TRUE DEVOTION

   I know that all of us or may be most of us believe in God and worship in our own way and also pray . But for many of us the God is God of convenience.. We pray for our success, our family's good fortune  and sometimes even pray him so we get good parking spot .So for us or for most of us this God God for OUR COMFORT. No doubt we believe in him and we also trust him . But it is not 100% devotion. We don't mind waking him up - if he is sleeping or bothering him on week end or in the middle of the noght, as long as we WANT something . So this is a story of again TULASIDAS. I told him aboiut him last time before he became devoted  and was devotional to God. Now is the story after that. 

    So Tulasidas was devotee of God and he worshiped God Rama. He lived in home and was devoting his life for the God . He still has things in his home . Since he became devoted to God, he was not paying much attention to the usual day to day activity and precautions that we take so that noone steels anything from our home . So the couple of robbers noticed this and felt that they can steel from his home . So they decided to do it at night as everyone is asleep. But when they came to steel. they noticed that 2 young men with bow and arrows were guarding the home of Tulsidas. They could not do much . They came back next night and they saw the same guards. So they were frustrated . They went to Tulsidas next morning and asked him as to who are these guards  and how did they happen to guard the home for him . Tulsidas understood  and told them that they were LORD RAMA  and Lakshman. He felt very bad that Lord Rama and his brother Laksham had to come to protect his home  and worldly belonging . So he decided to donate everything that he has . He did not want the God to be bothered by simple things like protecting his devotees.

     Do you think we will ever do that ?

MISGUIDED PASSION

     We are often told that one has to act with passion when we does any thing in life. If we are playing golf or tennis, we need to show or have passion , The same hold true about the passion when we worship God or pray we need to have passion rather than going through the motions of prayer or rituals and do not have much passion or sincerity. So this reminds me of old story of TULSIDAS . He was a saint  and his RAMAYAN called Tulsasi Ramayan is now a days chanted  and read by thousands or even millions .
   Tulasidas was not a saint or devoted to God . He was a regular person and had usual life. He got married and he loved his wife . I am not sure if it was love or lust . But after the marriage few days down the road she went to her parents house. She left  and the husband Tulasidas could not stay home alone . He was constantly thinking of her and as the Sun went down, he was thinking more about the he wanted to see her. But she was not home  and was with her parents. The bad part was that parents lived in another town across the river.To add to this problem, there was heavy rains  and the river was flooded  and it was very risky to cross it. But Tulasidas was determined to see his wife. So he went to the banks of then river. There was a boatman  and Tulsidas offered him money to to take him across the river in his boat.The boatman refused saying that even going in boat is risky. But Tulsidas was not distracted by the risk . He decided to swim and so he jumped in the river. The currents of water were very bad  and he had difficulty and he was having very hard time swimming.He saw a log of wood floating towards him and he grabbed it  and then he was swept away down stream. He finally reached the the other side of the river  and it was very dark as it was midnight. He pulled the log out of water  and then went to his in laws home . He knew that his wife had a room on second floor  and so he started calling his wife . He did not want to wake up in laws. She opened the windows  and then he decided to climb up to the window He saw a rope hanging and he jumped and grabbed it from a side by tree. He climbed to the windows  and to his surprise the wife was not happy at all .He proudly told her as to the difficulties he had coming to her.She looked at him and told him that the enthusiasm  and energy that he has given coming to her , would have been better served if he had same devotion for GOD.She was coming home next week anyway. Tulsidas realizes what he had done risking his life  and when he traced back he realized that the rope that he grabbed was in reality was a snake  and the log that he floated was a dead body that was floating in the river.
     He realized that his actions were dangerous  and risky  and unwise  and they were misguided. As they say rest is history. He became one of the most devoted saint of his time. 

ORIGINAL NATURE

   We have seen that many of us try to change the nature of things . Someone had said it jokingly  that females marry men thinking that they will change after marriage and They DON'T  and men marry females thinking that they won't change  and THEY DO !Joking aside we don't change most of the time. when we talk to someone who does not have the same political views as ours, we try to convince them to change their views and I have yet to come across a single person that has changed his or her opinion. So that brings me to the story for today. OUR NATURE THAT WE ARE BORN WITH DOES NOT CHANGE OFTEN .(THOUGH THERE ARE MANY EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULE  and that may be my next story)
    There was this sage who lived with his wife  and he used to wake uo in the morning  and then fo the river and bath and then offer to SURYA the SUN. He would take water with his KAMANDALU a pot that sage carry.When he filled the pot with waters from river, he saw a small mice . He decided to save it and take it home . He did not have children and so he decided to convert it in to a girl  and he took it home . The wife was told by him that he had found the mice and he changed it in to a girl. The wife was very happy and they both decided to keep her  and take care of her . She started growing  and when she was 18- 20 years old they decided that she needs to marry . The sage had taught her and educated her  and she was good looking young girl, who was smart  and educated now. The sage wanted the best for his daughter  and he had powers to get any one to accept her as wife . He worshiped the SUN and so he called his daughter and asked her to see SUN .It was noon and the daughter saw the Sun and said . 'oh no I don't want to marry Sun , He is too hot . How can I live with him?'The sage was not happy  and asked her as to who would be stronger than the Sun.He though that the cloud is stronger than cloud as it can cover the Sun and reduced the heat  and so asked her ,"How about marrying the clouds"She took one look at the clouds  and stated ,' Oh no the clouds are ugly looking and has very poor shape  and I don't want to marry clouds'
So the sage asked to himself who would be better than clouds . and the answer came to him He thought that the clouds are strong but the wind can move them and they have no choice when the strong wind blows them away. So he invited the wind  and asked the daughter to consider the wind as her life partner. The daughter took one look  and said NO .the wind is too unsteady , moves all the time  and will not settle and I don't want to marry the wind. The sage was disappointed  and then again thought who is better or stronger than wind . The answer came to him - the mountain . The wind is strong but the mountain can stop the wind  and wind can not move the mountain . So he called the daughter  and took her to a tall mountain  and showed her the strength . She took one look  and said oh no . The mountain is strong that is true , but it is too rough  and i can not marry the mountain . As she said she saw a mouse who was digging a hole in the ground . As soon as she saw this she said, 'See how this mouse is stronger  and even stronger than the mountain. ' I want to MARRY A MOUSE ! The sage realized his mistake . HE change the girl back to the mice  and left her there !

