A STUDENT TEACHES A TEACHER

By: Prof. Joginder S. Puri

IN my pursuit for answers, I sat at the feet of many learned teachers and masters most of whom had more education, age, and experience than I. One of the most important questions that I asked them was: “How do you achieve lasting happiness?” It's a serious question that you would normally ask only a saint or a very experienced person. An adult would not pose such a question to a younger person. But I did. That is an unforgettable event in my life. While I was a Professor at Cambridge College, Rawalpindi, I was trying to find answers to many questions. In my search for happiness, I had tried sources such as religion, politics, and career but happiness remained an enigma. One day it occurred to me that I should perhaps ask my students. I thought, “Let me find out from these students, who come from such wealthy and educated families whether they have any clue of how to achieve real happiness!” 

So I announced an essay competition. Its title was “The Happiest Moment of My life.” We announced a grand prize for the winner, with the hope that the incentive would inspire the students to put their best effort into their writings. A panel of three professors would be the judges and the final award would be given during the annual function of the college. More than two hundred students attempted this essay. The record level of participation surprised all the teaching staff. As we, the judges, read through the essays, our admiration for participation began to turn into a total disappointment with the quality of the writings. We spent hundreds of hours reading through the hurriedly, sloppily, thoughtlessly put together handwritten essays. Each day we would read the essays with the hope of finding something well written, interesting, and substantive. Everyone thought that the topic “The Happiest Moment of My Life” would be conducive to good writing, but the submissions proved us wrong. It perplexed me that there was no substance in most of the essays. A majority of writers focused on the frivolous: “The happiest moment of my life was when...my brother was married or...when my sister got engaged or...when my father got promoted or...when we went for that vacation, etc.” 

My fellow judges and I wondered at the lack of quality, variety, and novelty in the writings. The essays made us wonder if there was any trace of happiness in the lives of our students. It was a sorry state of affairs. We went through the essays in a random order and had almost lost any hope of finding anything worth reading. It happened that there wouldn't be a single essay deserving an award at the college annual function. While we were going through the disappointing pile of papers, a colleague commented, “It appears that we have one essay with a somewhat different perspective. Hmmm...finally some substance in this one! And, in fact, there is a brief note attached to the essays. That note is addressed to you, Professor Puri.” 

The brief note read: “Professor Puri, I wonder why you chose this topic. Who knows? May be you are lacking happiness in your life. If you are truly searching for lasting happiness, my essay shows the way.” 

It shocked me that a student, whom I did not even know, had guessed my true motive in selecting that topic. How did she know, I wondered. It raised my curiosity to read the essay. 

It had an interesting beginning: “I wish the topic was 'our unhappiest moment.' There would be a lot to write about. There are many unhappy moments in our lives. Every person has tons of unhappiness! The nation and the world are wrapped up in gloom...” 

It was a lengthy essay. Without going into much detail, I will summarise only the highlights here. She further wrote, “We try to find happiness in materialistic things, such as gathering wealth, finding a job, buying a car, achieving success, etc. That's where I looked for happiness. Many a times I found it too, but only short-lived happiness, only moments of happiness, followed by much longer periods of unhappiness. Each time I satisfied my craving for something, it gave birth to a bigger, insatiable thirst for something else. The novelty would fade soon, making me start looking for more 'moments of happiness.'” 

I quickly read through more details and examples that followed the introduction. The writer mentioned that she finally found a way to turn “moments” of happiness into “lifelong” happiness. In an incredibly confident statement, she stated, “Now I am a happy individual, enjoying my happiness not only on certain moments but every moment of my life.” As I read these words, I began skimming through the essay as if I had entered a competition for rapid reading. What brought about the change in her life, I wanted to know. She further wrote, “Then, I came across a saint to whom I disclosed my state of mind—of fleeting moments of happiness from materialistic things. Unlike many other religious people, he said, 'Enjoy these material pleasures...they are needed too...be thankful for these moments of happiness, but make sure you also tap into the source of lasting happiness. The fountainhead of everlasting state of happiness is God. Enjoy His gifts but make sure you get connected and stay connected with the Giver for ever. 

“The saint's approach made perfect sense. And then the saint blessed me with the realisation of God. It worked for me. It can work for you too.” She concluded with the Biblical quotation, “Ask and you shall get; seek and you will find.” 

Another note at the bottom read: “Professor, are you really interested finding true happiness?” 

I was stunned after reading the essay. The judges were unanimous that this was the winner. I felt happy for the student who had not only won the competition, but more importantly, had found lasting happiness. It did address the issue of “how to find lasting happiness” but I was wondering whether it would be appropriate to ask this student if she could introduce me to that enlightened saint. I needed help, but was hesitant to ask. 

Help is available, but often we fail to ask because ego comes in the way. Ego is one of the five passions (lust, anger, greed, attachment, and ego) that everyone has. Unfortunately, as we grow older, richer, stronger, smarter, our ego grows too—unless we have learnt to control it. Great Master Baba Gurbachan Singh used to say, “Lust, anger, greed, attachment, and ego are like five horses. There is no need to renounce them. Just harness them properly, through the bridle of Self-realisation.” 

At that time, however, I was so smitten by my ego that I would not ask my student to introduce me to her Master. If we have to buy gold, we do not hesitate going to a goldsmith, whether he is young or old; if we have to learn chemistry, we do not hesitate seeking the help of a chemistry teacher, whether he is a Hindu or a Christian; if we are lost on the way, we do not hesitate to ask someone for directions, but it is an irony that when it comes to spiritual help, we think it is wrong to ask. We feel that we either do not need help or we can help ourselves. For a long time, I had thought that I could help myself but a meeting with Baba Avtar Singh Ji changed my conviction. It wouldn't have been possible to get connected with the real source of happiness without getting help from the benevolent Satguru. Many decades ago I had read a philosopher who said, “God does NOT help those who help themselves.” I did not agree with him then, but now I realise that in the matters of spirituality, the statement is true. The Satguru helped me. He can help you too. Don't hesitate to ask.

(Excerpted from Purifying Experiences, pp. 38-43,      Sant Nirankari Mandal,       Delhi-110009 (India))

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