One of the basic learning of life, that we are exposed to, and so was I, is – ‘if your deeds are good, the results shall always be good’. Reinforcements coming from parents, teachers, elders, religious scriptures, and even movies (maybe till the decade of 80s; it’s changed since. Today the protagonist, no longer the hero, gets away with all the evil deeds, unlike the earlier movies where God had to do justice before the movie ended), during different phases of life.
However, there are many times, when we feel that a particular person’s behavior towards us is strange or uncalled for. That is when we start pondering – ‘have I harmed him?’, ‘what have I done to him?’, ‘why is he behaving like this with me?’ and finally under the stress, we might feel – ‘so be it. What can I do? Wait till I get a chance. I will show him.
This is a trap. The moment we adopt a negative disposition towards the person, we find his behavior all the more negative. Finally, the behavior spirals downward leading to unpleasant exchanges or unpleasant behavior; fairly mature people in the same situation may lead to completely avoiding each other.
This happened to me many times in life. I used to ponder over it for hours and contemplate different reactions – confront, show logic, avoid, refrain from reacting, etc. I started my search for a solution through various streams of knowledge. Tried relating it to – what our scriptures say, tried relating it to my planetary positions – if my planets didn’t call for such phases, then helplessly, attributed it to the planets of the other person. But this was a compromise, this was acceptance. I was looking out for a solution.
Plenty of years passed by, I had started working and was evolving as a professional, when, by a stroke of luck, happened to listen to religious discourse. The pious person, on the microphone, narrated a small little story :
In ancient India, there was a King, who was very proud of the peace and happiness, that prevailed in his kingdom. He used to move out in the evenings with his minister and complete entourage and feast his eyes on his prosperous subjects and his prosperous kingdom. He was known for his benevolence and love for his subjects. He couldn’t bear seeing any of his subjects in trouble.
On a particular evening, while moving around his kingdom, he happened to cast his eyes on a small little sandalwood shop. He asked his mahout to stop for a few moments. Seated on his elephant, he kept looking at the shop for some time and then called for his minister. Dutifully, his minister stepped forward. He looked down at his minister and said, “This small little shop is spoiling the whole getup of this beautiful marketplace. I want it removed from here, in the next three days”. While the minister bowed his head, he was perplexed. He just could not understand, what had come over their benevolent King? How could a kind-hearted person be so insensitive towards a poor man? After all, that shop must be feeding a family. It must be the sole source of earning for at least 3 or 4 people. The Minister decided to investigate further.
The next day morning, the minister, in the garb of a common man, reached the same sandalwood shop. As he approached the shopkeeper, he noticed, it was a small shop, possibly not doing well for quite a few days. The furniture was fractured, the shop keepers clothes were not in the best of conditions. As he inched closer, like a customer, he heard the shopkeeper mutter something, silently under his grey mustache. The shopkeeper must have been in his early 40s, however, the wrinkled face and lifeless moist eyes made him look like 60. The minister wanted to hear what the shopkeeper was muttering. He passed on a smile and picked up a few pieces of wood as if to examine it closely. He could clearly hear the words now –“ If the King dies, my sandalwood flies. If the King dies, my sandalwood flies”. Meaning: the day the King dies, people would buy all his sandalwood for the King’s pyre.
The minister quickly drew his conclusions and made up his mind. He went up to the shopkeeper, revealed his true identity, and explained the purpose of his visit. The shopkeeper’s face lost, even the little bit color, it reflected till some time back. His hands started trembling and helplessly looked at the minister. That’s when the minister advised him to stop saying “If the King dies, my sandalwood flies” and start saying – “Long live the King, my business takes off on wings”. The shopkeeper agreed.
After 3 days, when the King rode past the same market, on his elephant, in all his pomp and glory, the shop caught his eyes. He raised his hand. The entourage stopped abruptly. He recollected his order to his minister. Looking at his minister, he said, “what happened? I thought I had asked you to have this shop removed?”. The minister, with his head, bowed in respect said, “I’m sorry Your Majesty. Some urgent matters kept me occupied. I shall have it done today.” The King kept looking at the shop, while he heard his minister. He looked around once again and then said, “On second thoughts, I feel, it’s not that bad. After all, it must be a source of income for a family. Just let be”.
The Minister smiled and bowed his head in reverence.
As the story ended, I felt, I had my answer. I could relate it to a dialogue between Rajesh Khanna (as Anand) and Amitabh Bachchan (as his Babumoshai) in the unforgetful 1971 movie -‘Anand’, where Anand tells his friend that ‘every human body is like a transmitter that continuously sends and receives signals. Every signal that you send out is received by the other body and the other person starts mirroring your feelings.’
There are times when even an otherwise good person may be behaving in an irrational manner. This could be because of the vibes you have sent to him or some other factors in his life that have led to disharmony in his otherwise harmonious thought process.
The only solution to that is the ‘Power of vibes’. Do not be shortsighted. Do not get affected. Think positive about the person. Talk positively about the person. Remember the times, he has been good to you. Give him the benefit of doubt. Think good about him, possibly you are helping him at the moment he needs it the most. The ‘vibe receiver’ in his body, will catch all these signals and you shall see an inexplicable change in his behavior towards you.
Truly a Noble prize worth theory, if researched – as said by ‘Anand’.