100 Love Stories E-Book

J.P. Vaswani

• Herausgeber: Gita Publishing House
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 335

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

From one who has mastered the mantra "Be Love, Live Love", A treasury of Love stories… of a different sort, Harvested from a hundred years of practicing love, One hundred tales that showcase what love really means.

Open any page of this book— and feel love drenching you like the first showers of the monsoon.

Leseprobe

Published byGita Publishing HouseSadhu Vaswani Mission,10, Sadhu Vaswani Path, Pune – 411 001, (India)[email protected]

© J.P. VaswaniFirst Published - 3000 copies - July, 2019eBook edition - February, 2020

100 LOVE STORIESTHAT WILL TOUCH YOUR HEARTE-ISBN: 978-93-86004-27-7

No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Author.

Printed atTomson Press (I) Limited

Contents

Compilers’ Note

THE RIPPLE OF LOVE

God is Love— In All Languages

God was Real to Him

Loving God through Kirtan

She Became the Lord’s Bride

The Lord Protects His Own

THE FERVOUR OF LOVE

Bibi Nachiyar

Kabir’s Yajna

Longing for Lord Shiva’s Darshan

Pearls of Love

Sulabha—A True Devotee of the Lord

THE PURITY OF LOVE

“None but Krishna”

Beloved of Balaji

Sri Krishna Writes for Jayadeva

Sri Rama was His Life-breath

The Blind Singer of the Spirit

THE SACRIFICE OF LOVE

A Martyr for His Faith

“God and I are One”

King Parikshit Attains Liberation

Mahabali: The Great Vishnu Bhakta who Gave up His All

My Son is a Sacrifice unto Thee

THE WISDOM OF LOVE

Sangam Saranam Gachhami!

The Power of Dhamma

Sweep and Clean!

Two Alms Bowls

Upali— The Barber who Became the Lawgiver

THE DIVINITY OF LOVE

Introduction: Connecting with God in Daily Life

The Door is Open

Sharing God’s Blessings

The Fire Worshipper

The Tenfold Gift

You Fed Me When I was Hungry

THE FAITH OF LOVE

Obedience to the Guru

Satyakama Attains Jnana

The Guru is a Saviour

The Guru’s Grace

The Holy Ganga at the Guru’s Feet

THE FORGIVENESS OF LOVE

Choose Love

Doing Away with Your Enemies

God Loves Men of Forgiveness

Jesus Counsels a Lawyer

The Way to True Peace

THE FREEDOM OF LOVE

Jamshed Nusserwanji: His Creed was Love

Jose Rizal: The Youth Immortal

King Rantideva: Beloved of Maha Vishnu

“I Have a Dream…”

Sister Nivedita: She Gave Her All to the People

THE HUMILITY OF LOVE

What’s in My Name?

Pandit Who?

Seek Only to Please God

The Widow’s Mite

The Story of Two Seas

THE ECSTASY OF LOVE

Come unto Me!

Ma Yashoda’s Vatsalya Bhava

Monica— The Saintly Mother

The Emperor’s Mother

A Mother’s Prayer of Surrender

THE TENDERNESS OF LOVE

For the Love of His Father

I Love You, Dad

“Tell Me, Father…”

The Son who Became His Father’s Guru

The Parable of the Prodigal Son

THE WARMTH OF LOVE

A Friend Indeed

As Dear to Me as My Brother

I Knew You Would Come

I Respect My Friend’s Faith

It Takes a True Friend to Speak the Whole Truth

The Lord is My Friend

THE BENEVOLENCE OF LOVE

Give of Your Best

Bread Turns into Stone

Giving for the Nation

Giving Without Questions

You Can Make a Difference

THE UNIVERSE OF LOVE

Ahimsa Paro Dharma

King Sibi and the Dove

Love All Creatures

O, Let Them Live!

