CHAPTER IX
LIFE IS A BLESSING
The joy of living. Zarathushtra gives a joyful orientation to bodily life. He preaches a robust faith in living. The world may not come up to the individual's expectations, yet he has to live in such a wise as to get maximum good out of life. Man finds that sometimes life glides peacefully like the moon that sails across the heavens; on other occasions it runs a rough and ruffled course. Zarathushtra teaches man to adjust himself to the diverse ways of life. Man has to accept life on its own terms, take it as he finds it, make as much of it as he can, rejoice in it, and glory in it. He has to be a radiating centre of cheer and happiness to all with whom he comes in contact. It is the duty of every one to be the bearer of joy and light in gloomy and dark homes.
Man has an unquenchable thirst for joy, pleasure, and happiness. He longs for them in this world as he prays that he should get them in the next. In this world of joy and sorrow, Providence has provided joy in abundance for men and women in all stages of their lives to make their lives livable.
The rich and poor, high and low alike can feast their eyes on the wealth of natural beauty and the marvels of natural phenomena. It is superstition that converts lovable nature into a haunt of dreadful demons and ghosts, goblins and witches. Everything in nature wears a cheerful outlook and a bright hue. New life is blossoming all around and nature throbs with joy. The dawn has her charms reserved for those who rise early. The poor are astir at dawn and begin their day by enjoying the marvellous beauties of nature. They witness the rays of the rising sun driving away the morning mists. They have no diamonds to decorate their bodies, but there are no diamonds to compare with the sparkling beads of dew that they see on the leaves of the trees around them, when the virgin rays of the rising sun throw their lustre upon these. The poorest can inhale
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