. Why delay tasting the sweet fruits of spiritual life! Instead let us daily water these pure seeds with the life-giving nectar of
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna
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