Therapy of Love and Compassion

THE BONDING OF LOVE

Honouring a Teacher

The Special Teacher

Appreciation Works Wonders

The Ideal Teacher

The Teacher who Had a Dream

THE GIVE AND TAKE OF LOVE

Anasuya— The Rishi Patni who Became the Mother of the Gods

Kabir and Loi

Where Love Dwells

Sadhvi Vasuki

The ‘Golden’ Secret

THE OMNIPRESENCE OF LOVE

For His Sake Alone

Making a Heaven out of Hell

Service Before Self

The Invisible Sutras

The Saint of the Destitute and Dying

THE CLASSICS OF LOVE

The Great Sindhi Love Classics: A Brief Introduction

Lila - Chanesar

Noori - Jam Tamachi

Sassui - Punhun

Sorath - Rai Diyach

Umar - Marui

Suhini - Mehar

Moomal - Rano Mendhro

THE TREASURE OF LOVE

An Allegory of Mystical Love

The Experience of Love

Wise or Foolish? (O. Henry’s Tale Retold)

The Value of Love

Compilers’ Note

“Will you tell me, in three words, what is the essence of religion?”

This was the question posed to Sadhu Vaswani by an Englishman, during the Masters sojourn in London.

Prof. Vaswani smiled as he said, “The essence of religion is in three words! The first word is Love.” Then he paused for a brief while and added, “The second word is Love.” Another brief pause, and then, “The third word is Love!”

“Who are you?” he was once asked. He answered, “I am a pilgrim on the Road of Love.”

Little wonder then, that his dear disciple, Dada Jashan says of the Master, “To say that Sadhu Vaswani gave his love to one and all, is not just a manner of speaking. He loved everyone, every created being— man, woman, child, bird, animal, trees, flowers, rocks, rivers, seas and the woods. Love was indeed the light of his life…”

His repeated teaching was, “To live is to love”. Our hearts must be so full of love, he said, that there can be no room in them for hatred to anyone.

Love flows out from men of God in an endless, ceaseless stream. It touches all of us, leaving us with the ennobled feeling that we are loved, we are valued as human beings, that there is One who cares for us. We become aware of the profound truth that each one of us is a child of God, that our Heavenly Father loves us dearly.

This Divine capacity to love all, to love God and man and animal and bird, was the greatest blessing and grace that Sadhu Vaswani bestowed on beloved Dada. Truly, Dada is a great believer in the strength and sustaining power of love. His emphasis is on what he calls “love-in-action”, which manifests itself in sympathy, service and sacrifice. “In love,” he says, “is the solution to all the problems of life.”

Dada’s life is his message; for he is, indeed, love-in-action. He is also love-in-words, for every word he utters, every discourse he delivers is imbued with the love that is love indeed! What better way to commemorate his centenary than a compilation of one hundred of the best ‘love stories’ that he has narrated, in the course of his talks, informal lectures, satsang discourses and in his wonderful books?

That sounds so easy, but the difficulty was in the choice! Dada, as we all know, is the master raconteur, who holds us captive even as he narrates his stories with verve and flair. And, born as he is to live a love-filled life, every story he narrates is a love story one way or another! Nor does he confine himself to romantic love; love for God, love for the family, love for the people, love for the country, love for suffering humanity and the love that extends itself to enfold all of God’s creation-even such is the love his discourses are steeped in!

The rare and blessed privilege that has been given to us in putting this book together has shown us that his words spell out in clear, distinct, beautiful terms, the message of LOVE.

“Love is not an attribute of God,” says Dada. “Love is God.” These stories are love-filled and God-filled!

The question was asked of him, “What is love?” And he answered, “You will know when you become love!” We might venture to add, “To know Dada, is to know the meaning of love.”

Read these stories which celebrate love! Feel the love that is the essence of Beloved Dada!

God is Love— In All Languages

When we think of Sant Tulsidas, we are reminded of Sri Rama. Sant Tulsidas was the author of the most popular and well-known version of the great epic which the centuries have revered as Srimad Ramayana. We refer to his composition as the Ramacharitamanas. Gandhiji regarded the Ramacharitamanas as the greatest book among all the spiritual literature of the world. Different versions of the Ramayana have been written. The first Ramayana was composed by Maharishi Valmiki. It was written in Sanskrit. We also have the Anand Ramayana, the Uttara Ramayana, the Surya Ramayana and the Rangrat Ramayana. But Ramacharitamanas is the most popular among the people of India.

The meaning of the word Manas is ‘Mansarovar. Sant Tulsidas felt that this great scripture is a sarovar— a lake from which we can obtain the ripples of Rama’s Charitra or character: this is the lake which is filled with the waters of the character of Sri Rama.

