Deepak Chopra - Fire in the Heart. A Spiritual Guide for Teens

A Spiritual Guide for Teens

DEEPAK CHOPRA

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
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Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Childrens Publishing Division
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Copyright 2004 by Deepak Chopra

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

SIMON & SCHUSTER BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Book design by OLanso Gabbidon

The text for this book is set in Berkeley Book.

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Chopra, Deepak.

Fire in the heart : a spiritual guide for teens / Deepak Chopra.1st ed.

p. cm.

Summary: By recounting his own experiences at age fifteen, Deepak Chopra, a noted Hindu author and physician, provides a blueprint for teens who are seeking their own spiritual paths.

ISBN 0-689-86216-4
ISBN 13: 978-0-689-86216-8
eISBN 13: 978-1-439-10803-1

1. Spiritual life. 2. Teenagers. [1. Spiritual life. 2. Hinduism.] I. Title.

BL624.C4767 2004

204.40835dc22

2003020174

To all the teenagers today and tomorrow upon whom the fate of the world depends

Every child that is born is proof that God has not yet given up on human beings.

Rabindranath Tagore

Day One
Do I Have a Soul?

Day Two
How Do Wishes Come True?

Day Three
What Is the Supreme Force in the Universe?

Day Four
How Can I Change the World?

A boy of fifteen is standing on a high green hill overlooking a valley. The valley is even more green and lush. It rolls away in wave after wave until the boy thinks it must never end.

Do you see? a voice says.

The boy turns, and next to him an old man is standing. The old man has a long white beard, and there is a gleam in his eye.

Yes, I see, the boy says, but his heart is beating so fast he can hardly express himself.

I want you to tell me what you see. I have to be sure you learned your lessons well, the old man says.

Ordinarily it would have broken the boys heart to say good-bye, because he thought the old man with the white beard would be with him forever.

I see that all this is mine, the boy says. I belong to the universe, and it belongs to me. He stretches his arms out as if he could own it allthe high hill, the green valley, the whole span of years ahead of him. Somehow, even though it sounds impossible, he does own it all.

Never forget this, the old man says. He presses his palms together and bows in respect, and the boy bowing even deeper, does the same.

And thats the last I saw of him. Because I was the boy on the hill, and in four short days, the only time we were together, the old man changed my life. Each day he answered a question that you are going to read about in this book:

Do I have a soul?

How do wishes come true?

What is the supreme force in the universe?

How can I change the world?

These are big questions, and when I was young and bursting with idealism, they were burning questions. I didnt just want to know the answersI had to know. There will always be burning questions in life, but these four remain special because they start a spark, and from that spark you will have a fire in your heart. That fire will make you live your life with excitement and passion.

The old man with the white beard showed me the spiritual side of life, where real passion and excitement come from. Im going to tell you about our days together, down to the smallest detail, until you are given what I was given. Then you can be transformed too, wherever you are. So before you begin, take a deep breath. This story could turn out to be yours.

When I was fifteen, my school was on a green hillside overlooking a valley even more green and lush. That part you already know. Every day I saw this beautiful view, except when the valley filled with billowing mist. On those mornings I walked to school with wisps of white curling around me, like walking through clouds. It was on just such a day, as I was making my way down the road, that a strangers voice called out.

Come, it said. Ive been waiting.

The voice seemed to come from another world. I imagine youve walked through fog and know how it creates a hush all around you, like a cocoon. Then my eye caught something. An old man was sitting under the biggest, most twisted tree by the side of the road.

Baba, Im on my way to school, I said. You must be waiting for someone else. I grew up in India, and baba is a term of respect that is given to someone who is considered a wise or holy man. We need to talk, he said in a most definite voice. I drew closer. Baba was sitting on the ground with his legs crossed. His beard was almost as white as the immaculate cotton pants and shirt that he wore.

Youre old enough to know things now, he said, not waiting for me to reply. And who else is going to tell you?

I felt a shiver run down my spine. What kind of things? I asked.

Invisible things. Secret things. Suddenly Baba laughed. How mysterious do I have to sound for you to listen?

I started to forget about school. All kinds of images were filling my mind. Sitting there in that cross-legged position, the old man looked like Buddha, who became enlightened sitting under a tree. His long white beard made Baba look wizardly, like Merlin, and the gleam in his eye told me unmistakably that he must be wise, like Socrates.

Im not asking much. Just give me one day, Baba coaxed.

Hesitantly I sat down beside him under the gnarled, twisted tree. The sun was burning the mist off now Between billows of fog we could glimpse the green tea plantations that filled the valley and surrounding hills.

This wont be like school, Baba said. Im going to teach you a new way to see and a new way to be.

He pointed at the scenery What do you see? I mean right now, at this very moment?

I see you and this tree, and I see the fog lifting from the valley, I said.

Baba leaned closer. Want to know what I see? I see your soul. He was catching my attention more and more. I see a world for you to possess. I see eternity Baba stopped, and I felt another shiver. Do you believe me? he asked.

I want to believe you, but I cant see any of those things, I said.

Of course not. It takes a new way of seeing, which is why I had to find you, he said. A few more years and you might be lost. The old ways are hard to break.

I was at that age when a dreamy inclination comes easily In fact, the reason I hadnt noticed Baba was that I had been dreaming my way to school. Now it seemed as if I had conjured up a vision out of the mist.

The old mans eyes sharpened. Im not talking about fantasies and pink clouds, he said. You need to know how reality works. Only whats real has power, even when it looks like magic.

Okay I said. I had the uncomfortable feeling that he had read my mind when I wondered if he was imaginary.

In reality there is eternity everywhere, said Baba. In reality your soul is here for you to experience it. Ill show you what I mean.

He reached down and took up a handful of sand from the side of the road. Feel it, he said. Whats it like?