Joy - A Choice

There was a man in South India who wanted to persue spiritual path. Pursuing spiritual path means it's an age-old habit, firstly they will go off into the forest looking for a cave to sit and meditate. So the man went off into the jungle, but of course you position yourself close to a village because you need food. So he sat there and started his mantra, whenever he became hungry he came to the village begged for some food and went back. As night fell he noticed there was a fox, Both his front legs were severed in some trap or something it's gone but still he was well fed and healthy. Nature is not kind to any kind of incapability, if you lose your legs you lose your life. But this fox has lost its legs but well-fed and healthy. He was surprised but then he ignored and focused on his meditation. As night fell he heard the roar of a lion, the growls of a lion coming, he forgot about his meditation and climbed the tree.

He sat there and to his amazement a full grown male lion came with a piece of meat, dropped it in front of the fox and went away, the fox had it's dinner. He couldn't believe this, a crippled fox is fed by a ferocious lion. "Hallaluiha! This is a miracle! This is a message from the divine, what is it? What is it? What is it?" He was wondering, wondering, wondering and the next day the lion again came with a piece of meat and dropped it in front of the fox and went away. Now he thought for sure this is God sending a message to me. What is it? Then he interpreted it in his own way. He said even a crippled fox in this forest is being fed by a lion, you fool what are you going looking for food, just sit here and it will come and fall in your mouth. So he simply sat, one day, two days, three days, without food by seventh day he was groaning between life and death. Another Yogi was passing this way, he heard sounds of a man dying, he came and asked 'what happened to you why are you in this condition?' he said 'oh Yogi please tell me that divine message came to me and I went by the message and I became like this'. The yogi asked what happened. He said look there, there's a crippled fox, every day that fox is fed by a ferocious lion, is this not God's message to me, is this not divine message. The Yogi looked at him and said definitely this is a divine message but why is it that you choose to be like a crippled fox and not like a generous lion. 

It is just about every situation - every situation in human life, it's just about the choice you make. Every choice takes it this way or that way, so every human being has this it, doesn't matter what point of life we are in, even today it doesn't matter whether you are at the peak of your life or you're in the dumps, if this moment if you choose, the existence gives you the freedom, you can sit here joyfully nobody can stop it. You are going to die tomorrow morning you can sit here joyfully nobody can stop it. This freedom, the existence has offered to all of us. This is the greatest compassion, either you make use of it by making right choices or you choose to be frustrated, miserable or depressed. People think it's their right to be depressed. Nobody has any right to be depressed because you're affecting the world with misery, but you have a right to be joyful, nobody can stop you. It is just a choice that's all it is, whether you suffer this life or you make this a joyful experience is absolutely by choice and only by choice.