GOD HELP ME

   This is a story related to our prayers to God . In Hindu prayer -we say सर्वे सुखिनः भवन्तु ,सर्वे भद्रानी पश्यन्ति ---Let all be happy and let all see good things  etc . But most of the times when we go to temple , we pray(?) ask for something for ourselves or our family. Some one had commented that when certain devotee (?) walks in the temple the God must be saying ' The headache walked in - he has list of demands' We offer a dollar and ask for million dollar lottery. This is not devotion. And then when we have a success in what we ask for then we say God answered our prayers. This story is related to that thought process.

  In a office there was a holiday party. All the employees were together and they had done a novel idea . Everyone will contribute $10 and at the end of the part only one person will get it . Everyone was suppose to put in his or her name in a basket  and then the owner will pick randomly one name and he or she will get the money. There was a man who knew of a house keeping lady who needed money as her son was sick and she did not have lot of money. So this man decided to put her name in the basket rather than putting in his own name. He was praying the God for entire duration of the part that her name - that he had written - will be picked up. At last the moment came and the owner picked the name  and as he opened the folded paper, this man was prying God for the housekeeper's name to be picked up. The owner announced  and sure enough the housekeeper's name was picked up. The house keeper went to the stage  and accepted the money and told everyone how she needed the money as her son was sick . The man thanked the God for answering the prayers. Then the part was continued . He went to the basket and just out of curiosity picked another folded entry  and opened it and to his surprise that also had house keeper's name  and so he opened another and same name  and so on. He realized that everyone knew of the problem that she had  and how she needed money more than anyone else  and so everyone had written her name instead of their own name. 

   So God answered prayers or was it that everyone did what they should have done any way? One has to realise that God can not do material things without we human being doing our own job or duty.