The story of how this immortal scripture came to be written will amaze you! When he first began to write the epic, he found to his astonishment that the slokas which he wrote down in Sanskrit, would simply disappear as soon as he wrote them! He then had a vision of Lord Shiva and Parvati who directed him to write the Ramayana in the vernacular— the language of the people, Hindi, so that it could be accessible to the masses, and easily understood by them.

Tulsidas now started to write the Ramayana in Hindi. It took him seven months and 26 days to complete the work.

The pandits of Banaras were jealous of him. They employed different people and made plots to steal his work. But at every step, Lord Rama protected him.

The pandits were angry with Tulsidas because he had made the great epic available to the common people in their own mother tongue, Hindi. But Tulsidas’ intention was not to dishonour the Sanskrit language— he only wanted the poorest in the land to take a sip of the immortal nectar of Lord Rama’s life— to take a dip in the sacred lake of His Name.

It is said that when Tulsidas gave public recitals of his Ramayana, Lord Hanuman himself came to listen to the beautiful songs, and sat among the audience in the form of an old brahmin.

When Tulsidas went to Brindavan, he found devotees of Sri Rama and Sri Krishna quarrelling with each other. When the poet-saint came to have darshan at Brindavan, Sri Krishna’s statue was miraculously turned into a statue of Sri Rama, with bow and arrow in hand! Thus did Tulsidas prove that God was but One, while his avatars are many.

God was Real to Him

Namdev was one of the great poet-saints of the Bhakti Movement in Maharashtra. A contemporary of Sant Jnaneshwar, Namdev is hailed by his followers not just as a bhakta, but as a friend and companion of Sri Krishna-such was his great love for the Lord, and the intimacy with which he spoke to Him and opened his heart to Him.

From all accounts that are available to us, Namdevs childhood was very similar to that of Prahlada. It is said that the very first word the child uttered was none other than ‘Vitthala’. Since then, he continued with his constant repetition of the Name Divine, which became an ingrained habit with him. His greatest joy as a child was to accompany his mother to the Vitthala Temple, where she often went to offer worship to the deity. When he was about seven years old, Nama, as he was called, made for himself a pair of cymbals; clapping them together, he would happily sing Vitthala bhajans and dance to his own music and song. Everything else in his life had to take a back seat— studies, games, playing, even food, rest and sleep.

It was the custom in their house, to take the food cooked for lunch to the temple every day, and offer it as naivedya to the Lord, before the family could sit down to eat the food as prasad. When the meal was ready, Guna bai would take it in a covered thali (platter) and go to the Vitthala Temple, where she would say a prayer and attend the aarti, and add a tulsi leaf to the food to make it fit for an offering. When the pooja was over, she would return home to feed the family, with each member getting to eat a little of the food that had come back from the temple as prasad.

One day, Guna Bai was a little unwell; unable to make it to the temple, she called Nama and told him to take the naivedya to the temple. She explained to the boy what the offering was all about, and told him how the food was to be ‘shown to the deity. Namdev was happy to carry out the assigned task: after all, it meant visiting his favourite friend and beloved companion, Vitthala!

Promptly, he made his way to the temple and went straight to the sanctum sanctorum. It was a little late, and the temple was quite deserted; with great care and devotion, he placed the thali before the deity, and said to his beloved Vittoba, “Please accept the offering, which I have brought for you today, as my mother instructed.” He closed his eyes piously and waited patiently for a while; after all, Vitthala had to be given a little time to taste the food and accept it!

In a few minutes, he opened his eyes, and was disappointed to see the food on the plate untouched. What is wrong, he began to wonder. Why hadn’t Vittoba accepted the food? Was He angry or upset? Didn’t He like Nama to bring His food?

The young lad was troubled. “Vitthala,” he said, “please do not scorn this offering because I have brought it to you. I came in all love and devotion to give You this food. Don’t let me down.”

He closed his eyes again; but when he opened them, the food was still there, untouched.

Now, Nama began to cry softly. Vittoba does not like me, he thought to himself; He will not accept food from my hands! Does He not know how much I love Him! How can He be so indifferent to a friend and companion? Nama began to sob so sadly, that the kind and loving Lord Vitthala was moved to act. He appeared in human form before the boy, and accepted the plate from his hands; and He did not leave it at that; He ate up all the food on the plate and returned it to Nama, quite empty!

