Walked to my birthplace Day 73 - 240 Kms done!

Ah! Finally covered 240 Km today on my birthday …… finishing this journey with a story close to my heart … a story that has guided me through life ….

There lived a man called Bhiku who was a devout follower of lord Shiva. Bhiku was a poor man and worked very hard for his living. He always cursed his misfortune and remained depressed most of the time. Bhiku lived in a small hut little away from the town. Road from the town to his house passed through a small forest. Bhiku walked alone on this road at the end of each day cursing his misfortune …

One day as he walked down the forest road, lord Shiva and lady Parvati were traveling through the heaven. Looking down at Bhiku, lady Parvati said, “O lord, this is not fair. He is such an ardent devotee and you are not doing anything to help him.” Lord Shiva sighed, “I would love to, but I can’t”. Lady Parvati said, “O mighty one, how can you say you can’t – I don’t believe this”. Lord Shiva being the evolved one knew better than to argue with his wife. He said, “Alright, tell me how I can help him.” Lady Parvati said, “He is walking down this lonely road. You can leave huge brick of gold in his path just ahead so that he can live happily after that.” “Ok. Is that all? “Yes”. Lord Shiva ensured that there was a huge gold brick just ahead on the road where bhiku walked….

Bhiku was busy cursing his misfortune as usual. Suddenly a thought came in his mind, “Right now I am quite fit – so I am at least able to earn my living – what would happen if I become physically disabled?” Bhiku stood there thinking about what would be the worst handicap. Then he decided that life would be worst if he became blind! “Luck is not on my side” Bhiku muttered “so let me practice it while I am on this lonely road, at least someone will not knock me down and if I really become blind I would be ok if I practice everyday.” Bhiku pulled out his handkerchief and tied it around his eyes to blindfold himself and resumed his walk … He came to the place where Lord had left the huge gold brick and stumbled over the brick. “this is what I was scared of, even on my daily path, walking will be difficult” Bhiku walked passed cursing his misfortune. Lord Shiva sighed and looked at his wife. She understood in an instant what he meant ….

This story talks about self-fulfilling prophecy. Whether god helps you or not, you always orient yourself based on your belief system and meet your prophecy. While you can admire your prophecy, you could have missed a fortune on the way if your prophecy is negative. Nobody has ever achieved anything by cynicism – keep hoping positive and you will find your gold!!