If we have love of God in our life, it really does not matter whether we don’t have anything or whether we have everything; we will be satisfied because of that love.- Radhanath Swami
A well-known speaker started off his public speech in a strange manner – by holding up a Rupee 1000 Note! Holding up the Note high in the air in one of his hands, he addressed the curious audience, “Who would like this Rupee 1000 Note?”
With great cheer almost all of them raised their hands & shouted, “I want it,” “I want it”!! He said, “Oh! That’s nice. Well, I am going to give this note to one of you… But, first let me do this.” Then, he crumpled the Note in his hands vigorously & now he showed the awkwardly wrinkled 1000 Rupee Note by holding up high in his hand and asked everyone, “Who still wants it?” The same hands went up in the air this time too. “Well”, he replied, “What if I do this?” and he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe like a mad man. It seemed he was deriving great pleasure in his unusual act. He picked up the note, by now all crumpled and dirty. It was so smudgy that no one could recognize it now as a 1000 Rupee Note. He said “Now, who still wants it?” Strangely, despite the condition of the note, all the hands were up in the air with equal cheer & spirit.
Now, he addressed his audience with great feeling. “My friends,” he said, “You have all learned a very valuable lesson today. No matter what I did to this valuable Note, all of you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth the same – Rs.1000/-.”
Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt of shame & insult by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come in our way in our dealings with people, especially loved ones. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your inherent value for God loves you just the way you are!