Nama was delighted; he thanked His Lord profoundly and rushed home to tell his mother that he had carried out the special task assigned to him. Guna Bai stared at the empty plate he had brought back. “Where is the prasad?” she questioned suspiciously.

“The prasad? I think He must have been very hungry today, He hasn’t left anything for us,” replied Nama innocently. “But you have a lot of food left at home, don’t you? He has only eaten the small quantity you put on this plate. It’s not fair to expect Him to send some back out of that small quantity, is it now?”

Guna Bai was taken aback. What was the boy trying to say? What had become of the food she sent on the plate? Had he eaten it up? Then why couldn’t he say so?

“I said, where is the Prasad?” she repeated. “Did you do as I said? Did you take the food to the deity? Did you put it before Him and close your eyes as I taught you to?”

“Yes, of course!”

“And, when you opened your eyes, what did you see on the plate?”

“He had eaten it all up, so I brought the empty plate back home. Aren’t you happy that He liked your food? He must have been hungry, so He ate it all up. It is not really kind to offer someone food, and expect Him to leave it all for you.”

Guna Bai’s head was beginning to ache now. What had become of her son? Why was he talking so strangely?

Guna Bai had no desire to put her boy through an inquisition to find out what had happened to the food on the plate. Besides, it was well past lunchtime. He was probably hungry. She would sort out the mystery tomorrow.

The following day, she repeated her instruction to Nama; he was to take the food and go to the temple and offer it to the deity.

Nama set off; his mother followed him at a distance. She saw him enter the temple; she watched him walk straight up to the deity; she saw him place the food before Vittoba and close his eyes in devotion; she heard him calling out to his beloved Lord— and, lo and behold! She saw the Lord appear before her son and partake of the food! Lord Vittoba was actually responding to his call, and appearing before him! Guna Bai wept in love and joy! What had she done to deserve such a child! He was a Divine-being!

“You have blessed me with a wondeful son,” she said to the Lord. “All I can do, is care for him and look after him, so that he will always remain Your beloved.”

Loving God through Kirtan

In the Prahlada Charitra as narrated in the Srimad Bhagavat, the young prince Prahlada recounts to his father, the nav-vidha bhakti or the nine methods by which one attains to the highest knowledge. One of the modes he talks about is singing/chanting the transcendental Holy Name and qualities of the Lord with heartfelt devotion: this is what we call kirtan, and the most well known exponent of this mode of bhakti was Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

In the year 1509, Nimai (as Chaitanya was known in his youth) and his students undertook a pilgrimage to the holy city of Gaya. Here, Nimai met Ishvara Puri, a renowned Vaishnava scholar belonging to the Madhva sect. The meeting marked a turning point in the young man’s life, and he adopted Ishvara Puri as his guru. His pride in his scholarship evaporated, as he realised the value of bhakti, propagated by his guru. Guru and disciple visited the Gadhadar Temple, where Nimai attained ecstatic heights of devotion, when he heard the cries of Hari bol, Hari boll He was born again as a Krishna bhaktal Singing the Name Divine and dancing in ecstasy, Nimai swooned in rapturous devotion. He had tasted the nectar of devotion, and would ever remain athirst for Sri Krishna’s grace.

When Sri Chaitanya went to visit Gaya, he was a Professor of Law. When he returned after visiting Gaya, he was a transformed man; he had lost himself in the devotion for Lord Krishna. He was intoxicated with the words, “Krishna, Krishna, Krishna Bol”, “Hari, Hari, Hari, Bol”. He could see nothing else, but the image of Sri Krishna. He had attained the state of enlightenment, of self-realisation. Hari Naam Smaran became a way of life in Nadiya, indeed, all over India, under Sri Chaitanyas influence.

Gurudev Sadhu Vaswani often said to us that every man has some obsession or the other. Some are obsessed with money, some with pleasure, some with name, fame and social status. Blessed is the man who is obsessed with the bhakti for Sri Krishna. Saint Mira in one of her bhajans, sings, ‘‘Main to prem diwani” (I am drenched with the love for Sri Krishna).

We too, can be immersed in that ocean of love, when we take to kirtan yoga! Mira, Namdev and Tukaram walked this way!

