Turbulance and patience

Buddha and a few of his disciples were living in a hermitage in a forest. One day Buddha asked one of his disciples to fetch some drinking water from the near by lake. Disciple went to the lake and saw that a herd of elephants were bathing and playing in the lake and they just left. Water was very muddy and red in color.

 

So he decided to walk towards another stream further up. Buddha saw this and told him not to go to another lake, but just wait for a few munutes and fetch water from the same lake. So he waited for another ten minutes and went there. All the mud had settled and the water was clear and fresh. So he brought the water to Buddha.

 

Then Buddha told: "Dear disciples, we have to learn a lesson from this incident. Do not do anything in a hurry. When there is turbulence, wait for sometime and when everything settles down, go on with your action. This is true with our mind also. When your mind is agitated  and anger and confusion rules your mind, wait for sometime and when everything settles down like the mud in the lake, mind becomes clear and then you take your decision and act accordingly."

 

It is appropriate to remember John Qunicy Adams's words : "Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish".

 

Also, Sri Raama Krishna Paramahamsa tells us to chant bhagavath naamam for a few minutes to calm the agitated mind! NO REMEDY IS BETTER THAN NAAMASANKEERTHANAM.