FAITH AND THE RITUALS

    I have seen rituals being performed in Hindu  Religion and also to some extent in all the religions . One must face this way or that way to do prayers , and then we talk about the GOD being omnipresent . So if he is all over and everywhere why do i have to face in one particular direction? I do know the answer,  and yes it would be stupid to have a picture of  Deity or cross or Mary etc at our back  and not face them . But when there is no actual picture  and we are praying in space , do we have to face  a particular direction? Then  a prayer must be done in a particular way otherwise it is not effective.I know the explanation - MANTRAS create certain vibrations  and if not chanted in a correct wat , they are not effective etc. So that brings me to today's story .
     This I think is by Russian author  Leo Tolstoy. This was published in 1885-1886. There were 3 hermits They lived on a remote island .The Bishop and pilgrims were traveling in a boat from one place to another . The bishop came to know that they were seeing salvation . So he decides  to stop at the island . He talks to the 3 old hermits  and ask them how they pray. for salvation They answered ,'Three are ye , three are we, have mercy upon us .'The Bishop decided to teach them about carnation and the Trinity  and the proper way of prayer . The hermits are old  and can not remember , but the bishop continued for many times . Finally he thought they have understood the proper technique of the prayer, he decides to leave the island in the morning.
   As the boat goes of in the waters, he realizes that someone is following the boat . So in the middle of the waters he stops the boat  and he sees the 3 hermits approaching walking / running on waters as if they are running on land.The Bishop asked them as to what happened . Thy answered , 'As long as we were repeating it with you we got the word and the technique , but as soon as you left we forgot exact words  and how we should do the prayer in a proper way,' The Bishop replied ."Your own prayer will reach the Lord , Men of God, It is not for me to teach you .Pray for us sinners.'
     I DON'T NEED TO TELL THE MORAL OF THE STORY!!!

FAITH AND THE TRUTH

    There are so many stories that we can learn from  and I though of doing this one today . We  often think that the God does not respond to our prayers I have stated it many a times that I do not know anyone who has seen GOD . But do we ever try  and do we try with full faith and trust that we will see Him ? In Indian culture we offer PRASAD , which usually a food to the God . We usually offer a sweet thing hoping that he will respond by giving us Sweet thing . We tend to offer the things that we like  and also the amount is very small on daily Prasad offering and enough when we have invited many people for  religious celebration. The quantity is judged to be ENOUGH for the number of the people invited  and not for GOD. Because we are sure that once we offer it to God , all of it will be left for US to enjoy . So this a short story of sage Namadeo . when he was a child , his father used to do the daily pooja - the 16 steps devotional service to God , that we are suppose to be done . But one of the days , he had to go for some work  and he did not have enough time for the elaborated Pooja . So he asked the son - Namadeo that he should do the Pooja . The father left and then the young son , may be 8 years of age or so went to do pooja . He did the pooja  and then at the end of it he offered the Prasad.HE BELIEVED THAT THE THE PRASAD WAS FOR THE GOD . So he waied for the God to eat it when he had closed his eyes  and offered it. When he opened the eyes the food was still there  and he was not happy. So he did it again  and then told the GOD that he must eat as he was not going anywhere till he ate it . And the the God did eat it
    When his father came home . he  asked the son as to where was the Prasad, the son answered that the he offered it to the God  and the God ate it . The father was not amused . He did not trust the son. He told the son that he has been doing the pooja for many many years  and he has offered the prasad to God every day and the God has not eaten it ever . He thought the sweet was too good that the son could not avoid the temptation. So he wanted to see if the son was telling the truth or not . So he told him to do it again next day. The son agreed  and so he went to do the pooja next day. The father was hiding thinking that he will catch the son in act of eating the Prasad . But he witnessed something else. As the son closed the eyes had prayed the God to have it the prasad - the food disappeared . The father realized that the DEVOTION of the son was much more intense  and HE the son believed that when we offer the Prasad to the God , HE WILL EAT IT . and the God had no choice .
    If we offer with faith HE WILL RESPOND . If we offer thinking it is only for us , HE is not interested in eating it  

THE SELF AND THE I

    This is the new story from ancient Hindu scripture . This tells us something which has been told to us many times  and we still do not understand it or may be do not accept it or may be we just can't think in that way .

    This is the story of KACHMUNI. He was born from VED VYAS .Vyas is the same Vyas is one of the very old sages . He was devoted , learned  and also had reached the heights of meditation . When his wife was pregnant, the child was not ready to come out after usual 10 months of pregnancy. He stayed in foe several years  and then the sage Vyas had to request the child to come out as it was becoming very difficult for the mother to carry on pregnancy due to the growing child . This was the KACH MUNI. After his birth Ved Vyas taught him all the religious scriptures  and the whatever he knew  and then when he wanted more he told him to go to the King Janaka. (think about it . The sage is sending his son to  a king - who is involved in all sorts of bodily pleasures to teach his son on religion)
    So the Kachmuni started his journey to go to the king Janak. He had to go through the Forrest  and it was long way . His father decided to follow the son . In the small town as they were passing by there was a small lake  and  and there were ladies of the town who were swimming naked . As the Kach muni pass by they did not react and continued to swim  and did not cover them self . As the Vyas passed by they covered their naked bodies with clothes . This was noticed by the Kachmuni  and he thought to himself that the ladies knew that he had no desires  and they were safe , but they were not that sure of his father .
    He reached the Janaka kingdom  and then the palace  and he was stopped at the gates . He sent a message to King Jnaaka  that ,'I the Kachmuni , has come to see him 'the guard gave the message to the king  and the King Janaka send a message to Kachmuni ,'When you have given up everything , you can come in '. The Kachmuni sent a second message that ,'I the Kachmuni has given up everything .' the guard took the message to the king and the king send back the same message , 'when if you have given uo everything , you can come in .
Now the Kachmuni was surprised . He could not understand  and so he sent the same message  and he got the same reply. 
    And then it struck him . In each message he was saying I THE KACHMUNI - which meant that he was referring to the physical body as KACH MUNI   and that showed the attachment to the physical body or he was mistaken to refer I TO THE BODY OF KACHMUNI . The story continues  and when he realized the mistake he was allowed to meet the king and then the king did teach him . There is story of how he tested the new student  and that may be next time .