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"One
Little Story"
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| [see
the Nârada
Bkakti
Sutras
& First
chapter of the
NBS
translated and commented by A.C. Bhaktivedanta
Swami Prabhupâda in pdf] 38.
Playing marbles with the Name of
God The
merchant had no sleep that night, he was
planning to secure the gem from those simple
folk, so that he could sell it at a huge profit
to some millionaire or mahârâja. He
discovered the house of the boy and moved up and
down that road hoping to see the boy. When he
saw the boy play with it, as it was as cheap as
a marble, his heart was wrung in agony. The boy
threw it on the floor; his mother emerged just
at the moment from the inner apartments and it
struck her foot and fell under the bush. He
spoke to the boy asking for the gem in exchange
for a hundred rupees, and again for five hundred
rupees! The son ran into the house in tears,
complaining about the stranger who would not let
him alone. The mother came out into the garden
and begged the merchant to go away. The
merchant grasped the chance; he told the mother
that he was ready to give a thousand rupees on
the spot, if the marble was placed in his hand!
On hearing this, she forbade the child to play
with it outside the house; he could play only
within the rooms. The merchant could not be
shooed off like that; he appeared the next day
in front of the house; he held out ten thousand
rupees as his offer for the marble. The mother
refused to part with it but kept it now in an
iron safe, under lock and key! When the merchant
came the next day with fifty thousand rupees she
took it to a bank and deposited it in their
safety vaults. You
are also playing marbles with the name of God
unaware of its value. Once you realize its
worth, you will keep it in your heart of hearts
as the most precious treasure. Know that the
name is the key to success in your search for
consolation, confidence, courage, illumination
and liberation. 39.
Caitanya - Incarnation of Krishna About Lord
Caitanya: 40.
The greater grief scours off the
smaller "Mother,
how unfortunate I am. I had no chance to nurse
him in his illness, during his last days. Alas,
dear brother, you too lost the precious chance
of service", he said, patting
Satrughna on the head. After some
moments, he continued, "Mother, how fortunate
are Râma and Lakshmana. They were with
him. They nursed him and ran on little errands
for him. They were with him when he breathed his
last. Since we were far away, did father leave
any command for us? What was his last wish
regarding us? Did he remember us, ask that we
should be sent for?" Kausalya
said, "Son, he had only one word on his lips,
one form before his eye; that word was
Râma, that form was Râma".
Bharatha looked surprised. He asked, "How
is it that he uttered the name and craved for
the form of Râma, who was by his bedside,
and did not yearn for me who was far away? O,
how unlucky I am. I have lost the affection of
my dear father." Kausalya
replied, "Well, if Râma had been by
his bedside or near him, he would not have
passed away". Bharatha ejaculated, "Mother,
where had Râma gone? Why was he away?
Where is he now? Did he go hunting to the
forest? Was he on a pleasure trip on the
Sarayu?" The mother said, "No, no, He was
gone into the forest for fourteen years".
Bharatha could hear it no longer. "Alas, what
an outrageous tragedy, this. What crime, what
sin did Râma commit to deserve this exile?
Why had he to go?" When
Bharatha heard this, the grief that he sustained
on hearing of the death of his father paled, and
the grief that arose at his mother sending
Râma into exile for fourteen years
supervened overwhelming all else. The greater
grief scours off the smaller.
[see
also Ramakatha Rasavahini
I] 40.
Compassion
is a sign of the great Once
when Samartha Ramadas was moving about
the countryside with his disciples, those
behind, him seeing a fine field of juicy sugar
cane entered it and started pulling out the
cane, crunching it with great relish. The owner
of the field naturally enraged at their behavior
and at the loss, to which they were subjecting
him, fell upon them with a stout cane. The
Master was sorry that his disciples broke the
discipline so objectionably drawn by the desire
of the tongue for the sweet juice. Next day they
reached Emperor Sivaji's place, where a great
welcome awaited the guru and his followers.
Sivaji offered to attend personally to the guru
during his ceremonial bath; when Ramadas
undressed, Sivaji was shocked to find broad red
marks, indicating that he had been beaten! Such
was the sensitive sympathy of the great saint,
that he received on his back the blows meant for
his pupils; Sivaji sent for the owner of the
field of cane; and, when he stood shivering in
fear before the emperor and his guru, Ramadas
was requested by Sivaji to inflict on him any
punishment he liked. But, Ramadas accepted the
fact that wrong was committed by his disciples
and blessed the farmer, granting him a boon that
his lands would be tax-free for ever. 41.
