We always get what we need

During one of the satsangs, I sat there pondering over life in general. A young girl came by and asked if she could sit next to me. I nodded lost in my own thoughts.

She decided to introduce herself as Sarita and then asked "Are you finding me to be too weird/scary?" I looked at her and found that her whole body seemed to appear to have burned. I shook my head to say "No." She continued on, "Well, you see I have a skin disease, which has caused me to be like this. I am undergoing a treatment at this time."

On the way to the dining area after the satsang, she continued on with her story. "My father was a drunk and has been clean for the last one year or so. My mother is a laborer - breaks bricks. My twin brother works at a factory and my younger brother is studying IT. My mother earns about 300Rs. per day and my father Rs. 1000 if they have a job that is. And so to make ends meet, mom ends up having to take loans from neighbors."

"Akka,"she continued on, "you see I fell in love with a guy and our parents got us married when I was 17. While I have had this skin disease since I was 4, it increased and spread to my face. This is when my husband decided to leave me to marry someone else. But now I am on the road to recovery with this current treatment. Once I am fine, I will start working again."

We had reached the dining hall and she winded up by saying "I hope akka that I can get married again soon." I nodded and bid adieu with a pranam. What I noticed in this girl was that throughout she was smiling. It reminded me how important it is to smile and be happy in all situations.

As I sat down to have dinner, I found this 18-19 year old kid, being helped to sit on a chair by his father. This kid then looked at me and said something. All I could understand from what he said was "Akka," and so I decided to ignore him. His father rushed back and said, "I am sorry if my son bothered you during the meal." "No problem." I said and continued with my meal. But there was this urge that day to know what was wrong with the kid as he looked perfectly healthy from the outside.

So, after dinner, I went back to the kid and his father and asked. The father told me that his son, Ezhumalai, had met with an accident about 2 years back and since then, every time he stands or tries to move he feels that he will fall. "I have to be around all the time as he does not trust anyone else."

Listening to all this, as I returned home from the satsang, I felt greatful for whatever I have in my life and acknowledged the fact from the satsang that "We always get what we need."