In a village there were two friends. They would walk home together, every day from work. One was a sincere spiritual man and the other was an average man. The sincere friend asked, “Have you heard the news?! There is a seminar about the true man of God. I will not eat or drink until I meet the Guru!” He was certain about learning more about the Guru. The average friend wasn’t as determined, “Maybe I’ll just accompany you…”

The average friend told his wife, “Today I am going to attend a seminar about the Satguru with my friend.” His wife gave him some money, “Please give this as a donation. We don’t have much but we HAVE to give some offering to the Guru. The average man told his wife, “Don’t worry, the Guru will definitely get this offering.”

That day, after work the two friends met and went on their way to the seminar. On the way they came to a fork in the road. As they stood and wondered which way to go, a woman temptress tried to convince them.

“Don’t go that way. Come this way with me. We can go and gamble with your money. It will be fun! C’mon, you can buy me some alcohol.” The sincere friend was determined, “I don’t know about you but I’m going to the seminar!” The average friend wasn’t sure. The woman asked him, “Do you want to have fun? Here, have this cigarette. Your wife will never find out you’re with me! Let’s go! There’s so much we could do together!”

The average friend went with the woman and wasted all the money his wife had entrusted him for the Satguru on cigarettes, alcohol and gambling. When he came home, he lied to his wife. She asked him, “What was it like at the seminar?” He said, ” Oh yeah, the Guru… yeah, ya know it was really… blissful.. yeah…” She asked her husband, “Did you give our offering?” “What offering… oh the money! Right… sure, I did. Our family will be blessed with all kinds of good fortune…”

The sincere friend, on the other hand, had spent his time at the seminar and met devoted saintly people. He listened to the words of the Satguru who spoke with the voice of a gentle breeze. He prayed to the Satguru, ” Please accept me as your student and bless and guide me. Please receive my offering and use it to help the needy.” His spiritual fire was ignited and every day after that encounter, he spent some time each evening fanning the fire within him through contemplation and reading the words of the Guru.

His friend would spend his evenings in pursuit of material things, wine, woman and gambling. He lied to his wife and he wasted their savings. He was just slowly drifting along with the lazy, warm, comfortable current of the world.

One fine day, the average friend remarked, “You always spend your time listening to the Guru’s teaching and doing good deeds. I lie to my wife and I waste all my time not doing anything good. But neither of our lives have changed. You’re still the same you and I’m still the same me. So what does it matter if we do good or bad. Our lives are just the same anyway.” The sincere friend said, “Let us ask the Heavens this question! I’m sure we will get the right answer. We’ll meet back here, under this great old tree with our insights, if any.”

The next day, the average friend arrived first and while waiting, started doodling in the dirt with a stick. Sticking out of the dirt he found a GOLD PIECE! Frantically digging further, he found a jar and thought, “My lucky day!! Maybe there’s more gold in this jar!” But inside the jar there was just coal, “That’s disappointing… Well, at least I found one gold piece. I have a little GOOD LUCK!”

Just then, he spotted his friend in the distance. He was limping and his serene face was contorted in pain. Restraining the agony, he explained, “I was walking back from the Spiritual Centre and I slipped and my foot stepped right on a big thorn. It gouged into my foot… what BAD LUCK I have…”

Both of them were confused. They didn’t understand this answer from the Heavens. The one who did bad was rewarded with gold and the one who did good was rewarded with an injury. They both then agreed to ask the Satguru by writing to him for an explanation.

That night each received answers in separate dreams. The sincere friend had asked before falling asleep, “Guru ji, what is the message the Heavens is trying to tell us?”

Guru ji explained with deep wisdom, “In a past life, you were a thief and stole from many people. You told many lies and did many corrupt things. In this life, you were destined to be killed by a spike… BUT, in this life you have made so much spiritual progress, you have used your resources well and you have cleansed your being and heart with your spiritual studies. This has helped you burn your past live karma. Because of your search for truth, your karma has been reduced so much that instead of dying, all you received was a foot injury.”

The average man received his answer too. Guru ji described his past life.

“You were virtuous. You shared with others. Once you gave a holy man a piece of gold. Because of your devotion and sincerity, that gold coin multiplied many times. You were meant to come to a whole jar full of gold but because of your deeds in the present life the gold turned to coal. You received only that one gold piece you first gave.”

Both men were humbled and bowed down to the Guru in gratitude.

We all have karma. There is no good luck or bad luck. Everything has a price. Every action has a reaction. What we get in life is the result of our past actions. Do not waste your precious life.

Can you identify the following Spiritual Laws in this story?
1) The Law Of Danda
2) The Law of Dharma
3) The Law of Ethics
4) The Law of Creativity