She Became the Lord’s Bride

Andal— the very name spells devotion, Divine love, poetry, the perfect blend of bhakti and aspiration and the ecstasy of absolute surrender to the Lord. Andal, believed to be an aspect of the Divine consort of Vishnu Bhudevi, was born on this earth as the adopted daughter of a great Alwar saint of Tamil Nadu. She grew up to be a gopika in kali yuga, and like Radha, she actually attained union with the Paramatma, her chosen Lord. In one of the most beautiful love stories ever scripted by the Lord Himself, she aspired to His Hand, and obtained this boon from Him.

Andal was not of human parentage; she was discovered and raised as the foundling daughter of Vishnuchitta, himself a great Alwar saint. He had no family of his own; he felt that it was God’s grace that gave him this child. He decided to name her Goda, or “gift of Mother Earth”. Filled with joy, he took her home and raised her as his own child.

Goda grew up to be a charming girl, the very apple of her fathers eyes. She listened to her father uttering slokas and prayers to the Lord day and night. The spirit of devotion entered into her very soul. She saw him engaged all day in the kainkarya (devotional service) of the Lord; she wanted to do the same. He was an Alwar saint, one who ‘drowned’ in devotion for the Lord; she felt she would like nothing better than to lose herself in such utter devotion. She imbued Hari bhakti from the environment in which she was brought up.

Growing up in this atmosphere of love and devotion, singing songs to her Beloved Krishna, listening to His Divine leelas narrated so eloquently by her father, Goda fell passionately in love with Lord Krishna. The love Vishnuchitta had for his Beloved Lord became even more intense in his daughter, and before long Goda made up her mind that she would marry none but the Lord of Brindavan. She refused to think of any human being in similar terms.

Soon Goda reached the age of marriage. She was absolutely beautiful to behold; but she refused to consider any offer of marriage. She told her father that the Lord of Srirangam, Mahavishnu Himself, had agreed to marry her; and that she was not born to marry an ordinary mortal and lead a worldly life. This time, her father believed her, for he knew that she was no ordinary girl.

While she waited for the Lord to send word to her, she did not just spend her time in idleness. She decided that she would make her sleepy little village into another Gokul, awakening everyone to the Lord’s presence among them. It was in this spirit that she composed the Thiruppavai, a collection of thirty poems in which she imagines herself to be a gopi living in the golden age of the Krishna Avatara; she yearns to serve Him and achieve happiness not just in this birth, but for all eternity, and describes the religious vow (paavai nonbu) that she and her fellow gopis will take for this purpose, similar to the Katyayini Pooja described in the Srimad Bhagavat.

Her other great work is the Nachiyar Thirumozhi, or Divine Sayings of the Goddess Consort. This work of 143 verses captures the essence of her devotion in the madhurya bhava or erotic mode. She became known as Andal— she who ruled the Lord by Love!

The impact of these works has been tremendous. Just like the Ramayana and Mahabharata, Tamil speaking people are never tired of listening to their Thiruppavai. The poem itself is recited with great religious fervour by women, men, and children of all ages. It is also recited as part of the worship in most Vaishnava temples. We have many excellent translations of these works in several Indian and western languages, and readers have been captivated by the devotion, fervour and Divine love expressed in these immortal poems to God. Beautifully blending classical Tamil poetic conventions with philosophical and narrative strains from the Vedas and Puranas, Andal creates astonishing poetry with unparrelelled visual imagery that is of the highest poetic order in the whole gamut of Indian devotional literature.

Vishnuchitta was a loving father who understood that his daughter was not an ordinary girl; but he was anxious about her future, like any other father. The Lord understood this and did not keep his devotees waiting. One night, Lord Ranganatha appeared in his dream and asked that Andal be sent to Him in all her wedding finery. At the same time, the Lord also appeared before the temple priests at Srirangam and asked them to prepare for the coming of Andal, and His wedding to her. Vishnuchitta was filled with both joy and sadness; joy that his beloved daughter would attain her goal, but sadness at having to give her away in marriage. He made all the wedding preparations and arranged for Andal’s journey in a palanquin to Srirangam.

Andal waited with excited anticipation as the wedding party approached Lord Ranganathas shrine. As they entered the temple, she rushed out of the palanquin, unable to restrain herself any longer. Running into the temple sanctum, she fell at the Lord’s Feet and disappeared in a blaze of glory, having attained union with her Beloved.

