A shop selling Tibetan artefacts caught Nix’s eye as we walked past and she went in to have a look around. I followed as we had nowhere to be in particular. As Nix browsed I struck up a conversation with the owner whose name is Fyaaz. He had a very calm way and I enjoyed talking to him. Fyaaz is a Muslim and his family lives in Ladakh. All the handicrafts in his shop are from that region. Our conversation moved from the superficial level very quickly, and Nix soon came to join in. We spoke to him for over an hour about many things. I am so glad he is Muslim as it challenged my judgement that Muslims can be fervent and fixed in their views. He was perhaps the most peaceful person I’ve met in Tiruvannamalai (except Babaji on the mountain and Amma in Shiva Sahkti). This, in a nutshell, is his raison d’être:
“I will tell you my friend, to bring your fellow human beings closer to themselves, and to God, that is pure intention and it is the most important thing to me. If I think only of making a sale from people who walk through my door, this is not pure intention. If I am to make money today then that is God’s will. If I do not make any money then that is also God’s will. It is all good. Money is important, but it is not everything. I wish to bring peace into my life and others’ lives. Patience and love are the vehicles for me to do this. “
When I asked him about troublesome Western customers he may have had in his shop he replied:
“You see, it is like this. In life some people are blessings, some are lessons. Both are necessary.”
I liked him very much. Unexpected and rewarding meetings such as this are what I love about travelling. We left his shop without buying anything but all three of us had big smiles on our faces. As we walked outside I turned to read his shop signage – the shop was called “Blessings”. I couldn’t think of a more appropriate name.
“I will tell you my friend, to bring your fellow human beings closer to themselves, and to God, that is pure intention and it is the most important thing to me. If I think only of making a sale from people who walk through my door, this is not pure intention. If I am to make money today then that is God’s will. If I do not make any money then that is also God’s will. It is all good. Money is important, but it is not everything. I wish to bring peace into my life and others’ lives. Patience and love are the vehicles for me to do this. “
When I asked him about troublesome Western customers he may have had in his shop he replied:
“You see, it is like this. In life some people are blessings, some are lessons. Both are necessary.”
I liked him very much. Unexpected and rewarding meetings such as this are what I love about travelling. We left his shop without buying anything but all three of us had big smiles on our faces. As we walked outside I turned to read his shop signage – the shop was called “Blessings”. I couldn’t think of a more appropriate name.