The Slap of Joy

Once upon a time a Guru was sitting in the congregation and many people came and took his blessings. He was silent most of the time, but when people came and asked him something, he said, “Oh, you’re very lucky!”

So a student came to Gurudev and said, “I failed in my exam”. Gurudev said, “You’re very lucky!” The next person said, “Gurudev, I lost my job”, and the Guru said, “You’re very lucky!” The third person came and said, “None of my friends are talking to me, everybody has become my enemy”, and Gurudev said, “You’re very lucky!” Another gentleman came and said, “My wife left me”, and the Guru said, “You’re very lucky!”

So, everyone kept saying their problems and each time Gurudev said, “You’re very lucky!” And strangely, something would suddenly happen to them and they would all feel happy and walk away.

Then one gentleman came and said, “Gurudev, I am so lucky I have you in my life. I am so grateful” and Gurudev got annoyed and gave him one slap! This man, with tears in his eyes and gratitude started dancing.

There was an onlooker who was sitting there, and he got so confused! He said, “I can’t believe what I am seeing. Someone who says “I am so grateful” gets a slap, and all those who cry to him, he tells them that they are very lucky!”

Usually, people don’t have the guts to ask the Guru, so they ask the other devotees there: “Tell me, what is happening? You have been here for a long time. I can’t make out this Guru’s behavior. It’s completely illogical”. As usual, devotees have their own interpretation. So, one of the senior most devotee said, “Yes, it is perfect what he has said”. He continued, “Gurudev said to the student that he is very lucky because he is now studying more”.

I remember a very senior gentleman narrated an incident to me at the Bangalore Ashram. He said that in 1942 there was only one surgeon in Bangalore, and this surgeon had failed his MBBS seven times! This gentleman (who failed seven times) became very well known for performing the perfect appendicitis operation. Later on he also got an international honor; but he had failed seven times! So if someone has failed in an exam, they study more.

For the gentleman who said, “I lost my job”, the senior devotee said, "Yes, Gurudev said the right thing. When you are in a job, you don’t think about yourself. Now that you have lost your job, you have the time to sit back and think about who you are, and what you want. You have some time to think about your life!" In life to get time itself is a big luck. Getting time to reflect on oneself, on the divine, on the truth, on ‘Who I am?’ is a big luck.

The other gentleman whose wife ran away, Gurudev said, “You’re very lucky!” So far he was living so insensitively. He did not bother to see what his wife needs. When someone goes away, then you realize their value. Then you think about your mistakes. You become aware of the things you could have done better. So he is very lucky to become sensitive to women’s issues. Why would a woman run away if you were attending to her welfare, to her emotional, mental and physical needs? There is something that you have done wrong. She made you aware that you have to be sensitive towards women. He understood this and so he was also happy.

So like this, in every step of life, when you lose something you become so miserable, but every misery wakes you up. The first step is to realize that everything is misery. Life is miserable, life has sorrow. When you start realizing that life is miserable, then viveka (discrimination) and vairagya (dispassion) dawns in you. When dispassion dawns in your life, you are the luckiest! So first you realize that it is all misery. Then, from ‘It is all misery’, you move to the next step which is, ‘Where is the misery? Wake up! Life is blissful’. This is where the Guru comes into play. In the Guru’s presence, misery vanishes and life becomes blissful. Life is bliss, life is a game, this understanding dawns.

Now why did the last person get a slap?

The senior devotee said, “Gurudev slapped him because he was centered in the 'I' - “I am grateful”. When he gave him a slap he realized, live as though you don’t exist.” Usually people exist and don’t live. To exist without living is ignorance. Living as though you don’t exist is enlightenment. That one slap woke him up.

What is there to be grateful about? Even to be grateful there needs to be two. The Master said, “Hey, wake up. You and I are not two. There’s only one! There’s no you, and there’s no I”. There is only one (divinity) that exists, and this is all a drama, a leela (game). When you realize this, misery vanishes from life. This was the message the last gentleman got, and when he got that slap, he was so happy!

Every challenge is an opportunity and every opportunity is a step towards the divinity. That’s the moral of the story.