SAME SOUL

   We often say that the soul does not die. And the physical body dies  and then when the body dies, the soul continues it's journey to Astral world  and then is reborn. We also believe that the soul is same even when it is in animals. In fact we progress from animal to human beings. But in spite of knowing this or believing in this, we don't treat other human beings with respects  and animals - forget about them.So our behavior is not good . This is the not so when  it comes to saints  and evolved souls who act as they preach.
     Ekanath was one of the saints who was devoted to God  and it showed in his behavior. Many Hindus believe in purity of RIVER GANGES or Ganga. One who bathes in it his sins are washed out. One also keeps water from the Ganga in house . There is a custom that when someone is about to die, putting water from Ganga leads him to Nirvana. So Ekanath traveled to the Ganga  and bathed in it and then got some water from it and was going home .While he was walking away from the river he came across many other devotees who had done the same thing and were also carrying the water from the Ganga. It was noon and it was summer  and so the temperature was high . As he was walking he saw a donkey lying down  and it was thirsty  and was suffering with thirst. The other devotees were passing buy.they did not pay any attention to the dying donkey. They had water but they had carried the water but they wanted to take it home  and not give it to donkey. Ekanath stopped  and without thinking for a second, he sat down on the road  in dirt and opened the donkey's mouth and poured the water from the Ganga . For him saving a life of donkey was more important than having water in in his home.He believed that the soul in donkey was the same soul that human beings have.
    Many of us believe in Law of Karma ,but we don't realize that when we do not ACT ,it is still an ACT or Karma . When people did not do the Right thing or anything, they did Create BAD Karma . So Lack of Karma or action is actually a bad action in this case.

PERFECT MEDICINE

  This is very old story  and it makes a point and should be taken with the right spirit  and not try to do fact check . There was a King  and he was the ruler and had everything that a mortal man wishes he could have .He had money and a big palace  and servants  and a beautiful wife  and he could do  anything and anything or not do it if he wishes. But he was not happy and felt sick.So the best doctors were called . Every one had some advice  and gave him some medications and he did not get better and so the another one was called  and he tried something else  and he did not feel any better. So doctors were called from other areas and they all failed.
   The king was not getting better and he was convinced that he was sick and no one was able to find out any solution.It happened that a Yogi or a saint came to the town and was visiting and he was considered wise  and had powers to heal anyone of any element. So he was invited by the king to palace . He came in and he examined the king and asked him many questions  and then said he knows the diagnosis  and the solution or the treatment. Everyone was all ears . So he told them that the king needed to wear a shirt worn by a HAPPY PERSON. No other medicines needed . If the king would wear a short for short time that was worn by happy man , he will be cured .
     So immediately  the king sent all the soldiers in search of such a happy man The soldiers went all over the town . Every house that they went, someone was unhappy as they had lost job or someone had dies , or someone was hungry or failed in examination . So the whole day search did not result in finding a happy man . The night started  and the soldiers did not know what to do . They continued to go house by house.In early morning - they had gone all over the town and they had come out of town at the banks of a river. It was dawn and the sun was rising and the birds were singing  and the breeze was nice . They saw a man sitting on a stone enjoying the entire surroundings . They approached him and asked him if he was happy man . He answered that he was till they came in and blocked the sun rays that he was enjoying. The soldiers moved and asked if he was happy now  and the man said 'yes , I am happy , there is nothing to be unhappy , The surroundings are beautiful and birds are singing and the Sun is rising  and he is very happy . The soldiers told him that he has to come with them to the king and that was the order.
   So they all went to the palace  and the king asked him if he was happy. The man answered Yes . So the king asked him if he could give a shirt worn by the man , The man answered ' " I would but I don't have a shirt !"
     The King got the answer to his problem.!

