STORIES AS TOLD BY SWAMI RAMDAS -3

STORIES AS TOLD BY

SWAMI RAMDAS

 

64. GOD IS A MYSTERY

The world-famous Swami Ram Tirtha, when he

was lecturing to an American audience, spoke

ecstatically about God. He was a Mahatma of the

highest spiritual eminence, for he could behold his

own immortal Self in all beings and creatures, nay, he

was conscious that the whole universe was his own

expression and manifestation. He addressed the

audience in the following manner, "Myself in the form

of Ladies and Gentlemen!"

In the course of one of his lectures, he referred to

God as ‘He’ another time as ‘She’ and yet another

time as ‘It’. This way of talking about God nettled

some of his listeners, one of whom stood up and

asked, "Swamiji, you speak of God sometimes as He,

sometimes as She and sometimes as It. I should like to

know whether your God is a Mr., Mrs., or Miss?"

Without a moment's delay, the Swami shot out

the answer, "My God is neither Mr. nor Mrs. nor Miss

but a mystery."

Verily God is a mystery.

65. GOD IS MY PROTECTOR

A saint was once sleeping under a tree. A man

who bore ill-will towards him, was trying for some

time to capture him. He arrived there and raising his

sword shouted, "Lo! Get up and see. Now, you are

caught at last. Who is there to protect you now?"

The saint got up and in a fearless tone replied,

"God, my Master, is my protector and He is here

ready to help me." This unnerved the enemy.

Suddenly the saint wrested the sword from his

enemy's hands and asked, "Tell me now, who is going

to save you?"

The enemy finding the tables so suddenly turned

on him, trembled with fear and with dried-up lips,

said, "I am, indeed, helpless. There is none here to

protect me. Have mercy on me."

The saint threw away the sword and told him,

"Take your sword and from today learn from me the

way of kindness and mercy." The man was ashamed

of his conduct and fell at the saint's feet. From that

day he gave up his enmity and became an ardent

follower of the saint.

66. NATURE OF SAINTS

A saint was earning his bread by stitching

clothes. A person, who got a great quantity of cloth

prepared into garments by this saint, used to pay him

for the work in counterfeit coins. The saint was quietly

accepting the bad coins although he knew them to be

false. One day, the saint had to go out on some work,

leaving his shop in charge of the servant. At that time,

the patron came for getting the clothes made. And, as

usual, he offered some bad coins. These the servant

returned saying, "These are bad coins. Give me good

ones."

When the saint returned, his servant said, "A

certain man from the town had come to deceive me

by paying me counterfeit coins." The saint replied,

"Why did you not take the false coins? He is always

paying me such coins which I accept readily. I am

burying them all underground. If I do not accept them,

you know, other people will be cheated by him."

That is how saints serve society.

67. A MAHATMA'S MADNESS

In Brindavan there was a Mahatma whose name

was Narayanaswami. He was staying on the banks of

the Kusumsarovar. There also lived a Pujari, a

worshipper at the temple. One day, the Pujari saw

Narayanaswami running like a mad man from

Kusumsarovar towards a nearby hill. Having reached

the hill, Narayanaswami again ran back to the

Kusumsarovar. Once again, he ran towards the hill

and back. He did this several times. He was coming

and going, again and again. The Pujari was astounded

at the sight. Yet, he did not ask the Swami any

questions that day.

Next day also he saw Narayanaswami running as

on the previous day. That evening, the Pujari caught

the feet of the Swami and asked him,"Maharaj! Why

are you running like this?" Narayanaswami did not at

once choose to answer. But the Pujari persisted. In

the end, in consideration of the questioner's great

love for him, the Swamiji said, "Lo, brother, I am going

daily to Kusumsarovar to perform prayers. Whenever I

sit down, I see Lord Krishna standing at a distance.

Seeing His beautiful form, I become mad. I run to

catch Him, but He runs faster than me. When I reach

the hill, I find Him suddenly standing at my back. So,

to catch Him, again I run after Him. Like this, for

several days, I have been running after Him."

The Pujari asked him, "Maharaj! Do you not ask

Him for anything?"

The Swami said, "At first, I think of putting Him

some questions to clear my doubts. But the moment I

see Him, I forget all problems. His remembrance and

love alone remain. His beauty is so enchanting that I

cannot think of anything else. I simply go mad for

Him."

68. TRUE WEALTH AND CHARITY

Minal Devi, the famous Rajmata of Gujarat, was

a very generous-hearted queen. Once she went for

the Darshan of Lord Somnath, taking with her oneand-

quarter crores of rupees worth of gold. She

weighed herself in gold and distributed the wealth to

the poor. Jubilant over the merit acquired by the

queen-mother by this great act of charity, her son,

Raja Siddharaj, remitted the taxes payable by his

subjects, to the value of several lakhs of rupees.

Now, Minal Devi became so proud that she

believed nobody in the world could be as charitable as

herself. Bhagwan Somnath, who wanted to save His

devotee by teaching her a lesson, appeared before

her in a dream and told her, "A poor woman has come

to My shrine for Darshan. Go to her tomorrow and

beg of her to give you the merit she has amassed."

Roused from her sleep, Minal Devi fell to thinking

over the dream. Finally she came to the conclusion,

"This is nothing too much for me. I will give her money

and purchase her merit."

Accordingly, in the morning, the queen-mother

sent messengers to find out the woman devotee.

Soon they brought to her an old pilgrim,- a poor

Brahmin woman. The queen-mother told her, "Give

me your merit in exchange for whatever wealth you

wish to have."

