Pit of Joy

A young man prayed for joy daily. That night in a sweet dream, an old man appeared in his vision and asked to see him in a precise location. Skeptical and excited at the same, the young man went to see the old man.

"So you are looking for joy?"

The factual question dispelled the young man's doubts.

"Yes sir. Can you help me?"

The old man gave him a mantra. "Recite this once after your morning bath" and sent him away before he could ask another question.

That morning's bath was exciting for the young man for he knew not what awaited him. As he chanted the mantra, a large pit formed in front of him out of the earth. Not knowing how, he gasped. Appearing dark and bottomless, the pit was an invitation. The man knew he had to jump, but as he had never seen before, fear gripped him. Torn between two forces, he suffered more. The pit vanished moments after it had come. Desperately, he repeated his chants, but the pit remained hidden.

To his relief, the pit appeared the next day as he chanted, but so did his fear. He consoled himself that he could evoke the pit as he wished. As days passed, his suffering grew manifold as he had the keys to a door he wasn't willing to open. He reached out to the old man again the next day.

The old man knew it all without a word being spoken. He chanted the mantra, invoked the pit and pushed the young man into the pit before he realized it all. A string of moments that counted to seconds, minutes and several hours vanished but there was no sign of the young man. The old man reached out into the pit and pulled the young man out.

He was in tears from his joy. His eyes spoke of gratification and gratitude.

"Oh sir, to think I was hesitating all these days..."

The old man said plainly - "The mantra will not work any more."

Horrified, the young man begged to let him have access to the chant.

"It's work is done. It was created to give you a taste of what you should reach out for. You should walk the path from here. With all my blessing, go and live your live like you did inside that pit. And take my word for it, you can live that way every moment that passes before your eye."