Three Stories to Help You Find Happiness in Your Life

by James Perry

How do we define happiness or put it into words? How do we get more of it? Each of the following stories, though simple on the surface, holds a secret key to help us gain greater happiness in our lives. They are adapted from The Book of ECK Parables, Volumes 1, 2 and 4, respectively, by Harold Klemp, the spiritual leader of Eckankar.

#1 - The Overcrowded House

Chester Karrass in Give and Take tells the story of a poor Russian woman who sought out the advice of a wise man living near her village. Her family lived in a small hut with barely enough room for the woman, her husband and their two children. Then hard times forced her in-laws to move in with them. Cramped and crowded, they were very unhappy living together.

“I know how to solve your problem so you can find happiness,” the sage told her after thinking about her situation. “How wonderful,” she replied.

“Do you have a cow?” the sage asked. “Yes,” she answered, wondering where his question was leading. “Good,” he replied. “Take the cow into the house to live with you and come back to see me in a week.”

Perplexed, she first balked at such strange advice. How could crowding the house even more than it already was make them happier or solve their problems? Yet the sage had a proven track record for solving difficult problems, so she followed his advice and brought the cow into the house.

Every time the cow moved, everyone else had to move as well. They had to jump over the furniture and climb all over each other and the cow to get to another part of the room. The cow was a pain, no one felt like eating with it around, nor could anyone sleep from its incessant mooing. Then there was the smell... The sage's advice made absolutely no sense and the woman couldn't wait for the week to pass for her next appointment.

After she explained how much worse off they were with the cow in the house, the sage asked, “Do you have any chickens?” With great hesitation, suspecting what was coming next, she replied, “Yes.” “Good,” said the sage. “Take the chickens into the house with the cow and come back to see me in a week.”

At this point, the woman was ready to tell the sage where he could put the cow and the chickens (and maybe her in-laws), but managed to restrain herself. Instead, she went back home and brought the chickens into the house along with the cow.

The cow constantly turned around in the house and frightened the chickens. They squawked and flew all over the place. Feathers were everywhere, the cow mooed, the in-laws fought, her husband cursed and her children cried and complained. The house was a wreck, and she was at her wits end.

At the end of the week, she returned to the wise man and gave it to him with both barrels. “That's it! I've had enough!” she screamed. “The in-laws are bad enough, but with the cow and chickens, life is unbearable.”

“All right,” the sage said, after studying her carefully. “If it will make you any happier, take the chickens out of the house.”

She did, and everything got better. After another week, she returned to the sage. “You were right,” she told the sage. “We are much happier. The house is less crowded without the chickens. They don't cackle all day or get feathers in the food.” Delighted at her progress, the sage told her to go home and take the cow out as well.

With the chickens and cow out of the house, their lives were now pure joy. The house no longer seemed crowded or dirty and everyone had more room and freedom. With this newfound perspective born of hardship and experience, they thought better of their circumstances and of each other. From that day forward, they lived happier than before because of their change in attitude born of gratitude.

#2 - Abraham Lincoln Settles a Debt

Long before Abraham Lincoln became president, he practiced law as a country lawyer. One day a wealthy man came to him with a case. A poor man owed the wealthy man $2.50, which the rich man wanted paid back in full. After listening to the details of the case, Lincoln advised the rich man to drop the case and forgive the debt.

Incensed, the rich man flatly rejected Lincoln 's advice and told Lincoln he would take the case elsewhere if Lincoln refused to represent him. Considering the alternatives, Lincoln finally agreed to take on the case under one condition: the rich man had to pay him $10.00 up front. The man gladly complied.

The laws back then favored creditors at the expense of debtors and Lincoln knew the poor man—who could ill afford to pay the debt—sailed in swift rapids towards the falls. The day before the court date, Lincoln found the poor man and gave him half of the $10.00 his client had given Lincoln and instructed the debtor to appear in court to repay the $2.50 debt. The poor man gladly followed Lincoln 's instructions, the judge dismissed the case and everyone went home pleased with the outcome.