The poor woman refused the offer without any

hesitation. The queen-mother was surprised and

asked her to describe the nature of the merit she had

acquired.

The Brahmin woman then narrated her story. She

said, "After leaving home, I wandered for many

months in hundreds of places as a mendicant. I have

at last reached this sacred place, Somnath. Yesterday

was a day of fasting for me. Today, a holy man gave

me a little food without salt. Half of this I offered to

Lord Somnath. Of the remaining, one-half I gave to a

guest and with the rest I broke my fast. What merit

have I gained? I am an insignificant creature. You are a

great soul who has acquired a lot of merit for yourself.

Your father, brother, husband and son are all Rajas

and princes. You have, according to reports,

performed Shankarji's Puja spending more than a

crore of rupees and your son has granted remission of

taxes amounting to many lakhs to commemorate the

great event. Having acquired so much merit, why do

you ask of me the little merit gained by me, a poor

woman? If you won't get angry I will tell you

something more."

On Minal Devi assuring her that she was free to

speak out her mind, the Brahmin woman began to

explain why she was not willing to exchange for

money the merit of her humble devotion. She said,

"All the material wealth in the world cannot yield the

peace and joy that pure love for the lotus feet of the

Lord gives to a true devotee, however poor, low and

humble the latter may be in the eyes of the world.

There is no wealth equal to devotion. So it is that I

refuse to part with even the smallest measure of the

merit of my Bhakti in exchange for your vast riches. It

is not enough to have money. More precious than

wealth is the right conduct and true unbargaining love

for God. So one should observe the rules of Dharma.

Similarly, it is not enough to have power. One should

also have patience combined with humility. One

should control one's mind by practising vows and

spiritual disciplines from youth. Even when one is in

extreme poverty, one should never refuse to give

alms. These rules, though seemingly insignificant, are

highly important and must be followed by all

devotees."

Hearing these words from the lips of the Brahmin

woman, Minal Devi's pride was destroyed. She

expressed her gratitude to the poor woman.

Shankarji, the Lord of Somnath, out of His infinite

grace, had sent the Brahmin woman to teach this

precious lesson to the queen-mother.

69. A HYPOCRITE AT PRAYER

This happened several years ago. In Bengal, on

the banks of the river Dwarka, there was a famous

place called Tarapeeth. A big zamindar once went to

this holy place for the worship of Tara Devi. Before

having the Darshan of the Mother, he thought he

should have a bath in the river and finish his routine

prayer and other religious rituals.

After bath, he sat down on the banks of the river

performing his prayer. Just at this time, the famous

Aghori saint Vamakshepa was taking his bath in the

river. He was watching the zamindar and in a few

minutes began to laugh and splash water on him. The

zamindar did not know that this was Mahatma

Vamakshepa. He was annoyed and wondered why he

was being disturbed like this while in his religious

practices. He bore it patiently for a few minutes. But,

the saint's pranks did not stop. So, getting wild, he

called out to the person splashing water and asked,

"Are you blind? Don't you see I am doing worship?

Why are you disturbing me?"

At this the saint laughed aloud and asked the

zamindar, "Are you performing prayers, or are you

buying a pair of shoes from Moor and Company of

Calcutta?" Saying this, Vamakshepa resumed

splashing water with greater force than ever before.

The zamindar was taken aback at this rude exposure

of his inner working of the mind. For, even though he

was outwardly praying, his mind was, all the time,

wandering in the streets of Calcutta, thinking of

purchasing shoes and that at the very firm mentioned

by the saint. He was utterly surprised and thought,

"He is not an ordinary person. He is a Mahatma. He

has read my mind correctly."

Completely humbled, the zamindar felt ashamed

of himself. After bowing with great respect to the

Mahatma, he said, "Yes, Maharaj, I was thinking of

what you said just now. Kindly bless me so that I may

control my mind better and think only of God in my

prayers."

Mahatma Vamakshepa smiled and said, "You

should not be a hypocrite, my son, even when you are

doing your spiritual practices."

70. BEGIN PRACTICE NOW

A wealthy Seth had opened an Annakshetra

(free feeding house) in his town. His feeling of charity,

however, was not pure. He was at heart a miser who

loved praise and fame. He only desired that society

should look upon him as a great philanthropist and

that people should praise him.

The Seth was also a wholesale dealer in corn.

From whatever was left in his granaries at the end of

the year, all that was rotten and bad-smelling was

sent to the Annakshetra for feeding the poor and

hungry. The Rotis made out of this rotten corn alone

were served to the hungry ones.

In due time, the Sethji's son got married and the

daughter-in-law came to stay in the house. She was

very good at heart and charitable by nature. She was

also gifted with great wisdom and courage. Seeing the

miserly ways of her father-in-law, she felt pain and

resolved to mend them. She took upon herself the

task of preparing Sethji's food in the house.

The first day itself, she got some flour of the

rotten corn from the Annakshetra and prepared a Roti

out of it. When Sethji sat for his meals, along with

other items of food, the daughter-in-law also served

him this Roti in his plate. Seeing the thick black Roti,

Sethji thought it was some new preparation specially

made for him by his daughter-in-law and started

eating it with great eagerness. To his great surprise,

he found it was made of some rotten stuff and quite

uneatable. Spitting it out, the Seth cried out, "Oh

daughter, there is plenty of good flour in the house.

Wherefrom did you get this bad flour of which this

Roti is made? What have you done?"

