It Matters to Him
Why does it matter? Why does it matter if we are rude, selfish, unkind and unforgiving? What difference does it make if we place our needs and desires above those of others? Why should we attempt at patience, generosity and kindness when we constantly find the world to be cruel and artificial? Why does any of it matter anyway?
A disciple once told her Master that she was not happy. She said it quite casually, almost in passing, and added that it did not really matter anyway. But her Master stopped her immediately and said firmly, “It matters to me.” He went on to tell her that if there was anything in his power that he could do to make her happy, he would gladly do it.
When our happiness matters so much to the Master, and when he does everything in his power to make us happy, shouldn’t we also strive to make him happy? Shouldn’t he at least matter to us? We all know deep down what makes the Master happy – when we fulfil our spiritual and worldly duties with an attitude of gratitude and love.
We can draw inspiration from the story of a young married girl who once confessed to her Master that her responsibilities – to her children, elderly parents, and physically ailing in-laws – were becoming burdensome. She was completely underappreciated, physically and mentally exhausted. “But,” she added, “I know that it’s important to you that I care for them all, so I will do it.” Her Master smiled at her.
How wonderful it would be to have our Master be happy with us. The truth is, the Master was so happy with this particular disciple because she was acting as his instrument. The Lord needed to take care of all these ailing souls, and in her he found a true soldier – someone who did the Master’s work to the best of her ability, with true love and surrender.
When we bring happiness to others, we are acting as his instrument -because the happiness of his disciples matters to him. When we smile at one another, he smiles on us. When we embrace one another, he embraces us. When we spread love, he bestows on us the most precious gift of all – the gift of his love. So we should smile often, embrace tenderly and love always – because it all matters to him.
The truth is, his happiness should permeate our every thought and action – because our happiness permeates his every thought and action. Someone once cleverly asked the Master if he could describe himself in one word. The Master paused for a second and replied: “sevadar.” He is the ultimate sevadar. He serves tirelessly day in and day out. He travels continuously from country to country, city to city, and sangat to sangat, just to bring smiles to our faces and uplift our spirits. When our happiness matters so much to him, how could we possibly ignore what makes him happy?
So the next time we are impolite or rude, we should apologize, because it matters to him. Or the next time we think of speaking ill of anyone, we should hold our tongues, because that would make him proud. If we have hurt anyone, perhaps we should attempt to make things right, because that would please him. We should practise patience and generosity, because that would make him smile. We should serve our guests with hospitality and love, just as we would serve him. And even if we are exhausted and half asleep, we should still sit for our meditation, because most of all, that is what matters to him.