Reward for sincere yearning That night,
when the town was asleep, just before midnight
Govinda Mahârâj and
Râdhârânî emerged
from the temple. They signed him to follow them.
They were magnificently dressed and had
elaborately bejeweled headgear, necklaces,
wristlets and ornaments for the hands and feet.
They moved on until they reached the banks of
the Yamunâ, where thousands of Gopas and
Gopîs were gathered to welcome them. There
was music and dance in the bright moonlight,
heavenly joy shone on every face. At 4 A.M. They
returned to the temple and before they passed
through the closed door, they gave into his
hands the Kankanas they wore on the
wrists, for safekeeping. Before he could say
anything, they had gone. A party of
priests came along at that time, and seeing him,
asked him, why he was standing there and what he
had in his hands. They had come to open the
locks of the outer and inner doors and
inaugurate the ceremonials of the day, with
Suprabhatam
(morningprayer)
and Nagara-Sankirtan (Awakening hymn and
moving choirs - gathering together in the hours
before dawn, and walk slowly along the streets,
singing Bhajans glorifying God). The Sultan
said, "Govinda Mahârâj and
Râdhârânî have just
gone in; I was with them at the Yamunâ
bank from midnight till a few minutes ago. They
gave me these kankanas for safekeeping. I
don't know why." They surmised he was a thief
who, caught in the act, was spinning a yarn and
so bound and beaten him. But they found the
locks unbroken, everything intact. Only the idol
of Krishna had no gold kankanas!
Now they were convinced that the man outside was
a great bhakta, who had the unique vision
of the Lord. They honored him and craved pardon
for the wrong perpetrated in ignorance. Such is
the reward for sincere yearning. Unlimited
ananda can be earned through implicit faith in
God. 42.
The Most amazing thing on Earth 44.
Worldly pleasures are like a serpent's
grip Then
this person, who felt somewhat important,
started arguing and said there is no possibility
of changing a mind merely by words. The teacher
who was clever and who had known these things,
asked one of the youngest boys to stand up. In
the hearing of this visitor the teacher told the
young boy, "Look here, my dear boy! You just get
hold of the neck of this visitor and throw him
out of the door." Immediately on hearing these
words, the visitor became completely excited;
his eyes were red and he was very angry and came
to beat the teacher. Then the teacher asked,
"Sir, what is the reason for your becoming so
angry? We did not beat you, we did not throw you
out, and the only thing that has excited you to
this stage of anger is the word, which I
conveyed to this young boy. You, who said that
you do not believe in changing the mind by mere
words, what is the reason why these mere words,
which I have uttered to this young boy, have
changed your mind so much that you are so
excited? So it is very wrong to say that with
mere words you can cause any amount of
affection. With mere words you can earn the
grace of anyone else". So,
if in this world you want to promote friendship,
you can do so by using sweet words, by talking
in a very sweet manner and by speaking about
sacred words. On the other hand if you use harsh
words, you are not going to promote friendship
in this world. Uddalata
felt that his son would not be able to grasp
anything at all if he tried to tell him the
truth about Brahman in words. He thought
it better to teach the truth him by example. So
he brought a pot filled with water. He brought
also some sugar in his hand and he showed the
sugar to his son. After showing him the sugar,
he put all that sugar into the water in the pot.
Then he stirred the sugar till it was completely
dissolved in the water and then looked at the
son and asked him; "I brought the sugar with me
and you have seen the sugar yourself, I have put
it into the vessel. Can you tell me where in
this vessel does that sugar lie now?' The son
looked into the vessel and of course did not
find any sugar remaining as such in the vessel.
The father put a few drops of the contents of
the vessel from the bottom on the tongue of the
son and asked, "how do you find the taste? You
can take a drop from anywhere within the vessel
and taste it." The son had to agree that the
sugar was there now in every drop of the
contents of the vessel and that it was present
everywhere in that vessel. Then the father
explained saying: "Just as you have now seen
this sugar being present everywhere, so also
Brahman assumes the form of a 'saguna' or One
who has the attributes and comes into the world
and resides in every being, in everything that
you see around you in this world. It is not
possible to see Him separately with your eyes;
it is not possible to get hold of Him separately
with your hands, but it is only possible to
cognize Him by experiencing Him in the state of
the world. You cannot do anything more with your
gross body than to experience Brahman who is
omnipresent and all pervading ". It
is only after you have attained this rich
experience that you will be in a position to
talk of Adwaita and give expressions to
the nature of God and His omnipresence etc. It
is only after such an experience will you have
any claim, right and authority to talk about the
omnipresence of God. Otherwise, with more
book-knowledge, prattling like a parrot about
God and His omnipresence, as if you truly know
all, is all untruth. Only after the non-dual
experience of divinity can you talk of
Adwaita or nondualism.