The daughter-in-law replied, "O father, on my

arrival here, I saw that in your Annakshetra this kind

of Roti alone was given to the hungry. I have heard it

from my elders that what we give here, we get in

heaven after death. So I thought it was better you got

used to eating this kind of Roti here itself so that in

the other world you might not find any discomfort

whatsoever in eating such Rotis."

Needless to say, the Sethji learnt his lesson and

the rotten stuff served in the Annakshetra was thrown

away and replaced by good corn. From that day

onwards the hungry were fed with fine Rotis.

71. CONTENTMENT

There was a time when discontent seized the

souls of men in the world to such an extent that they

unitedly raised a wail to the throne of God for relief.

Every man, dissatisfied with his own lot, felt he would

gladly exchange places with his neighbour.

God heard their cry and appeared before them.

All the aggrieved people assembled around Him on a

vast plain. God now said, "O men, in response to your

prayers, I have come here. I give each of you the

power to throw down on this plain the particular

disability or woe which is the cause of your discomfort

and misery."

At once, in hot haste, all the people divested

themselves of their burdens of sorrow and flung them

on the plain. The accumulated heap of woes formed a

veritable mountain. "Now, O men," exclaimed God,

"You may pick up from this heap any burden which

you prefer in exchange for the one you have given

up."

Immediately, there was a furious scramble and

each man grabbed at the burden of woe belonging to

his neighbour. The blind man exchanged his blindness

for a broken leg and vice versa. The poor man

exchanged his state with the man of riches. The

barren woman became fruitful and vice versa - so on

and so forth. Thus in a short time, the mountain of

woes disappeared. All the people felt for the moment

happy and relieved. God left them and they returned

to their homes.

What happened the next day? Louder

lamentations, a hundred times more than what it was

the day before, rose from the people. God again

presented Himself before them. Now all the people

cried out, "O Lord, give me back my own woe, for I

cannot endure the pain and grief which I have taken

in exchange." God granted their prayer and they

returned perfectly satisfied.

72. GIVE UP DESIRES - GAIN PEACE

So long as a man is clinging hard to the transitory

objects of life, he can never know true peace and

happiness. This is exemplified by the story of the crow

and the piece of bread. Once a crow got somehow a

piece of bread. With the bread in its beak, it wanted

to fly to a tree, and sitting on its branch, make a quiet

meal of it. But a number of other crows pursued this

crow to wrest the bread out of it. The crow with the

bread flew with all its speed in order to escape from

the clutches of the others. It flew and flew, hotly

pursued by other crows, in all directions to save the

bread in its beak. This went on for two or three hours.

The crow with the bread was dead tired as a

result of its continuous flying and felt it would be well

to drop the piece of bread and get relief. It dropped

the piece of bread which was picked by another crow,

which in turn was also pursued by the other crows.

The first crow, having thrown away the piece of

bread, flew to the branch of a tree and sitting under

its cool shade, attained perfect rest and tranquillity.

Peace truly comes when we give up desire for the

perishable things of the world.

73. EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR GOOD

This happened in the province of Mishr. A poor

devotee, who was a householder, had his hut near a

forest. In his house, besides his wife, there was a bull,

which was used as a beast of burden. It was the sole

means of livelihood for the couple, for on its back

articles were carried for sale by its master. There was

also in the house a dog which was useful for keeping

guard and protecting them in the woodland. The

devotee had in addition a parrot of which both he and

his wife were very fond, as they had no children. The

parrot, when the night passed and the day dawned,

used to wake up the couple by calling out, "Awake,

and pray to God!"

One day it so chanced, a lion from the forest

came and killed the bull belonging to the poor

householder. The dog, being afraid of the lion, ran

inside the house and hid himself. The householder got

up in the morning and when he saw the dead body of

the bull, he exclaimed, "It is well done! God does

everything for the best! This has happened by His will.

Therefore, it cannot be but for our good."

Hearing these words, his wife was greatly

displeased, but she did not say anything. Misfortunes,

however, never come single. Later on, that day, the

parrot somehow came out of its cage and was killed

by the dog. When the master of the house heard of

the incident he repeated, "Well done! God does

everything for the best!"

On hearing these words, this time his wife

became desperate and beat her own head. She

became so distressed over these remarks that she did

not even try to express her feelings to her husband. A

short time afterwards, somebody told them that their

dog was rolling in agony in the street. It died soon

after. The master of the house again said, "It is all very

well! Whatever God does is always for our good."

Seething with anger, his wife was now unable to

control herself and told him, "What do you mean by

repeating such senseless words? Without any means

of livelihood, now remain in the house and starve.

Take to your bed and sleep till morning. The bull that

gave us food, and the parrot that was waking us up in

the morning have both gone. The faithful dog also

died. This night someone will send us also to the

cremation ground. Then you will realise to the full,

God's goodness!"

"What has happened cannot be changed," said

the man, who was perfectly calm and cheerful. He

took everything as God's grace. He was quite

unperturbed by his wife's ironical outburst. But his

wife was feeling very miserable. She was worried as to

how they would eke out their livelihood.

The day passed and night came. Both slept. When

they woke up in the morning and went out, they saw

in the whole town dead bodies lying scattered

everywhere. In the night, a gang of dacoits had

entered the town and had left not a single person

alive. They had looted every house and taken even

broken vessels from the homes. A house near the

jungle, without a dog, is generally taken to be

unoccupied. So, thinking that the cottage of this

couple was vacant and deserted, the dacoits did not

enter it. Thus God had really saved them in His

mysterious way. The man said to his wife now, "If our

dog was there with us, the dacoits would have

entered the house and surely killed us also. Even if the

bull had been seen by them, they would not have

spared us. The parrot too would have been a source

of danger to us. If it had shouted before dawn to wake

us up, the dacoits would have heard it and got scent

of us. God, who is all kindness, had arranged for the

death of all these three beforehand in order to save

us. It is on account of this that we are alive today. Do

you now doubt that all that happens is for good?"

