The Man With No Enemies

One day a priest gave a wonderful sermon. Many, many people were in church to hear it. The priest said, "No matter how great you are and no matter how good you are, you will have enemies. In this world, there is not a single person who has no enemies." The priest added, "Some people have more enemies, while others have fewer enemies. But nobody can claim to have no enemies."

Everybody remained silent, because they felt it was absolutely true. Then one very old man stood up and said, "I have no enemies!"

Everybody began to criticise him. They said, "Do you have to tell such a lie even at your age?"

Even the priest started scolding the old man. "This is yet another sin you have committed! You have committed so many sins in this lifetime. By saying that you have no enemy, you have added yet one more sin at this ripe old age."

The old man said to the priest, "Father, how do you know that I am not telling you the truth?" He insisted, "I am telling the truth. I did have many, many enemies, but I have outlived all of them! They are all dead now. I have no enemies left."

Now everyone was silent. They all knew that the old man was telling the truth.

In the spiritual life, we have many enemies. Jealousy, insecurity, insincerity and impurity are all our enemies. If we live on earth for many years, then we get the golden opportunity to pray and meditate in order to conquer all of these enemies. Again, old age is not a guarantee. Even if we live a long life, we need to also pray and meditate in order to conquer our undivine qualities in this lifetime. In this way, old age can be a very special opportunity and a veritable blessing.

From:Sri Chinmoy,The mind-jungles and the heart-gardens of life, Agni Press, 2001
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