Sayed was proud of his horse for two reasons - firstly the animal was drop-dead handsome and treat to the eyes of the beholder. Secondly it gave his master decent earnings by pulling his cargo cart. A horse those days was akin to owning an expensive car today and thus a matter of socio-economic status.
One day the horse went missing. Sayed went mad searching the length and the breadth of the village.It was feared that a notorious bunch of thieves from a village, some thirty miles away, had done this job. Now they were known to be too clever to get caught. No way was it possible for Sayed to get his horse back.Villagers got together and came to his house to offer sympathy and condolence.On reaching there they saw Sayed kneeling down, in prayer.They heard him murmur - Shukare Khuda ( thankyou God ) - at the end of his prayer. In utter shock they asked him why he should thank God after such a big loss.He smiled and said in Persian,
" Shukare khuda mi kunnam
ki bemuseebte giraftaram
na ki bemusiate"
(paraphrased)
I am grateful to Allah that I am trapped in misery today and not in sin.
We may not be sure of our previous karma but consciously have we done anything wrong in this life ?
How many of us can claim that our life is free of wilful acts of breach of propriety ?
My father had told me this story by Sheikh Saadi, the celebrated Persian poet, and whenever I am in a dilemma whether life meted out a deal fair or foul to me, I recount the same and it helps me regain my equillibrium in no time.
One day the horse went missing. Sayed went mad searching the length and the breadth of the village.It was feared that a notorious bunch of thieves from a village, some thirty miles away, had done this job. Now they were known to be too clever to get caught. No way was it possible for Sayed to get his horse back.Villagers got together and came to his house to offer sympathy and condolence.On reaching there they saw Sayed kneeling down, in prayer.They heard him murmur - Shukare Khuda ( thankyou God ) - at the end of his prayer. In utter shock they asked him why he should thank God after such a big loss.He smiled and said in Persian,
" Shukare khuda mi kunnam
ki bemuseebte giraftaram
na ki bemusiate"
(paraphrased)
I am grateful to Allah that I am trapped in misery today and not in sin.
We may not be sure of our previous karma but consciously have we done anything wrong in this life ?
How many of us can claim that our life is free of wilful acts of breach of propriety ?
My father had told me this story by Sheikh Saadi, the celebrated Persian poet, and whenever I am in a dilemma whether life meted out a deal fair or foul to me, I recount the same and it helps me regain my equillibrium in no time.