74. LEARNING VERSUS REALISATION

A Brahmin once sent his two sons to a learned

pandit to study the Vedas and Upanishads. Having

completed their studies after twelve years, they

returned home. Their father asked one of them,

"Have you understood Brahman?" The boy said, "Yes",

and started quoting Sloka after Sloka from the

scriptures to explain what Brahman was. Listening

patiently to his son's verbose exposition, the father

told him, "Boy, you have not understood Brahman."

He then asked his other boy if he had understood

what Brahman was. He did not give any answer, but

kept quiet. The father asked him the same question

twice, thrice and four times. Still the boy remained

silent. The father then said, "My boy, I am delighted

to see that you have really understood Brahman." This

goes to show that by silence alone can one know the

Truth. What you experience after your thoughts have

completely ceased to flit about in the mind, does not

admit of description because it is inexpressible.

75. BE GOOD AND SEE GOOD

Remembrance of God means elevation to higher

consciousness. We must keep this light burning within

us always. You know, as soon as the light goes out, we

fall into darkness. When our vision is pure, we see

only God. If impure, we see evil.

There was a very good king named Yudhishtira

who led a righteous life. In his own time, there was

another king named Duryodhana who was evilminded

and lived an unrighteous life. One day, Lord

Krishna, a great incarnation of God, asked Yudhishtira,

the virtuous king, to pick out for him a bad man in the

world. The king went about in search of a bad man.

He returned and told Krishna that he could not find

such a one. Krishna called Duryodhana, the vicious

king, and asked him to find out for him a good man.

Duryodhana went in search of one. He could see only

bad men everywhere and not a single good man. He

came and reported this to Lord Krishna.

The moral of this story is that if we are good, the

whole world is good for us; if we are bad, the whole

world is bad for us. Every man has got some good

points in him. We should see only the good points. If

we are to see the bad points let us see them in

ourselves. If we do so, we shall find in course of time

that what is bad in us will disappear. If we see evil in

others and good in us, what good we have will

disappear and the evil in us will grow. We are

condemning, criticising, and thinking ill of so many in

the world. By so doing, we are only getting our mind

more and more impure. So the way to progress on the

spiritual path is to see the good points in others and

love everybody. To see good in others is to see God in

them, because God alone is good. By seeing God in

others we shall realise God in our own heart. So long

as we criticise others, we shall never see God in them.

76. NON-ATTACHMENT IS TRUE FREEDOM

Machhendranath and Gorakhnath were once

wandering together from place to place.

Machhendranath was the Guru and Gorakhnath the

disciple. The disciple in this case was a Siddha, but the

Guru was not yet ripe. The Guru had a bag which he

would not trust anybody with, not even his disciple.

He took it wherever he went, being ever cautious

about its security. The disciple was surprised at the

attachment of his Guru for the bag and wanted to see

what it contained. But he could not easily find an

opportunity to do so. One day, the Guru had to leave

the bag under the care of his disciple as he had to

attend to the call of nature. Now the disciple opened

the bag and saw a gold bar in it. He said to himself,

"Ah! This gold bar is what has put my Master in

bondage. I should free him from it." So thinking, he

threw away the gold bar into a nearby well.

The Guru soon came back and when he took the

bag, found the gold bar missing. He asked his disciple

about it. The disciple replied that he threw the bar

away. This made the Guru furious. He took a big stick

and started beating Gorakhnath, who ran and ran

until he got exhausted and sat down on a rock,

saying," Let me die at the hands of my Master." The

Master continued to shower severe blows on the

disciple. The latter, unable to stand it any more, fell

into a swoon and passed urine, the touch of which

turned into gold the whole mass of rock on which he

sat! The Guru beat him for throwing away a small bar

of gold and here was a whole rock turned into gold!

This opened the eyes of Machhendranath who now

realised the greatness of his disciple and gave up his

attachment to gold.

77. A KING AND HIS SLAVE

A king had a slave serving him with all faith and

love. In fact, the slave adored his master and was ever

ready to please him in all manner of ways. The king

appreciated his lovable nature and made him a

minister in his Court. He gradually raised him to the

position of his Prime Minister. Seeing his rise to the

highest position under the king, the other ministers,

who had served long in the State, becoming envious

of the slave, grumbled and complained. All of them

joined together and went to the king in a deputation

with the complaint. The king heard them patiently and

said, "Exactly a week hence all ministers including the

Prime Minister should meet me in the garden resthouse

five miles away from the city, at 4 p.m sharp.

He who would meet me first would be considered to

have real love and regard for me."

Soon after, he sent for the Prime Minister and,

after telling him what he said to the ministers, asked

him to build houses, camps and shamianas on both

sides of the road that led to the distant garden where

the ministers had to meet him as arranged. In the

newly constructed camps and houses, all kinds of

entertainment, shows, etc., should be exhibited

besides lines of shops and restaurants providing the

most tempting foods and articles - the condition for

meeting the king was that all those who go to the

garden house should do so on foot.

The day came. The Prime Minister along with the

other ministers started on the journey. When they

walked on the road leading to the place, except for

the Prime Minister, all other ministers were tempted

to see the shows, witness the entertainments, visit

the restaurants, etc., as all these could be had without

payment. They thought that there was plenty of time

to reach the place where they were to meet the king.

