There is a Chinese story of an old farmer, who had a weak, ailing horse for ploughing his field. One day, the old horse ran away to the hills.
The farmer’s neighbours pursed their lips and offered their sympathy to him. “Such rotten luck!” they remarked.
“Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?” replied the farmer, philosophically.
A week later, the old horse returned, bringing along a herd of wild horses from the hills. This time, the neighbours swarmed around the farmer to congratulate him on his good luck.
“Good luck? Bad luck? Who can tell?” was his reply.
Sometime later, while trying to tame one of the wild horses, the farmer’s only son fell off its back and broke his leg.
Everyone thought that this was bad luck indeed.
“Bad luck? Good luck? I don’t know,” said the farmer.
A few weeks later, the king’s army marched into the village and conscripted every able-bodied young man living there. The farmer’s son, who was laid up with a broken leg, was let off, for he would be of no use to them.
Now what could this be — good luck or bad luck? Who can tell?
Something that seems to be bad on the surface may actually be good in disguise. And something that seems to be attractive and ‘lucky’ may actually be harmful to our best interests. The wise ones leave it to God to decide what is best for them. They know that all things turn out good for them. They know that all things turn out good for those who love God and accept His Will unconditionally.
Dada J P Vaswani is a humanitarian, philosopher, educator, acclaimed writer, powerful orator, messiah of ahimsa, and non-sectarian spiritual leader
