What’s inside?

Gifts are exciting to receive and even more exciting to unwrap. Why? Because there is an element of suspense. Because we are excited to know what’s inside.

There is a popular story of a man walking in a crowd holding a cup of hot coffee. Another man rushing by, bumped into him and his coffee got spilt. Why did the coffee get spilt? Was it because the other man bumped into him? Or because he was not holding the cup right? Or because it was too hot to handle? Or because the cup was too full? No!!! It was because he had COFFEE in his cup! Had there been tea in it, tea would have been spilt. Had it been juice; juice would have gotten spilt. So what mattered was … what was in the cup!

Let’s go over the incident again. The guy in a hurry, jostled through the crowd; bumped into the man holding the coffee; did not bother to pause or apologise for his misbehaviour. The man whose coffee got spilt could have hurled an abuse or two in the direction of the guy in a hurry. Or, he could have cursed under his breath and chucked the coffee cup into the bin. Or he could have calmly wiped the mess so that no one would slip on it. Or he could run after the guy, catch him by the collar and make him a dollar! Again, whatever was inside the man, would have come out.

For us humans, as in the case of gifts, what is important is, what is inside. It is our character that is important. Sri Sathya Sai Baba would distribute sweets on special occasions as prasadam. One day, he gave individually packed pieces of Burfi to many devotees. It struck me that the prasadam was special because Baba had touched it. But really speaking, he had touched the wrapper, not the Burfi inside. But everyone ate the Burfi and the wrappers went into the bin. Because what’s inside was important!

In a school concert, I remember a scene where stones were to be pelted on one of the characters. Our teacher taught us to make ‘stones’ that would not hurt while pelting, by crushing old newspapers into balls and painting them in shades of grey. What was inside was important!

We eat fruits and vegetables for the vitamins in them. We consume dals and milk for their protein content. We have cereals for the carbs in them. We seek the company of good natured or helpful people … because what is inside them, is what appeals! 

If qualities like politeness, helpfulness and empathy are a part of our innate character, they spill out when we ‘bump’ into people. If we’re full of ego, anger, etc. that’s what spills out. Character cannot be enacted. It is a part of our persona. Discipline is the hallmark of intelligent living. Devotion is a way of life. We behave in accordance with the qualities that are instilled in us. It’s important to build a better persona, slowly and steadily, starting from within.

On a higher level, let’s look within and identify the in-dweller in our body. There is a spark of the Divine in what is merely the gross body. Once this spark leaves the body, it is reduced to a corpse. Human birth is an opportunity to recognise that the soul within, is a part of the Supreme soul. Humans alone, have the opportunity to recognise the Shiva-tatwa in us, before being reduced to Shava-tatwa! Carpe diem!

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This piece has been published in Indian Express on 30.11.2025 https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/timeless-tales-what-truly-spills-out-when-life-bumps-into-us-10394593/