163. House-Warming Ceremony

When Ramu's friend Suresh visited him, the two friends spoke about their other friends, during their conversation. 

"Do you know that Swaminathan has bought another house?" asked Suresh.

"Yes. He already has two houses, one at his native place and another in the city. Why does he need another house? He has a lot of money and he doesn't know what to do with that!"

"Did he invite you for the house-warming ceremony?"

"He did. He came to my house with his wife and invited us. However, I won't be attending the function."

"Why?"

"He has arranged for the function only to exhibit his wealth to every one. I have no interest in being a part of the show."

At that time, Ramu's wife Kamali, who came there, bringing them coffee, remarked, "When your friend came to our house with his wife and invited us, won't it be discourteous, if we don't attend the function?"

"You don't know about his background. There was a time, when he was penniless. If the two of us had coffee in a restaurant, I was the one to pay the bill. He didn't have any money. He was just surviving. Suddenly, his fortunes turned. He started a business from scratch and grew wealthy within a short period. Now, he is rolling in money. He wants to exhibit his wealth through this kind of shows. Why should I witness his ostentatious show?" said Ramu, in a bitter tone.

"Well. When he came here with his his wife, to invite us, he told his wife and me how you had helped him during the times he was struggling. He spoke admiringly of you. He seems to be holding you in high esteem. Considering that he came to our house with his wife and invited us, it won't look good, if we don't attend the function" said Kamali.

"Are you attending the function?" Ramu asked Suresh. 

"He has not yet invited me. I am not so close to him as you are. Maybe, he will send me the invitation by post. If I receive the invitation, I will attend" said Suresh,

The friends then conversed about other subjects. Suresh left after a while.

After Suresh had left, Kamali asked Ramu, "When are we going to buy a house?"

"Am I in a position to buy a house? That was one reason why I didn't want to attend Swaminathan's house-warming ceremony" said Ramu, in a tone of irritation. 

"I think we should attend the function. You are upset that when you have been unable to buy a house, your friend, who was poor, has bought three houses. If we harbour such thoughts, how can we expect good things to happen to us? We may end up being incapable of having any good thought at all. Let us attend the house-warming ceremony. Let us have a look at the house and feel happy that your friend owns such a nice house. Let us wish him whole-heartedly. I am not saying that by doing this, we will also be able to buy a house soon. But I feel that celebrating the success of your friend will make us feel good. Good thoughts make us feel good and feel happy. After all, feeling happy is the ultimate goal of life" said Kamali. 

Kamali looked at Ramu's face, wondering how he would take her suggestion. 

Ramu's face was expressionless for a few seconds. He then looked at Kamali with a smile and said, "Okay. We will attend the function."

Kamali was aware that Ramu accepted her suggestion only to satisfy her. But, she believed that in course of time, Ramu would change his attitude.

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 17
Bearing No Envy

Verse 163 (In Tamil)

aRan Akkam vENdAdhAn enbAn piRan Akkam
pENAdhu azhukkaRuppAn.

Meaning:

If a person envies others' good fortune, it will be deemed that he desires neither righteousness nor prosperity.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'grihapravesam' by the same author)

Verse 164 (Soon)
Verse 162