Andal is now one of the best loved poet-saints of the Tamils. People adore her as the incarnation of Bhudevi (Mother Earth), who came to this earth in bodily form to show humanity the way to His Lotus Feet. Her deity is worshipped in all Sri Vaishnava temples, in India and elsewhere, close to her Lord.

The Lord Protects His Own

Sant Tukaram was a Krishna bhakta. He had witnessed the Oneness of all beings on the earth. He often went into raptures of ecstasy while singing the Lord’s praise. He would be so absorbed in the kirtan that his whole being would radiate with joy, and his devotees would dance and clap with abandon, as they joined his kirtan.

At that time, Dehu, where he lived, was under the rule of the great Maratha King, Chhatrapati Shivaji. Having heard about the great Pandurang bhakta called Tukaram, the emperor wished to meet him and join him in kirtan. Chhatrapati Shivaji had great reverence for all the saints and sages of his land. A visit to Dehu was fixed for a particular day. This news leaked out and reached Aurangzeb, who was already preparing to have a battle with the warrior king. Aurangzeb decided to grab this opportunity to strike Shivaji Maharaj and kill him. This was far easier than fighting a battle against the mighty and fearless Maratha forces.

Shivaji Maharaj met Tukaram, and bowed to the holy saint with deep reverence. He sat down before the saint and joined the kirtan. The emperor, being a true devotee of the Lord, simply forgot all else once he sat down at the saint’s satsang, immersing himself in singing the Lord’s praise. No sooner did they start the kirtan, than Aurangzeb’s troops marched into Dehu, creating panic among the devotees. The frightened devotees ran helter-skelter. Sant Tukaram remained calm and composed. “The kirtan will continue, even if we all are massacred,” said the saint. Some of the devotees returned. Others ran away. Sant Tukaram appealed to Lord Vithal (Lord Vithal in Maharashtra is none other than Lord Krishna), “O Lord! You are a witness to this chaotic situation. O Lord! You promised to be our saviour! You promised to help and protect us, O Vithal! Now is the time when we need Your protection. Save us all, save my devotees from the wrath of the Mughals!”

The devotees continued their kirtan and were immersed in the ecstasy of chanting the Name Divine. At that moment a miracle happened. A blue light emanated from the eyes of Lord Vithal’s idol. Simultaneously a figure riding a horse galloped away. The figure was dressed like Shivaji Maharaj. In fact, from a distance, the figure looked exactly like Shivaji Maharaj. Thinking this ‘replica’ to be the emperor himself, Aurangzebs army retreated from Dehu and chased the figure riding a horse. The horse galloped at the speed of lightning and went deep into the hilly forests and finally disappeared. Aurangzebs army, while chasing the ‘image’ of Shivaji, lost their way and did not return. In the meantime, Tukaram continued his kirtan, appealing to the Lord to save him and his devotee, Shivaji Maharaj. After a couple of hours, Sant Tukaram saw the same blue light re-enter the Vithal idol. He knew then, that the Lord Himself had come to save them. “You are truly great, my Lord!” he exclaimed. “You always protect Your devotees from disaster!”

Bibi Nachiyar

If you have ever visited Melkote Temple (Thirunarayanapuram) in Karnataka, you will be amazed to see the idol of a Muslim princess at the feet of the deity Thiru Narayana. Known among the locals as Bibi Nachiyar (Divine Consort) the idol wears a purdah like traditional Muslim women!

The story behind this astonishing Bibi Nachiyar who is worshipped with great devotion and fervour by staunch vaishnavites is truly heartwarming. What is more, it is associated with the life and times of Sri Ramanujacharya.

During the 12th and 13th centuries, several Hindu temples and shrines in South India were attacked by the Mughal rulers and their treasures plundered by the armies. Many precious idols were stolen, and quite a few of them melted for their gold and silver. The deity at Melkote too, suffered a similar fate. It was taken to the palace of the Sultan at Delhi. But the princess who saw the idol of Sri Narayana, fell in love with it and begged her father to allow her to use it as a doll. The Sultan indulgently allowed her to keep it, for she was the apple of his eye. She took it to her apartment. She played with it; she bathed it and dressed it and offered it food. The Lord of Melkote became her inseparable friend and companion.