Leisurely, they went from one place of entertainment

to the other. Time passed. The Prime Minister,

without looking to the left or the right, walked

straight to the garden where the meeting was fixed,

and reached there an hour before schedule. The other

ministers reached the place half-an-hour late, or one

hour late. Some of them failed to be there at all.

The next day, the king called all the ministers and

addressed them thus, "Now you all know why I made

this slave (pointing to him) a Prime Minister. He is a

man possessing sterling qualities befitting the high

post." The Ministers hung down their heads in shame

and unanimously applauded the king for his choice of

the Prime Minister.

So also, God's devotees, when they possess

genuine love and devotion for Him, never think of

anything or anybody other than God. They take the

straight course that leads to Him and are not drawn

away by the attractions and temptations of worldly

pleasures.

78. FREEDOM IS THE GOAL

In a war in Europe, a sailor was captured by the

enemy and was put into prison. After fifteen years he

was released, as the warring countries contracted an

alliance through a treaty. On the day of release, a

friend placed in his hands a purse containing some

money. When the sailor was passing through the

streets, he saw a shop in which there were various

species of birds in cages kept for sale. He went up to

the shop and bought all the cages from the money he

possessed and, by opening the trap doors of the

cages, set free the imprisoned birds one by one. The

shop man was astounded at this. He asked why the

sailor, having bought the birds at such high prices,

released them all. The sailor replied, "You see, I alone

know what it is to be in prison, being denied the

privilege of freedom. For fifteen years I have suffered

prison life. I could not bear to see these birds unhappy

in their cages."

Similarly, a saint having attained spiritual

liberation himself is ever eager to release others from

the bondage of ignorance.

79. CONTACT OF SAINTS SAVES

You know that a mongoose and a serpent are

deadly enemies. Whenever they meet at any place,

they fight with the object of killing each other.

Sometimes the fight continues for a pretty long time

in the course of which the serpent in desperation

bites the mongoose which, due to the poison injected

into it, feels like it is dying. In order to save itself, the

mongoose runs to the hill-side and eats a particular

herb which is an antidote for snake poison and getting

relieved from its effects, returns to fight with the

serpent with increased vigour and strength. The fight

goes on. Every time the serpent bites the mongoose,

it gives up the combat, eats the herb, becomes free

from poison and again continues the fight. At last,

through utter exhaustion, not being able to offer any

resistance, the serpent succumbs to the fury of the

mongoose. Thereafter the mongoose has no occasion

to go to the hill-side for the antidote.

So also a person, whose mind can be compared

to the mongoose, when bitten hard by deep

attachments to worldly things, becomes utterly

miserable. In this condition, for relief and peace he

goes to a saint and, by association with him, gets free

from attachments and becomes happy and peaceful.

Thus freed from the painful effects of the worldly life,

he goes back into the world and continues to live

there. Again in course of time he is obsessed by

attachment to worldly pleasures and becomes

miserable, and this time also he rushes to a saint, and

getting himself relieved of the poisonous effects of

worldly life once more returns to his usual activities in

the world. Thus by repeated contact of saints he

ultimately overcomes attachment to transitory

objects and remains in the world perfectly free and

blissful. So the society of saints is an absolute

necessity for an earnest spiritual aspirant to realise

the state of inner freedom, joy and peace.

80. TIE GOD BY THE CHORDS OF LOVE

Surdas was a great devotee of Sri Krishna. He was

blind and had to make use of a stick whenever he

went along the streets. One day he missed the way

and inadvertently fell into a pit by the roadside.

Seeing the helpless condition of the devotee, Sri

Krishna came as a boy of ten years, and with great

love and kindness helped Surdas out of the pit and

leading him upto the road was about to go away

releasing his hold on the hand of his devotee.

Surdas, understanding the intention of Sri

Krishna, did not wish to allow him to go away and so

attempted to catch him and detain him. But Sri

Krishna was too clever to be caught that way, and he

ran away from him laughing. Then Surdas, in a tone of

defiance, told Sri Krishna, "Krishna, you think you are

very clever. You may run away from me externally,

but I have caught you and tied you up in my heart

with the strong chords of love. It will not be easy for

you to free yourself from there and run away."

81. PRIDE GOES BEFORE A FALL

A man with a long and high nose was fast asleep

on his back. A group of ants held a council and

discussed a plan to climb up the body of the sleeping

man and reach the tip of his nose. He who reached it

first would win a prize. In due course, an expedition

started, made up of about five or six antmountaineers.

They climbed from different directions

and all of them reached the tip of the nose of the

sleeping man at the same time. Now, discussion arose

among them as to who reached the point first.

When they were hotly contesting each one's

claim, moving their hands and feet in gesticulation,

they caused an unpleasant irritation on the nose of

the man. He quickly raised his right hand, produced a

strange hissing noise and brushed off with his fingers

the tip of his nose. What happened then? The ants,

who were proud of their adventure and were fighting

for precedence, were nowhere to be found. So also,

vain are human beings who strut on the stage of this

life, proud of their powers and achievements. In their

arrogance and bravado they threaten the peaceloving

people. But God in His own mysterious ways

brushes them off the face of this earth by His supreme

power. The story teaches us a salutary lesson that we

should not be proud of anything.

