Daydreaming

Heartfulness Story-36

Alfred was a renowned king in the history of England. He initiated many great ventures for the good of the people, due to which he is also called 'Alfred the Great.'

In the beginning, Alfred too led a luxurious life like any ordinary king, due to the tendency of blindly following the forefathers, whether good or bad. His life was just engrossed in eating, drinking and merriment.

Just as a hay straw lying in ocean rises and falls with the waves, he too didn't have any control over his life, and it was in complete chaos. There came a day when his lethargy proved beneficial for his enemies. Alfred's kingdom was taken over by others and he was dethroned.

Wandering here and there struggling to get by, Alfred had to work in a farmer's house. He was given the work of washing utensils, filling water, and other miscellaneous tasks in the kitchen. His work was supervised by the farmer's wife. Alfred had to spend his life in hiding.

One day the farmer's wife had to go out for some important work. She had left curry to cook on the burner and asked Alfred to keep an eye on it until she came back.

When she returned after completing her work, she saw Alfred was sitting idly and daydreaming, and the curry had burnt.

The woman said - "Foolish young man! It seems that you are under the influence of Alfred! You can never complete any given task with a concentrated mind. You too will roam around struggling, like him."

The poor woman! She did not know that she was talking to Alfred himself. But Alfred had realised his mistake. He was determined now - "Whatever work I will do, I will do it with full concentration. There is no use in building imaginary forts!"

Alfred once again reunited with the allies. He collected money, gathered his army, attacked the enemy, and reconquered London. This time he tied the whole of England in one thread and worked with renewed enthusiasm, understanding, and concentration, which led to the progress of the country.

One day, Alfred went back to that farmer's house and gave the woman a lot of money saying, "Respected madam, if you had not taught me the lesson that day, I would not have reached this position." His quality of respecting the good advice of even those below him is still praised.

Working with Concentration leads to a big result. I am grateful that through meditation, I can focus my mind on my highest goal.

The purpose of meditation is to regulate the mind to such stillness that even during the most awful situations in life, we can pause, analyze the situation and take action accordingly - Daaji

*Daaji (Shri Kamlesh ji Patel) is the current guide of the Heartfulness system of meditation.

Heartfulness | Daaji