When Sri Ramanuja heard of the missing idol in Melkote, which he had made his home for over a decade, he decided to go to Delhi and retrieve it for the sake of the bereft devotees. Brushing aside all warnings and threats to his life, he undertook the long journey to Delhi and presented himself before the Sultan. Courteously, he explained the grief of the people over the missing deity, and requested the Sultan to return the deity to him, so that the temple festivals could be resumed.

The Sultan, an arrogant man, burst into derisive laughter. “My soldiers have brought to this palace hundreds upon hundreds of your sacred idols,” he said contemptuously. “For this monstrous practice of idol worship is rampant in this country. Two-handed, four-handed Hindu Gods are lying all over my treasury, and many of them have actually been melted. Even if we assume that your idol is still intact, how will you recognise your deity from hundreds of these idols? And your Gods will be angry with you if you take away the wrong idol…”

The courtiers burst out laughing at the Sultans outrageous insult to the holy sage.

Sri Ramanuja remained unperturbed in the face of this gross provocation. Politely, he said to the Sultan, “My Lord Thiru Narayana is all love and all mercy. Leave it to me to recognise the Lord and take Him back safely. It is my responsibility to ensure that I get my deity. All I need is your permission to take Him away, wherever He may be in this palace.”

“Go ahead,” said the Sultan. “If indeed you manage to find Him, you are free to take Him with you in perfect safety.”

Sri Ramnuja rose to his full height. A brilliant radiance shone on his face. He stretched out both his arms and called out, “Narayana, my dearly beloved Child, come to me!” (“Thirunarayana, En Selva Pillai, Vaaraayo’)

Heeding the call of this great bhakta, the deity ensconced in the princess’ apartment simply whizzed past the doors and hallways of the palace and landed securely in the acharya’s wide open arms! The Sultan and his people were too stunned to react. Ramanuja politely thanked the Sultan and swiftly walked out of the palace and soon returned to Melkote with the longed-for deity.

While celebrations were afoot at Melkote temple to reinstall the deity, the princess was stricken with grief at the loss of her beloved friend and companion. She followed Ramanuja all the way to Melkote, and seeing her beloved Lord firmly installed in the sanctum, she gave up her life at the entrance to the temple.

Sri Narayana appeared in the dreams of the chief priest and instructed him to have a statue of the Muslim princess installed at his feet. To this day, we can see Bibi Nachiyar in a purdah, securely resting at the Lotus Feet of Thirunarayana at Melkote.

Kabir’s Yajna

When Sant Kabir began to give his spiritual discourses in the holy city of Varanasi, the rigid and dogma bound priests of the city both Hindu and Muslim, turned against him. While they tried to bind people to rites and rituals, and organised worship, Kabir taught that people should endeavour to discover the Divine within them. The simple and humble people were sick of the tyranny of priests and flocked to hear the weaver saint who spoke to them in a language they could understand and urged them to chant the Name Divine constantly.

Envious of his growing popularity, the fanatical priests conspired to bring discredit on Kabir. They sent invitations throughout Varanasi and even beyond the city limits to thousands of people, saying that a great yajna was being organised by Kabir and his rich disciples, and that everyone was cordially invited to attend the same on such and such a day.

News of Kabir’s yajna spread like wildfire, and on the appointed day, people from all walks of life, all faiths, castes and classes, began arriving at the saint’s humble abode. Kabir was shocked and grieved. How could he find the wherewithal to conduct a yajna, leave alone feed the hundreds who were pouring in? Quietly, he left his cottage and walked to the outskirts of the city, and sat under the shade of a tree on the banks of the sacred River Ganga. Silently, he began to recite the Name Divine and was soon lost in Divine Communion.

No sooner had he left his hut by the back door, than the Lord Himself entered his abode, in the guise of Kabir! In His infinite mercy, He arranged for an elaborate yajna, and provided a magnificent feast for all the devotees gathered there. They took part in the yajna with piety, ate the sumptuous food provided to them and went home blessing the saint. “Long live Sant Kabir! Praise be to Sant Kabir!”

Late in the evening, Kabir awakened from his state of deep meditation and returned home, praying to God to give him courage to face the situation. Imagine his surprise when he was told what had happened! He knew at once that it was God’s doing, and sang out in ecstasy:

Neither did I do this, nor can I do this, nor is this body capable of doing anything at all. Whatever has been done is the Lord’s doing: in His graciousness He has given the credit to Kabir…

When we remember God constantly, when we dedicate our every thought, word and deed to Him, when we live in the living grace of our Gurudev, every act of ours becomes a sadhana!