82. WHEN YOUR EGO DIES, YOU ARE FREE

In Kashmir there was a big merchant who was

dealing in all kinds of goods made in Persia. Every year

he would go to Persia with some merchandise for sale

and return with goods purchased in that distant land

for sale in his country. This was going on for several

years. On one occasion he saw a beautiful talking

parrot for sale in a shop in Persia. He bought the

parrot, brought it to Kashmir and hung its cage in a

prominent place in his house. The parrot talked like a

human being and was very much loved by its master

and his family. Once it so happened that the merchant

fell ill at the time of his usual annual visit to Persia for

business. So he asked his secretary, who was a

trustworthy man, to go to Persia on his behalf and

transact business.

On the day of the secretary's starting on the

journey, the parrot, coming to know that he was to go

to Persia in place of his master, called him and said,

"Since you are going to my native place will you do me

a favour? You know I am here imprisoned in a cage

and denied the joy of flying about freely and

cheerfully. Kindly go to the big forest lying to the east

of the town which you are going to visit. On the trees

of this forest are living my relations and friends. You

have to report to them about my miserable condition

in Kashmir, as I am imprisoned in a cage and living far

away from them. Then you have to ask them on my

behalf what means I should employ in order to get

free from the cage. Whatever answer you receive

from them, please report to me on your return."

Accordingly, after the business in Persia was over,

the secretary turned towards the forest as directed by

the parrot and looking up at the trees found hundreds

of parrots flying from branch to branch in those trees.

The secretary then spoke to the parrots placing before

them the question raised by their brother parrot living

in a cage in Kashmir. He asked the question three or

four times but got no reply. He waited for sometime

and was about to turn away in disappointment. Just

then he saw an old parrot drop down to the ground

apparently dead. Of course the secretary did not

attach any importance to this as he thought the parrot

must have died of old age.

In due course the secretary returned to Kashmir

and, presenting himself before his master, reported

about his business transactions in Persia. Before going

home the secretary was called by the parrot to

ascertain the result of his enquiry with its friends and

relatives in Persia. The secretary said that he had

carried out the instructions of the parrot as

suggested, but in spite of his repeated questionings he

got no response. But a strange thing happened,

namely an old parrot fell down from the tree dead.

This may be due to the sudden attack of some illness

or old age, and there may be nothing strange about

the occurrence.

As soon as the parrot heard the secretary's story,

it fell down from its perch on to the floor of the cage

and stretching out its wings and legs lay as though

dead. The secretary thought the parrot must have had

a stroke which caused its sudden death. He conveyed

the sad news immediately to his master. The master

came and noticed the prostrate condition of the

parrot without any sign of life. He called a servant and

asked him to take the dead parrot out of the cage and

throw it somewhere far away from the house. The

servant, as ordered, took the parrot from the cage

and, going some distance, threw it on a heap of debris

in a pit. The moment the parrot touched the ground it

got up and flew away.

This story teaches us the lesson that the soul can

achieve freedom only when its ego-sense is dead.

83. BEG ONLY OF GOD

A Sadhu living in a forest wanted some money

for repairs to be done to his hut. He therefore went to

the nearby kingdom so as to request the king to

provide him with necessary funds. He entered the

palace and enquired where the king was so that he

could see him. The minister in charge of the palace

asked him to sit for a while in the waiting room as the

king was at prayer. The king's prayer room happened

to be the adjoining one in which the Sadhu sat. Now

the Sadhu could distinctly hear the king praying, "Oh,

Lord of the universe, I appeal to You to grant me more

wealth and prosperity than what I have now. Deign to

shower Your grace on me so that this prayer of mine

be fulfilled."

On hearing this the Sadhu suddenly got up

and started to go. The prayer being over, the king

came to the waiting room just at the moment the

Sadhu was leaving. The king asked the Sadhu why he

came and what he wanted. The Sadhu replied, "I came

to request you for some money for reconstructing my

small hut in the forest. But I heard your prayer to God

begging for more wealth and more prosperity. I find

that you are a beggar like myself. So I felt no purpose

will be served by asking for anything from a beggar

like myself. I prefer, on the other hand, to directly

approach the same Supreme God to whom you

appeal for help." So saying the Sadhu left.

84. GOD ALONE PROVIDES

God is the great provider and supporter of all

living beings and creatures in the world. Man in his

ignorance thinks that without his initiative and effort

nothing can happen. He leaves God totally out of

account thinking that he acts and moves by his own

will and power. Whereas, the universal power of God

is responsible for all activities in the world, whether in

men, animals, plants or other moving objects.

A man, who was under such an illusion, was

travelling once in a train with his bag. As soon as he

sat in a carriage and the train started, he took the bag

and placed it on his head. He thought his bag would

not be with him unless he carried it on his head. Such

was his folly. The entire burden of the universe is

borne by God and we think that our little burden must

be carried by ourselves.

85. MORE JOY IN PINING FOR GOD

There is a Sufi story which illustrates how

familiarity breeds contempt. Some devotees,

therefore, do not wish to meet God but prefer to

thirst and pine for Him all their life. They find a

peculiar joy and ecstasy in merely crying and wailing

for Him. The story is this:

On a hot day a herd of sheep was grazing on a

hill. When the sun had gone down the meridian, the

sheep felt inordinately thirsty. With raised heads they

looked for water in all directions in great expectation

of seeing a water course or stream some distance

from there. Fortunately for them, they saw down on

the slope, about half a mile away a stream of crystal

clear water flowing. The sight enchanted them

because their thirst was great, so also their love for

water. All the sheep now rushed in a body towards

the stream in tremendous haste. Soon they reached

the stream and, going in it knee deep, drank the water

to their fill. Then they stood for a while in the water

and turned it dirty by passing into it urine, etc. They

lost the ere long eagerness to see and drink the water.

