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THE ART OF POSITIVE THINKING
great nuisance and the saint sought the seclusion of the forest. The multitude followed him there too. Someone would say, "I've no issue,"others sought wealth, still others came to him with different kinds of problems. The saint did not know what to do with them. In order to get rid of them at the earliest possible, he would write something on a piece of paper, make it into a pellet, and give it to the devotee, saying, “Keep it with you but take care not to open it even accidentally. And you must do what I tell you. Will you?" When the man promised to do what he was told, the saint said, "Look, if you want that your desire be fulfilled, for six months or one year, you must not tell a lie, also during this period, you must observe complete abstinence from sex; you must not steal, nor kill, nor indulge in hoarding things. Any lapse on your part would result in the failure of your mission. But if you remain steadfast, you are bound to succeed. Come to me then." After six or 12 months, the devotee's desire is fulfilled. He comes to pay his respects and says, "Sir, due to your grace my work was done." The saint would then laugh and say, "Do you know what brought you success? If you open the pellet I gave you, you will find written there, 'You're the master of your own fate; I've nothing to do with it. If you've succeeded, it is because of your own character. You lived a pure life, took pure food and conducted yourself nobly. So you are the creator of your own success."
What really works is the strength of one's own character. And as a man's character develops, the state of non-fear, of total freedom from fear gradually comes into being. The strength inherent in nonfear does wonders. Whatever a man does then is right. The greatest obstacle that a man faces in the fulfilment of his tasks is fear, mistrust, suspicion. When a man embarks upon a new venture, he is immediately assailed by doubts. "Will I succeed or not?" he says to himself, "If I fail, what will people say?" How can a man afflicted with fear and mistrust really succeed?
The great secret of success is the development of character. The three great pillars of character development are, non-violence, truth, and non-acquisitiveness.
If we want to enter the state of non-fear, we must develop in ourselves the spirit of non-violence, for non-violence is one aspect of non-fear. We must also pursue truth, for truth is another aspect of non-fear, and we must also cultivate non-acquisitiveness, for non-greed is still another aspect of non-fear. The man in whose heart these feelings abide is bound to enter the state of non-fear. Which does not mean that you must have no possessions whatsoever - no household can run without these. But we must clearly distinguish between the possession of articles and attachment to these articles. They are two different things. Similarly, some kind
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