47.
Leave Everything to His Will The
merchant felt that he was the most eligible
groom and the wedding was celebrated soon. His
daughter came to the fakir's residence and
started cleaning the floor. She was happy that
her husband was of her own heart; she too was a
pilgrim on the road to God, a practitioner of
spiritual exercises. While sweeping the floor,
she found in a corner a plate with a piece of
bread on it. She asked him why it was kept
there, and he replied, "I kept it by, lest
tomorrow, when I go my rounds, we may not get
enough to eat". At
this, the wife replied. 'I am ashamed of you.
You have so little faith in Allah. He who
gives us hunger, will He not give us bread, too?
I shall not live with a person of this nature.
You have no faith in God and His Compassion',
she said, and left the fakir to
himself. 48.
God makes Himself aware to beasts and
birds 50.
You cannot Paint the World Green The
millionaire got together a group of painters and
purchased barrels of green color and directed
that every object on which his eye was like to
fall be painted thick green. Just as the
ashtagraha calamity (the ominous
astrological phenomenon of eight heavenly bodies
reaching a straight line in space, which was
sought to be avoided by superstitious persons
through ceremonials of exorcism) resulted in a
rich harvest for priests, the millionaire's
malady resulted in a rich harvest for
paint-craftsmen. When the svâmî came
back to him after about ten days, the craftsmen
ran toward him with a bucket of green paint for
he wore a red gown! He wondered why, and got the
answer that their master dare not cast his eye
on any color other than green, lest the aches
may return. The svâmî reprimanded
the patient, and said that he had wasted
lakhs of rupees as a result of his
monumental stupidity. "If only you had
purchased a pair of green spectacles, worth
perhaps four rupees, you could have saved these
walls and trees and pots and pans, and chairs
and sofas and also a pretty large share of your
fortune! You cannot paint the world
green". 52.
Kalidasa's Bhakti greater than his
Yukti Kalidasa
knew of only one person who was free from
jealousy and pride and that was Kali [mother
goddess associated with death], the Mother.
So, he went to the Kali temple and prayed before
the Mother to assure him of high status among
poets. After a long time spent in intense
prayer, Kalidasa heard a voice emanating from
the shrine, which extolled Dandi and
Bhavabhuthi as great geniuses and
scholars. There was not even a whisper about his
[Kalidasa's] attainments! So, he got
hurt and even enraged; he gave vent to his ire
in harsh words and insisted that she should
declare the truth, however unpleasant. Then, the
voice announced, "thwamevaham, thwamevaham,
thwamevaham, na samsayah" - "you are
myself, you are myself, you are myself, without
doubt". What greater status did Kalidasa
need than this? That is the reply that every
seeker will get, for that is his truth, his
prize, and his consummation. There
are many stories, which describe Kalidasa as a
very resourceful poet who defeated the stratagem
of his opponents by clever tricks; but his
bhakti [devotional service to Lord
Krishna, love of God] was much greater than
his yukti [faculty of reason,
inference, deduction]. I am reminded of the
yukti of a householder when he heard at
midnight the noise of his house being broken
into by thieves. He guessed that they were
within earshot and so, he asked his wife loud
enough to be heard by the thieves, "Why are you
torturing me thus, asking me to bring back all
your jewels that I have pledged with the
Marwari? I know that all your gold has
gone to him and you know that I have not even a
rupee with me; let good times come; I shall
certainly recover them and give you. You need
not be told that the thieves left, to enter some
other house that night; they left the house that
had "no gold, not even a rupee." 53.