GUNAS AND IT'S COMBINATION

       Due to COVID,I was not going to gym or to eat out or go for movies. So I had more time at my hand  and I did a course on religion from Harvard University .It was on Hinduism  and I was disappointed . One of the misconception that we have ts that the so called learned Professors KNOW . In one of the links to the course was to an article written by one of the Harvard professor on caste system he argued that even in RIG VEDA there is mention of the same - Brahmin is produced from mouth and Shatriya is from hands  and Viashya is produced from thigh and Shudra from feet .So even the Veda which is suppose to be main scripture, had demoted Shudra. This is simply due to lack of understanding on part of this LEARNED (?) Professor.In one of the older mantra called RAMARAKSHA , which is related to Lord Rama and how we should worship or pray the Lord Rama has several shlokas describing the various body parts as related to different personalities in Ramayan. BIBHISHAN who is described as one with feet.Certainly he was not Shudra by any stretch of imagination.So what does it mean?So I though of talking about the Ravana and his siblings  and the GUNAS.
     There was a Rhushi who was trapped by a lady who was RAKSHAS.and when they had children they were Ravan, Kumbhkarn, Bibhishan and Shurpanakha . First 3 are males  and last one is female. We know that Ravana was the devotee of Lord Shankar and he was the same one who kidnapped Sita and also was indulging in all sorts of sense pleasures. Kumbhakarn was full of indulging in pleasures  and slept 24/7 .The Bibhishan was a devotee of God  and Lord Rama and SHURPANAKHA was wicked female. When she saw Rama she wanted to marry him and when Rama told her that he was married , she wanted to marry his brother Lakshamana . So all that she wanted was to have somehow sense pleasure. So now let me try to explain this on basis of 3 GUNAS or 3 qualities. The father VISHAWA was full of Satwic guna but he did marry Rakshasa woman, who is full of TAMASIC Guna.So the combination created 4 children who have combination of 3 qualities. As you know that Satwic is calm and steady  and Rajasic is activating  and Tamasic is inactivity - laziness. So the Satwic Guna was almost 100% in BIBHISHANA and so he was devoted to Gid and he did pray and did penance and hew blessed with Immortality.The Ravana is more of Rajasic  and some Satwic  and some Tamasic Gunas and so he was worshiping though at times for self pleasures  and he is the same one who kidnapped Sita with lust,Kumbhakarna was 100% Tamasic  and he had done some worshiping too But the Satwic  and the Rajasic Gunas were there in very small %. Predominant is Tamasic.Shtpanakha was combination of Tamasic  and Rajasic Gunas so she was attracted to Rama and then Lakshmana  and then when it did not work out, she wanted to take revenge.
    All of us have all 3 qualities  and the proportion of them at a given time our action is determined. But for practical purpose we have one or another one dominant most of the time . But when another one takes over for a short time we behave differently. So we do see Good people do bad things at times  and Bad people do good things at times . These qualities determine if one is Shudra or Bhamhin. Certainly society did make a mistake  and created casts based on Birth rather than 3 Gunas. 
    May be one of these days we can talk of meaning of various parts of body representing different personalities in Ramayana. 

MIRACLE

    The common questions that we get or we think about is , can we change destiny?The answer is yes and no . It depends upon what  one considers as destiny. If I have an examination tomorrow  and I have not studied for the examination till today , may destiny is FIXED  and can not be changed by study for one day. But if I have enough time  and effort  and desire then U=I have some chance of changing the destiny. The question can be answered in little different way also , but the next question is cam GOD change it . The answer is again Yes and NO . If your faith and surrendering God is unconditional then my be it can be changed . That brings me to the story for today.
    Tukaram was a saint many years ago . He was more devoted to the God than even his own family  and that did bring him in trouble. He used to sing the praise of the lord called Bhajan  and people were mesmerized  and used to crowd in the temple for the prayers. The Bhajanas used to put people in trans and one with the God . This path of reaching the God is is called BHAKTI YOGA  and many devotees have followed it, but many a times we have conditional devotion . You do this  and I will do that . People have God of convenience  and they ask for things that are outrageous. We pray God to get us parking spot and also the lottery ticket numbers. So the news spread that Tukaram was great Devotee and his Bhjanas are so intense that one forgets everything and gets one with God. The king Shvaji came to know about this  and decided to pay visit . So he came . He was attending the Bhajanas. The news that he came to visit Yukaram spread to King Aurangjeb a Muslim king -Shvaji's staunch enemy . He sent several soldiers to catch Shivaji.
     The soldiers surrounded the temple  and there was no way Shivaji could escape. Shivaji was inside  and he had few soldiers accompanying him. The news that Muslim soldiers are surrounding the temple spread to the devotees Tukaram also came to know about this . He started praying the God . He did not want the KIng to be caught while attending the devotional service . He prayed the Lord . Not for himself . but for the safety of the King. Shivaji had to find a way to escape . He decided to leave the temple . The Muslim soldiers were waiting outside . But every man who was getting out of the temple looked like SHIVAJI . They got confused as to whom to catch as there were several Shivaji look alike  and so in that chaos real Shivaji escaped. So the prayers worked .
    Was this the destiny changed by the unconditional devotion ?You can decide.