The Secrets of a Very Happy Old Man !

A Story for Children: The secrets of a very happy old man

The following story was submitted to “Writing for Children Competition” in Spring 2009.

They came from all over the world to learn from him

Once upon a time, there lived a very happy old man in the slums of Mumbai, a city in India formerly known as Bombay. His beard was long and white – nobody knew how old he was. His skin was wrinkled, his back bent. In spite of his old age, he could still move around agilely without the help of a cane. He lived in a small weather-beaten shed. The roof leaked when rain fell. It felt like an oven during a hot day in summer, and the coldness in winter readily found its way in. The man slept, cooked, ate and worked all in that one-room shed. He was a shoe repairer. He was very proud that he could turn tired, worn shoes into almost like new, and that the poor owners needed not go bare feet. As he worked, he would burst into song. When he got tired, he would stand up, stretch himself and do a little dance. He was poor, but he was very happy with where he was, what he had, and who he was.

The old man had many neighbours around him. These people saw him working away in his shed everyday, heard his cheerful songs and watched him dance in total bliss. They were utterly amazed that he always looked so happy. He broke into laughter easily when spoken to, but what stood out most in him were his ever smiling eyes - his eyes glittered with the shine that happiness brings. When he talked to a person, that person could feel that he was the only one in the whole universe that this happy old man focused on, and wanted to be with.

Over time, his reputation traveled afar, as more people saw and spoke about him and soon he became well-known outside his neighbourhood, outside Mumbai, outside his province, outside his country, until people from all over the world knew about this unusual happy man in Mumbai. People started to come from all over the world to meet him to learn the secret of his happiness because they want to be happy in their own lives too. Parents came to learn how to teach their children to be happy. Individuals came to learn how to live a happier and more fulfilling life for themselves. Couples came to learn how to improve their relationship. Government officials and company executives came to learn how to get the best out of their employees.

He charged each of them only a few rupees for his service. “I’m a pencil in God’s hands. People come here to learn the words of God. I didn’t create those words. So I can only charge people for the price of using this pencil”, said he.

The advice he gave was basically the same for each of them.

[Now, can you figure out what his advice was?]

For the parents, he said, “For your children to be truly happy, they need to learn to love themselves so that they do not overly depend on the love shown by you towards them – they need to learn to judge their own behavior from moment to moment primarily based on their own intent and their effort only.”

For the individuals, he said, “For you to live a happier and more fulfilling life, you need to learn to love yourselves so that you do not overly depend on the love shown by others towards you – you need to learn to judge your own behavior from moment to moment primarily based on your intent and your effort only.”

For the couples, he said, “To improve your relationship, you need to learn to love yourselves so that you do not overly depend on the love shown by your spouse towards you – you need to learn to judge your own behavior from moment to moment primarily based on your intent and your effort only.”

For the government officials and company executives, he said, “To get the best out of your employees, they need to be truly happy. For them to be truly happy, they need to learn to love themselves so that they do not overly depend on the approval shown by their co-workers and their management towards them – they need to learn to judge their own behavior from moment to moment primarily based on their own intent and effort only.”

Parents, individuals, couples, government officials and company executives all left happily because each of them got what they came for.

Some of them returned for more

Among those who left, some of them returned to meet him to learn more about the secret of his happiness. Some parents came to learn more on how to teach their children to be happy. Individuals came to learn more on how to live a happier and more fulfilling life for themselves. Couples came to learn more on how to improve their relationship. Government officials and company executives came to learn more on how to get the best out of their employees.

He still charged each of them only a few rupees for his service.

Like last time, the advice he gave was basically the same for each of them. However, this time, he felt that the timing was right for him to raise their awareness about the overriding importance and usefulness of the clarity of one's purpose of existence.

[Now, can you figure out what his advice was this time?]

For the parents, he said, “For your children to be truly happy, besides learning to judge their own behavior from moment to moment primarily based on their own intent and their effort only, they need to live to fulfill their purpose of existence - they need to live to do or become what they believe they are meant to do or become.”

For the individuals, he said, “For you to live a happier and more fulfilling life, besides learning to judge your own behavior from moment to moment primarily based on your own intent and their effort only, you need to live to fulfill your purpose of existence – you need to live to do or become what you believe you are meant to do or become.”

For the couples, he said, “To further improve your relationship, besides learning to judge your own behavior from moment to moment primarily based on your own intent and your effort only, you need to live to fulfill your purpose of existence - you need to live to do or become what you believe you are meant to do or become.”

For the government officials and company executives, he said, “To get the best out of your employees, they need to be truly happy. For them to be truly happy, besides learning to judge their own behavior from moment to moment primarily based on their own intent and their effort only, they need to live to fulfill their purpose of existence - they need to live to do or become what they believe they are meant to do or become.”

When asked about how to find one’s purpose of existence, he said, “If you’ve problem finding the purpose of your existence, imagine that you’ve finally reached the end of your life. How would you want the world to remember you? … Start with the word ‘he’ or ‘she’. For examples, ‘She was a good mother’ or ‘He was a great firefighter’ or ‘He used well what he was given’.”

Parents, individuals, couples, government officials and company executives all left happily because each of them got what they came for.

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