{"id":4349,"date":"2013-07-13T01:55:23","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4349"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:55:23","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:55:23","slug":"17-cheerfulness-vol-02-words-of-long-ago-volume-02","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/02-works-of-the-mother\/01-cwmce\/02-words-of-long-ago-volume-02\/17-cheerfulness-vol-02-words-of-long-ago-volume-02","title":{"rendered":"-17_Cheerfulness.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n

\n
\nThree <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n


\nCheerfulness
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\n                      O<\/font><\/span>ne afternoon, in a large town in a rainy country, I saw seven or
\neight vehicles full of children. That morning, they had been taken into the
\ncountry to play in the fields, but the bad weather had made them return home early
\nin the rain. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>And
\nyet they were singing, laughing and waving merrily to the passers-by. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>They had kept their cheerfulness in this
\ngloomy weather. If one of them had felt sad, the songs of the others would have
\ncheered him. And for the people hurrying by, who heard the children’s laughter,
\nit seemed that the sky had brightened for a moment. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Amir was a prince of Khorasan<\/span>,
\nand he lived in a grand style. When he set out to war, three hundred camels
\nwould carry the pots and pans and plates for his kitchen. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>One
\nday he was taken prisoner by the Caliph Isma<\/span>\u00ef<\/span>l. But misfortune does not exempt a man from hunger. So when Amir
\nsaw his chief cook nearby, he asked the good man to prepare him a meal. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\ncook had one piece of meat left which he put in a pot on the fire. Then he went
\nto find some vegetables to give a little taste to the stew. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>A
\npassing dog sniffed at the meat and put his nose in the pot. Then, feeling the
\nheat of the fire, he drew back sharply. But he was so clumsy that the pot stuck
\non his head and he ran off in a panic, unable to get rid of it. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Amir burst out laughing at the sight. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWhy,\u201d demanded the officer on guard, \u201care you
\nlaughing when you have every reason to be sad?\u201d <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 184<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span>But
\nAmir showed him the dog streaking away from the camp and said, \u201cI am laughing
\nat the thought that this very morning it took three hundred camels to transport
\nmy kitchen and now one dog is enough to carry it all away!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Amir took pleasure in being cheerful though he
\ntook no trouble to bring cheerfulness to others. However, we should give him
\ncredit for his light-heartedness. If he was able to joke in the midst of such
\nserious difficulties, is it not in our power to smile in the face of lesser
\nworries?  <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>In
\nPersia, there was a woman who used to sell honey. She had a very pleasant
\nmanner, and customers thronged around her stall. And the poet who tells her
\nstory declares that even if she had sold poison, people would still have bought
\nit from her as if it were honey. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>A
\nsour-tempered man saw what a great profit she made from her sweet wares and
\ndecided to take up the same trade. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>So
\nhe set up a stall, but behind the rows of honey-pots his face was like vinegar.
\nAll those who came near were sullenly treated. And so everyone passed by,
\nleaving him his wares. \u201cNot even a fly ventured on his honey,\u201d says the poet.
\nBy evening he had still earned nothing. A woman noticed him and said to her
\nhusband, \u201cA bitter face makes bitter honey.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Did
\nthe woman who sold honey smile only to attract customers? Let us rather hope
\nthat her cheerfulness came from her good nature. We are not in this world only
\nto buy or sell; we should be here as comrades one to another. The good woman’s
\ncustomers felt that she was something more than a honey-seller: she was a
\ncheerful citizen of the world. \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>In
\nthe next story I shall tell you, the joyous spirit bubbles <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 185<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

up like water from a beautiful spring. The person it tells of had
\nnothing to do with the desire for custom or gain: he was the famed and glorious
\nRama. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Rama slew Ravana the ten-headed and
\ntwenty-armed demon-king. I have already told you the beginning of the story. It
\nhad been the most terrible of all battles. Thousands of monkeys and bears had
\nbeen killed in the service of Rama, and the corpses of their demon enemies were
\npiled one upon another. Their king lay lifeless on the ground. But how hard it
\nhad been to fell him! Time and again Rama had cut off his ten heads and his
\ntwenty arms, but they all grew back immediately so that he had to cut them off
\nmany times over; they were so numerous that at last it seemed as if the sky was
\nraining down arms and heads. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>When the terrible war was ended the monkeys
\nand bears who had been slain were brought back to life, and all stood like a
\ngreat army awaiting orders. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Glorious Rama whose manner remained simple and
\ncalm after the victory, looked kindly upon his faithful friends. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Then Vibhishan, who was to succeed Ravana on
\nthe throne, had a chariot-load of jewels and rich robes brought for the
\nwarriors who had fought so valiantly. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cListen, friend Vibhishan,\u201d said Rama, \u201crise
\nhigh in the air and scatter your gifts before the army.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nking did as he was told, and from his chariot in midair strewed glittering
\njewels and brightly coloured<\/span> robes. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The
\nmonkeys and bears tumbled over one another as they rushed to seize the falling
\ntreasures. It was a merry scuffle. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>And
\nRama laughed heartily and his wife, the lady Sita, and his brother Lakshman
\nlaughed with him. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>For
\nthose who are courageous know how to laugh like this. There is nothing more
\ncordial than a good and hearty cheerfulness. And the word \u2018cordial\u2019 has the
\nsame origin as the word \u2018courage\u2019. In difficult moments, the cheerfulness that
\ncomes from a cordial spirit is truly a kind of courage. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Surely it is not necessary to be always
\nlaughing; but liveli<\/span>– <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 186<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

ness, serenity, good humour<\/span> are never
\nout of place. And how helpful they are! With them the mother makes the home
\nhappy for her children; the nurse hastens the recovery of her patient; the
\nmaster lightens the task of his servants; the workman inspires the goodwill of
\nhis comrades; the traveller helps his companions on their hard journey; the
\ncitizen fosters hope in the hearts of his countrymen. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>And
\nyou, happy boys and girls, is there anything your cheerfulness cannot
\naccomplish? <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

\nPage – 187<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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