Bharatha's Adoration of
Râma Bharatha
appealed that he be allowed going to "the God
of my prayers, the Lord who receives the homage
of my unceasing adoration". Vasishta told
him that it was his father's command, and his
preceptor's counsel that he sits enthroned as
ruler. Bharatha replied that the request was
proof of the extreme hatred that the parents,
the people, the preceptor and everyone in
Ayodhyâ had towards him, for, had they
loved him, they would not have pressed him to
commit such a mean sin. Bharatha stood before
Vasistha with folded palms; he prayed, "Is it
just, fair, that you should burden me with the
sovereignty over a kingdom, which slew my
father, widowed my mothers, exiled my dearest
brother whom I value more than my very breath,
to the demon-ridden jungle, with his dearly
beloved queen and which finally brought
indelible disgrace on my mother? My empire is
the realm, which Râma rules over, namely,
my heart, which is too small to contain His
Glory." Bharatha's name itself signifies
that he is saturated with love of Râma.
(Bha ... means, Bhagavân - the Lord
Râma; Ratha ... means, pleased by, happy
over, attached to). Let the love
for the Lord grow in you, as it did in Bharatha.
Let that sense of adoration, which discard even
a throne, flourish in you. Then, you can be of
great use to your country, your culture, your
society, your religion and your community. Or
else, all this bother that you have undergone,
to attend sat-sanga, to listen to
spiritual discourses, study spiritual texts,
etc. will be a colossal exercise in futility.
[see also RRV
16b
and further] 54.
Practise self-control with steady
faith Noticing
that a thief had come into his garden at night
and that he was hiding under a "snake-gourd
bush" near the well. Ramakrishna called his wife
to his presence. He asked her to bring a rope
and bucket so that he may draw water from the
well. The wife drew the water and gave the
bucket to him. The thief watched his movements
and he crouched in the darkness, expecting that
the man and his wife would go into the house
soon. He planned that he should gain entry later
and collect his loot without having caught.
Meanwhile, Ramakrishna pretended that he had
something in his throat. He poured the water
into his mouth, gargled loud and spat underneath
the "snake-gourd bush" right where the thief was
crouching! He got it right on his face, and that
was Ramakrishna's intention too. The poor fellow
could not run away, he could not protest, he was
afraid to move; he showed perfect fortitude.
But, do you call it a virtue? Do you appreciate
him for it? He was motivated by fear, not faith.
Such shanthi and sâdhana are
of no use at all. Practice self-control, with
steady faith. Then it is a source of
strength.
|
Nârada
asked Vishnu once: "The rishis or
sages who had attained the purest wisdom
relating to the universal
âtmâ, could not win Your
grace; but the illiterate milk-maids of
Gokul who were charmed by Your beauty,
Your sport, Your music, Your prattle, Your
sweetness, Your inscrutable novelty - they won
Your grace. How did this happen?"
When
Nârada went to Gokul and called the
gopîs to gather around him so they could
listen to his teachings about the attainment of
Looking
at this situation, Swetaketu being young and
inexperienced, mistook and interpreted it to
himself wrongly and got the feeling that perhaps
his father is not quite learned and hence has no
competence to teach him and so he was sent to
another guru for studies. For some years
Swetaketu stayed in the guru's house and
completed his education and came back to his
father's house with some conceit of high
learning. Noticing this, the father asked the
son, "What is it that you have learnt? What
are the various systems that you have learnt?
Have you learnt about Brahman? Have you learnt
that particular branch of education which, if
one has learnt, one needs not have to learn
anything else and will be knowing all?" Such
were the questions by the father. While the
father was asking these questions, the son was
behaving in a rather queer and funny way. He was
still showing superior airs and conceit as if he
was far more educated and learned than his
father and that the latter would not understand
at all if he started telling what he had learnt
over those few years. The father could easily
understand the false vanity and the immature
state of his son. The son was trying to show
off; replying to his father that God is like
this, God is like that, and so on.
There
are people who bring forth tears when they pass
away; there are others who bring forth your
tears, when they pass across your way! They are
to be avoided. God makes himself aware to beasts
and birds, rather than to man, who have strayed
into the wilderness. Recently at Dharmavaram, a
jutka full of men luggage was being driven
towards the railway station, the driver beating
the horse mercilessly in the back and neck so
that it may run fast. A bearded old man, fair
and rosy in health, was passing that way. He
accosted the driver and said, "Here! Don't hold
the reins so tight. Leave them free, hold them
loose! The horse will then run fast." The driver
retorted, "You keep quiet! I know my horse
better". One of the men inside the jutka said,
"Who do you think he is?" The driver said, "I
don't care"! The driver then heard a voice (it
was the horse that spoke): "He is