On the other hand, they made the water dirty.

Too near association with your Beloved gradually

wears away your high veneration and love for Him or

Her who was held by you at one time in high esteem

as your all in all

86. NAME IS THE ONLY REMEDY

Tukaram was a great saint of Maharashtra. He

lived in a place called Dehu. He was spending all his

time in singing God's name, talking about His glories

and performing Kirtan in the company of devotees. At

home, he was sitting in a corner engaged in chanting

the name of his favourite God, Vithoba of Pandharpur.

One day, when he was absorbed in the chanting

of Vithoba's name, "Vithal, Vithal," one of his children

took ill and was rolling on the ground with excessive

stomach ache. Tukaram's wife was very much upset

over the child's condition and told Tukaram to go and

fetch a physician. But Tukaram, taking no notice of

what his wife said, went on singing God's names.

Tukaram's wife got wild over his indifference. But

Tukaram kept quiet.

Soon after, the child vomitted and all the

indigestible stuff in its stomach was thrown out. The

child immediately ceased groaning from stomach

pain. It sat up and was perfectly cheerful. Then

Tukaram, seeing the recovery of the child, went up to

his wife and said, "The child has now recovered from

its pain by God's grace. If I had called in a physician to

treat it as suggested by you, we would have had to

pay him his fees for the treatment. Will you kindly pay

me the fees which you would have paid the physician

so that I can use the amount for feeding the poor?"

The wife turned away from him without giving any

reply.

87. KRISHNA HAS STOLEN MY HEART

Mirabai was a great devotee of Sri Krishna. She

was married although she had dedicated her life to

Krishna. Even after marriage she was always found

singing of and worshipping Krishna. She was pining for

her divine Lord and was perfectly indifferent to the

world.

Mirabai belonged to the royal family and was

married to a Prince of Udaipur. On account of her

devotional nature, all in the royal household were

against her and she underwent untold persecution

through the hands of her sister-in-law and others in

the palace. Her husband was kind and good to her.

One day the Prince came to her and said, "I am your

wedded husband and so I am entitled to your love and

affection. But whenever I come to you, I find you

intoxicated with divine ecstasy. You have no time

even to talk to me. My earnest wish is that you should

give me also a portion of your love. What do you

say?" Mirabai replied, "My Lord, what you say is

perfectly right. As a dutiful wife, I should love and

serve you. But what can I do? Krishna, to whom I had

dedicated my life when I was yet a girl, has stolen my

heart entirely. He has filled it with Himself so much so

that there is no place left for you. I am helpless. Even

if I wish to love you I cannot do so. So understanding

my position, you should be gracious enough to forgive

me."

88. PRIDE AND DEVOTION

Sri Eknath Maharaj was a householder. He had a

wife and son. They were very poor, but much devoted

to God. They lived a simple life. Eknath Maharaj used

to read Srimad Bhagavat or other scriptures daily to

the villagers and they enjoyed his exposition very

much. This went on for years together. Meanwhile,

Eknath Maharaj's son, who had been sent to Banaras

for study of the Vedas, etc., returned home. One day,

while watching his father reading the original Sanskrit

scripture and explaining it in Marathi to the audience,

the son said, "Father your explaining the scripture in

Marathi is not good and proper. You must explain it in

Sanskrit." To this the father replied, "I have been

explaining it in Marathi for many years and the

villagers like it very much. All cannot understand

Sanskrit, nor can I explain it in Sanskrit." From the

next day the son started reading and expounding it in

Sanskrit.

The villagers listened to him on the first day. But

they missed the devotion with which Eknath was

reading and explaining till then. They felt that the high

scholarship of the son was a poor substitute for the

father's simple devotion. Gradually, therefore, the

daily audience began to grow less and less. Ultimately

the reading had to be stopped completely for want of

an audience. The villagers wanted Eknath Maharaj

himself to resume his reading and exposition. But he

was prevented from doing so by his scholarly son who

insisted on the Sanskrit medium.

Now something happened to put down the son's

pride of learning. A poor old woman in the village had

taken a vow to feed one thousand Brahmins. She had

absolutely no means to do it. When she consulted a

Sadhu about it, she was advised to feed Eknath

Maharaj, as feeding him would bring her the merit of

feeding one thousand Brahmins. The old woman came

to Eknath Maharaj and requested him to accept her

invitation for meal on a certain day. He was unable to

accept the invitation as his son stood in the way. Then

it was finally agreed with the permission of the son

that the food prepared by the devotee might be

brought to the house of Eknath Maharaj.

Accordingly, the old woman cooked the food and

brought it to Sri Eknath's house and fed him with

great devotion. The meal over, she was about to take

Prasad (sanctified food) from what was left on the

leaf, when the proud and learned son objected to it

and prevented her from taking the Prasad. He himself

removed the leaf and threw it outside in contempt.

When he came back to clean the place, he was

surprised to see another leaf there. He removed that

also, and when he returned, found yet another one.

Thus he had to remove, one after another, not less

than one thousand leaves!

This miracle opened the eyes of the proud son

and then alone he could know the real greatness of

his father's devotion. He fell prostrate at his feet and

begged his pardon, shedding profuse tears of

penitence for his folly.

The moral of this story is clear. True knowledge is

to know that you know nothing. Before you attain

God, you have to unlearn what you have learnt. Those

who think that they know everything really know

nothing. If you are humble, the whole universe can be

won over.