Longing for Lord Shiva’s Darshan

The Saiva Siddhanta scriptures of South India, extol the lives of no less than 63 devotees of Lord Shiva, who are venerated as the great Nayanmars. Among them, is the real life story of a wonderful devotee of Lord Nataraja, called Nandanar. The unforgettable story of this saint explains the grace of Lord Shiva and the love He showers upon His devotees irrespective of gender, caste or other such worldly considerations. Indeed, it is man who has vitiated society with distinctions of rich and poor, high-born and low-born, brahmins and shudras and untouchables. In the eyes of the Lord, however, we are all one! Alas, how many of us remember this?

Nandanar was born in a slum, in the village of Adanur, on the banks of the River Kollidam in Tamil Nadu. His father was a landless labourer in a zamindar’s farm. He belonged to the community of poor people who were engaged in the lowly trade of selling the carcasses of dead cattle, and were therefore regarded as being ‘untouchable’. Nandanar used to make drums, dholaks and other musical instruments from the skin of dead cattle. All the members of his community were kept out of the village, for the rich farmers thought that they would ‘pollute’ the purity of the village by their very presence. How ignorant people can be!

In Nandanar’s heart was such deep devotion for Lord Shiva, that he longed to behold the beauteous form of the Lord in the deity enshrined in the Chidambaram temple. It was his deep yearning to behold the cosmic dance of Lord Nataraja there. He said to everyone he met, “I shall go to Thillai (Chidambaram) to have His darshan, very soon.” Every morning he would arise with this fervent aspiration in his heart; but as the day progressed, his courage would fail him. Who would permit a poor untouchable like him to come within sight of the holy Thillai temple?

“So then, when are you leaving for Thillai?” his friends would ask him. “Naalai” (tomorrow), he would mumble. Alas, would that longed-for tomorrow ever come? When would he behold the Ananda tandava (the blissful dance) of the Lord of Thillai? Nandanar still lived in hope.

The news reached the ears of the zamindar, that the poor untouchable from his village had dared to speak of going to Chidambaram. The cruel landlord scoffed at the humble devotee of the Lord. “I shall show you the way to Chidambaram,” he taunted him. “All you have to do is till my fields and sow the seeds for the next crop overnight. Not a difficult task for an untouchable who dares to dream of Chidambaram,” he added.

Nandanar was saddened by the taunts, and felt defeated by the impossibility of the task set before him. How could any man till one hundred acres overnight? He went home and fell into an exhausted sleep. On his lips and in his heart was the holy name: “Om Namah Shivaya! Om Namah Shivaya!” Even in his dreams, he saw the beauteous form of Lord Shiva, who smiled lovingly at him.

The zamindar was woken up early the next morning, by a great commotion outside his house. The entire village population had gathered before his house to tell him about a miracle— his one hundred acres had been tilled and ploughed and sown overnight!

The zamindar recognised the hand of God in this miraculous event. He rushed to the slum and fell at the feet of his ‘untouchable’ servant. “I beg you to allow me to make arrangements for your journey to Chidambaram,” he said, with tears flowing from his eyes. As for Nandanar, his simple soul was utterly dumbfounded by all that had come to pass.

At long last, that “naalai”, that longed-for ‘tomorrow’ arrived, and Nandanar set out on his fateful journey to Chidambaram. But when he reached the sacred pilgrimage centre, he found that he was not even allowed to enter the town, let alone go anywhere near the temple. The temple priests of Chidambaram, known as Deekshithars, maintained rigid customs and would not permit people of lower castes to come near the famous Nataraja temple. Poor Nandanar! He slept out in the open, on the outskirts of the town. In the morning, he saw smoke arising from the havan-fire in the temple. In his deep devotion, he circumambulated the whole town as many times as he could. He could never get to do a parikrama of the temple!

Once again, Lord Shiva came to the rescue of His dear, devoted bhakta. That night, Nataraja appeared in the dream of the Chief Priest of the temple, instructing him to bring Nandanar to the temple. “He shall enter my abode through flames,” the Lord said to the deekshithar.