Each man felt happy because each felt that he had won. Although the rich man lost or paid out $10.00 net, he was happy because he had forced the poor man into court to repay his $2.50 debt (had he only known). He won his case on a point of principle, which obviously was more important to him than the money he lost. He also had the satisfaction of believing that he had taught the poor man a valuable lesson.

The poor man was happy. The harsh possibility of a debtor's reputation and fate that hung over his head like the Sword of Damocles before, now was gone. And he came out $2.50 ahead—a nice sum of money in those days, especially for a poor man.

Finally, Lincoln was happy. Because of his wisdom and compassion, Lincoln solved his case and satisfied his client. He saved the poor man from certain legal retribution (if not bankruptcy) and improved the poor man's financial situation. Lincoln earned $5.00 for himself and laid the groundwork for a successful legal career and an eventual run for the presidency, where he became one of our greatest presidents.

So often, our karmic relationships with others create unhappiness in our lives. In settling the poor man's debt, Lincoln found a way to resolve the karma between these two men without entangling himself as well, and demonstrated what a profound difference one person can make in the lives of others. We too can create more happiness by resolving our karmic debts with others, which brings spiritual freedom.

#3 - The Giant Utensils of Heaven and Hell

After a long and good life, a wise man's life finally came to an end. Yet before he could claim his place in heaven, the powers that be determined that he needed to spend time in hell to pay off a debt for an infraction he had committed in life.

When he arrived, hell was the exact opposite of what he expected. Rather than fire and brimstone, it reminded him of a modern, well-kept estate. The furniture and décor were plush, the temperature was just right, and the tables were laden with abundant delights. Hell was so nice, cozy and comfortable, he wondered why they called this place “hell.” He soon found out.

The law of hell required that all its residents eat their food with giant utensils six-feet long. Even though the food was abundant and the forks and knives were easy to load with food, the residents found it almost impossible to get the food to their mouths. Just as Tantalus found it impossible to eat or drink in Hades as the fruit trees and water always receded from his grasp, the residents of hell were perpetually starved and thirsty as well. They never could figure out how to feed themselves adequately. Emaciated and unhappy, their lives were indeed a miserable hell.

With time, the wise man repaid his debt and his sentence in hell ended. The powers that be now escorted the wise man to heaven. When he arrived, he wondered if they had taken a U-turn and had returned him to hell instead. Heaven looked identical to hell—the same plush accommodations, the same warm, cozy and comfortable atmosphere, and the same tables spread for a feast. Then with dread and trepidation, he spotted the same six-foot utensils and was certain he was back in hell.

But as he scoped out the place more closely, he noticed one major difference between the residents of heaven and residents of hell. Instead of looking like skeletons, the residents of heaven were full, plump and healthy looking. In striking contrast to the residents of hell, they laughed and enjoyed being with each other. They were obviously very happy together.

Wondering what made the residents of heaven different from the residents of hell, he soon found out. The gong sounded for dinner, and the residents gathered for their feast. Instead of futilely and selfishly trying to feed only themselves like the residents of hell did, after loading their utensils with food, the residents of heaven reached out with their six-foot utensils and fed each other.

The teachings of Eckankar show us that our spiritual purpose and mission in life is to learn to love—to love God, to love others, and to love ourselves. This love always expresses itself through service—our reaching out as Co-workers with God to give spiritual food to others, which nourishes us in return. Fulfilling our personal spiritual mission means figuring out what it is we love most doing, then doing what we most love as a service—which is heaven.

Soul by Its very nature is a happy entity. As these stories show, we can realize greater happiness by being grateful for our experiences, by developing positive, loving relationships and by serving life, rather than ourselves. Our own lives are stories too; spiritual lessons are around us all the time, found in our own everyday experiences. Within each challenge or dilemma lies a spiritual gift, if we but open our eyes to what Spirit is trying to teach us. When we are in harmony with Divine Spirit, we are happy.

© 2007, James Perry. James Perry is a member of the Eckankar Clergy. To learn more about Eckankar, visit www.eckankar.org or call 800-Love-God. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer and not necessarily those of Eckankar or Harold Klemp, the spiritual leader of Eckankar.

Printed in the February/March 2007 issue of Innerchange