The Greatest Wish of All
Once upon a time in a very small village in India, there lived a poor but pious woman who worshipped Lord Vishnu, the form of God that is responsible for maintaining all of creation. Each morning, before she did anything else, this dedicated woman would perform a puja, or ceremony, to the statue of him that she had in her house. She would offer flowers and fruits and incense before his form, and then bathe and dress the statue, chanting special hymns of love and gratitude. As she loved the Lord in this symbolic way, the woman’s heart would swell with joy and wonder.
One day, Vishnu, moved by this woman’s devotion, decided to appear before her. The woman was overcome with ecstasy at the miracle of seeing her beloved Lord, and tears of joy poured down her cheeks.
“You have pleased me with your diligent worship,” the Lord said to his devotee. “I have decided to reward you. Ask me to fulfill any wish you desire.”
The woman could hardly believe what she was hearing. What amazing good fortune! The Lord was offering her anything she wanted! Her mind began to race: “What should I ask for? Riches? Many healthy children? A large and luxurious home? What about lasting beauty?” She was so busy trying to decide what she wanted the most that she almost forgot about Vishnu standing right there in front of her.
“Please, Lord,” she implored in a trembling voice, “May I have some more time to think this over? I just can’t seem to make up my mind.”
“Take as much time as you like,” Vishnu replied compassionately, and with a parting smile, vanished.
The woman was beside herself with confusion. What should she do? How could she make such an important choice as this? She decided to ask her friends for their advice on what she should wish for, feeling that perhaps they would be more clear-minded about this than she was.
The next day, she called all of her friends together, and posed the question to them: What should her one wish be?
“Ask for money,” the first friend insisted. “If you have money, you can buy whatever else you want.”
“No, don’t ask for money,” the second friend disagreed. “What good is wealth if you don’t have your health? You won’t be able to enjoy the money. I tell you, you should ask for good health.”
“Health isn’t specific enough,” a third friend advised strongly. “Ask for a long life, not just a healthy one, and give the Lord a specific number of years.”
The devoted woman’s husband, who was not very devoted himself and lacked good understanding of spiritual matters, had been standing there listening to these suggestions. “All your friends are fools,” he declared in an irritated voice. “If this lord said you could ask for any boon you wanted, what about asking him for the boon of even more boons?”
All this time, the woman listened anxiously to everything her friends and her husband had to say, but still, none of their answers satisfied her.
Weeks and then months passed, and all the woman could think about was what to ask Vishnu. This dilemma consumed her awareness so completely that, without realizing it, she stopped worshipping the Lord in her morning ritual as she had done for her whole life. She stopped thinking about how much she loved him. She stopped chanting songs of praise to him. Instead, her mind was totally focused on what she wanted the Lord to give her. Soon, she began to lose all the joy she had possessed in her heart, and even her love for Vishnu began to evaporate.
Finally, a day came when the woman felt the last shred of inner contentment vanish from her soul. In a panic, she fell down on her knees and prayed fervently: “Oh, Lord Vishnu! Help me! You promised that you would grant me a great boon, and asked me what wish I wanted you to fulfill. But I cannot answer your question myself, and I can think about nothing else. Please, I beg you, tell me what to ask for!”
Before the woman could even finish her prayer, Lord Vishnu was manifested before her in all his splendor. “I thought you would never ask,” he said, smiling. “Here is the boon you should request from me: Ask to be happy in life no matter what you get”
The woman bowed her head, realizing the great wisdom in Lord Vishnu’s teaching. And then she did as he said: she asked for and received that gift. And she lived out each and every day of her life on this earth with great serenity and joy, for no matter what she ever got or didn’t get, she was always happy.
This is my highest wish for you—that like the woman in our story, you remember the source of happiness is always already inside you, offering you all you need to experience true joy in this and every moment.
SECRET NUMBER TWO The Purpose of Life Is for You to Grow into the Best Human Being You Can Be
My favorite place to go is where I’ve never been before.
ANONYMOUS
When I was nine years old, I fell in love with a doll I saw advertised on television. The TV said the doll cried real tears and even wet her diapers—it was appropriately named a Betsy-Wetsy Doll—and I was determined to have it. After much hinting on my part, my mother agreed to buy the doll for me, and so one Saturday morning we set off for the neighborhood toy store. I shook with excitement as I entered the shop and saw that it was overflowing with trains, Tinkertoys, teddy bears, every imaginable object of a child’s fantasy. I was sure I had arrived in heaven!
It didn’t take long for me to spot Betsy-Wetsy waiting for me on the shelf. I scooped her lovingly into my arms, promising to change her diapers as often as needed. As I walked down the aisle toward the cash register, a display of brightly colored boxes suddenly caught my eye. I stopped and gazed in wonder at the title on one of the boxes: ENCHANTED CASTLE—A PLACE WHERE ALL YOUR DREAMS CAN COME TRUE! it read in glowing gold and purple letters. Beneath the headline was a picture of the most magical castle I had ever seen. The castle looked like it was made of silver; it seemed to rise several stories from the ground, and was covered with towers and turrets and moats. There were tiny windows everywhere, and my imagination went wild: I pictured a starry-eyed princess who lived in luxury peering out from those windows, longing for a glimpse of her Prince Charming, who, naturally, was racing toward the castle on horseback to carry her off to a land where they would live happily ever after. I stood there transfixed, sure that destiny had brought me into the toy store so that I, too, could make all of my dreams come true. I had to have that castle.
My poor mother didn’t have a chance. I begged, I pleaded, I used every persuasive power that a seven year old has (which, in my case, was a considerable amount), and finally, she gave in. I walked out of the store with Betsy-Wetsy under one arm, and my Enchanted Castle under the other.
The car ride home was a blur. All I remember is racing up to my bedroom with my treasures, carefully taking them out of the paper bag, and placing them on my bed. I held Betsy in my arms for a minute before laying her down off to the side. After all, Betsy was just a doll, but in that box was an Enchanted Castle, and even at seven, I knew to choose magic over real life any day. Besides, I knew Betsy would understand. I carefully unwrapped the plastic covering from the large box, and opened the cardboard flaps. Slowly, with trembling hands, I reached into the depths of the box to lift my castle out of the darkness.
The Pieces of My Dreams
There was nothing there! I couldn’t feel a thing in the box. No towers jutting up, no flags flying on the roof. In fact, there was no roof at all! My heart pounded as my little hands reached deeper, and deeper, until finally, at the very bottom of the box, I could feel a pile of tiny objects. I spilled out the contents of