89. GOD DOES EVERYTHING FOR THE BEST

Once a king, with his minister, followed by his

retinue went into the depths of a forest on a hunting

expedition. Now the minister was well known for his

wisdom. He held the motto, 'God does everything for

the best,' and whenever anyone went to him for

advice in his trouble, woe or misfortune, the minister

would console the distressed party by convincing him

of the wisdom of submission to the will of God.

The king and the minister in their hunt for game

were separated from the followers and roamed far

into the interior of the extensive forest and eventually

lost their way. The sun rose to the meridian. The king

was oppressed with fatigue and hunger. They rested

in the shade of a tree.

"Minister," said the exhausted king, "I am sorely

upset through pangs of hunger. Can you get me

something to eat?"

The minister looked around and discovered fruits

on the trees. Climbing up a tree, he plucked a few ripe

fruits and presented them to the king. The king, in his

haste to eat the fruit, while cutting it with a penknife,

chopped off a bit of his finger. With a cry of pain, he

dropped both the fruit and the knife, his injured finger

streaming with blood.

"Oh!" he cried out, "how it pains - O, minister."

"God does everything for the best," put in the

minister quietly.

These words tended only to rouse the already

petulant king. He flew into a rage and cried out, "Fool,

truce to your philosophy. I have had enough of it.

While I am suffering from excruciating agony, the only

consolation you can tender is, ‘God does everything

for the best.’ How can this be for the best when the

pain is intense and real? Avaunt, I will have nothing to

do with you in future. Get out of my sight, and never

show me your face again." Unable to control himself,

he kicked the minister furiously and commanded him

to take himself off at once. While the minister was

leaving the king, he calmly reiterated, "God does

everything for the best."

Now the king was left alone. He tore a strip of his

garment and bandaged his injured finger. When he

was musing over the sad event, two stalwart men

approached him. They instantly fell on the king and

bound him hand and foot. Struggle or resistance was

utterly useless, as the men were strong and sturdy.

The frightened king now asked, "What are you

going to do with me?" They replied, "We want you to

be sacrificed at the altar of our goddess Kali. It is the

custom to offer to her a human sacrifice once a year.

The time has arrived for it and we were on the look161

out for a human being. We are fortunate in having

found you."

These words of his captors thoroughly alarmed

the king. He remonstrated, "Let me go, I am the king

of a province. You cannot, therefore, kill me for the

sacrifice."

The men laughed and said, "Then this year's

sacrifice is going to be unique, and our goddess will be

highly pleased when she finds that we bring to her

altar this time an exalted personage as an offering.

Come along."

They dragged the victim to the Kali shrine, not far

away from the spot. He was duly placed on the

sacrificial altar. Things were ready for the death-blow,

when the priest, observing the bandage on his left

hand forefinger removed it, and discovered that a

portion of the finger was cut off. He said to the men,

"This man is not acceptable to our goddess. Set him

free. The goddess wants a whole man, while the man

here has a defect in his body. A bit of his finger is

gone. Let him go."

Accordingly, untying the ropes with which he was

bound, the men set the king free and allowed him to

depart in peace.

Now the king remembered the words of the

minister, uttered when his finger was cut, "God does

everything for the best" - indeed had it not been for

that cut on the finger he would have by now been a

dead man. He felt keenly for the ill-treatment he had

meted out to his friend. He was anxious to remedy the

blunder by begging his forgiveness. So he rambled in

the wood, called aloud the name of the minister, and

at last found him. The minister was resting beneath a

tree. Going up to him the king embraced him with

extreme love and said, "Friend, I seek your forgiveness

for the cruel treatment accorded to you. The truth of

your golden saying is brought home to me."

Then he narrated the incident of the intended

sacrifice to the goddess, and how he was set free on

account of the defect in his hand, caused by the knifecut.

"Sire," replied the minister, "You have done me

no harm. So there is nothing to forgive. In truth, you

have saved me. While you kicked and drove me away,

you may remember I repeated the same saying, 'God

does everything for the best.' Now in my case as well

it has come true. For, if you had not driven me away, I

would have been in your company when the men of

Kali captured you and, when they discovered that you

were unfit for the sacrifice, they would have offered

me for it instead, since I had no such cut in my body

as the one you had so providentially got. So God does

everything for the best."

90. IMITATION IS NOT THE WAY

In a hut lived a Guru and his disciple. The hut

was situated outside the town limits in a forest. As

they were troubled every night by rats, the Guru

reared a cat. Both the Guru and disciple were very

fond of the cat. But during the meditation in the early

morning, the cat would sit on the lap of the Guru and

disturb his meditation. So the Guru got a string and

tied up the cat to the leg of his charpai or coir-cot.

This went on from day to day. Eventually, both the

Guru and the cat passed away through old age. The

disciple stepped into the shoes of his Guru and was

the sole owner of the hut.

He carried on the practice of early meditation.

When meditating, he found that he had no cat which

he could tie up to the leg of the cot. He went to the

town, begged of the devotees to give him a cat and

brought it to the hut. Every morning, before he

started the meditation, he tied up the cat to the leg of

the cot as his Guru did. He was under the impression

that tying up the cat was necessary for successful

meditation. So some disciples, who look upon their

Gurus as models for guidance, follow strictly the mode

of life lived by them, without understanding the

import underlying the same. Imitation is not the way -

each one should develop on the spiritual path

according to his or her individual nature and

temperament. An all-beneficent influence and

guidance is, of course, necessary from an illumined

sage.

 

Om Tat Sat
                                                        
(Continued) 

(My humble salutations to the lotus feet of H H Swami Ramadas ji  for the collection)