Shopping Slippers In A Sweet Shop?

Ramu came to Mumbai from a small village in Bihar. He had never been to a city before. He was excited and was running around enjoying himself in the new place. 

The whole day went by in sight seeing. Suddenly he found that one of his slippers was broken and he could not go around any longer. So he started looking for a slipper shop.

The shops in Mumbai were big and their billboards had shop

titles in English. Ramu did not know English, so he just went to the first shop he saw - which happened to be a sweet shop.

He asked - Where do I get a pair of new slippers?

The shopkeeper and the people standing there laughed. 

The shop keeper said - You are looking for slippers in a sweet shop?

There was a noble person standing there. He called Ramu and showed him a slipper shop close by and sent him there.

 

Moral of the story

Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj explained many times in His lectures that just like we should not ask for slippers in a sweet shop, we should also not ask God for the world. 

God can give that too because He is all-powerful and all-merciful. But it is extreme foolishness to ask for the dirty world from the God, to ask for suffering from Divine Bliss.

God Is Everywhere

Guru Nanak Dev Ji Maharaj in Kaba

Once, Guru Nanak Dev Ji went to Kaba. And He put His feet towards Kaba. This angered the Muslim Maulavis. They were wondering where this Kaafir (a non-believer) came from? 

They held His feet and turned them around. But wherever they turned His lotus feet, Kaba seemed to move in front of Them. The Maulavis were stuck in awe. How does this happen? We turn His feet and Kaba moves too. Undoubtedly, This is not an ordinary person and stood with folded hands in front of Him.

Moral of the Story

Guru Nanak Dev Ji Maharaj thus proved that God is omnipresent. He is everywhere. 

It is our ignorance to think that He resides only in Kaba or in a temple.

The Selfish Nature Of This World

One Sethji (a rich man) was doing very good business. He was very rich. Many important people - lawyers, doctors, politicians and bureaucrats would come to greet him and give him gifts. 

Sethji's Doctor Friend

One doctor was a very close friend of his and used to visit him very often.

One day, Sethji suffered a big loss in business. He lost all his customers. He became poor. His wife could not take the jolt and became very depressed and sick. All his so called friends stopped visiting him.

Sethji's wife was not well

Sethji did not have enough money to get his wife treated from a good doctor. He thought of his doctor friend - He is my friend. He will definitely come and treat my wife.

So he went to the doctor’s place. The doctor was a good man and knew that the Sethji, a rich man of one time is now a popper. 

The Sethji said – O Doctor! My wife is very serious. Can you please come and see her?

The Doctor said – Well, I am really busy at this time. I have another serious

patient that I must finish with.

Sethji asked – Earlier you used to come and see us without a reason. Now you are busy even though my wife is so sick. Why are you doing this to me?

The Doctor smiled and said – I live in the world and have to make a living. So Sethji, you have to understand. I didn’t come for you. I came for your money.

 

Moral Of The Story

We the souls are under the influence of Maya and are looking for the real bliss. We are all so hungry for that bliss, that we do not care what the others in the world need. We only care to and plan to get from others. We do not care to give.

Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj narrates the story to tell us the selfish nature of this world. He gives another example of the birds which chirp on a tree as long as there is fruit on it. As soon as the fruit is over, they take a long leap and disappear.

Take me to Anand Nagar

Shri Bhagwad Geeta describes our body as a chariot. The horses that pull this

The Spiritual Chariot

chariot are our senses, the reins is the mind, the charioteer (Sarathi) is the intellect. Finally, the passenger or the master of this chariot is the Soul or Atma.

The Master tells the charioteer - Take me to Anand Nagar, the city of real bliss.

The Charioteer asks - Sir! Do you know where it is?

The Master says - No I do not. That is why you have been hired. Find it and take me there.

The Charioteer thinks and takes the chariot to a place full of flowers and beautiful smell.

The Charioteer asks -Sir! Is this the bliss you are looking for?

The Master replies - No, this is not my Anand.

The Charioteer thinks again and takes the chariot to a place where a musician is singing a beautiful raag. People are mesmerized with the music.

The Charioteer asks -Sir! Is this the bliss you are looking for?

The Master replies - Well no, this is not my Anand either.

The Charioteer thinks again and takes the chariot to a blue water lake by a mountain and green farm. The beauty of the place is breathtaking.

The Charioteer asks -Sir! Is this the bliss you are looking for?

The Master replies - No, very soon the trees will shed their leaves, the weather will turn into snow and ice and the blue waters are not forever either. So this is not my Anand.

The Charioteer thinks again and takes the chariot to a shop which is extremely popular for its tasty dishes. People are waiting in excitement to get in.

The Charioteer asks -Sir! Is this the bliss you are looking for?

The Master replies - Well no, this is not my Anand.

The Charioteer thinks again and takes the chariot to a kind woman who is hugging a sad person. The sad person is thanking her for the motherly touch.

The Charioteer asks -Sir! Is this the bliss you are looking for?

The Master replies - Well no, even this is not my Anand.

The Charioteer is lost and he takes the chariot to a saint.

The Charioteer asks -Sir! My master is looking for Anand. Can you guide where I can find it?

The saint says - This world does not have the bliss that your master is looking for. Take him to the abode of God.

The Charioteer takes Him to God's abode and asks - Sir! Is this the Anand Nagar you are looking for?

The Master replies - Yes, yes! You have found it. This is what I was looking for. You are in Anand Nagar.

Moral of the story

We are a soul, not the body. The soul is looking for an ever increasing, eternal bliss that can be found in God only.

Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj referred to this story to explain the spiritual chariot and the goal of every Jeevatma.

Save Every Spiritual Rupee Like a Miser

One Sethji (rich man) was working hard to settle his accounts. Something was not right. The numbers were not matching. If the accounts did not settle, there was a possibility of a loss. Hence the Sethji was trying hard to find the missing link.

It was late evening and the Sethji did not have dinner. His wife asked him many times when he would like to eat. But he continued to ignore her. His mind was really disturbed due to the problem in his accounts.

As it grew darker and late, his wife asked the maid to take the food to his room and put some sweet (kheer) on his lips. When he would get the taste, Sethji would feel hungry and would eat.

The maid did as instructed. But Sethji was not budged by this too. 

He said - OK, OK! Please leave. Don't you see that my account is not settling.

Moral of the story

This story was narrated by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj to make us understand that just like the Sethji, how important it is for the devotees to save every spiritual rupee of their Sadhana to attain God.

He mentioned that people do not become Ambanis as Tatas in a day. They do three things - 

1. They work hard to earn more.

2. They minimize their expenditures.

3. They do not allow any losses as much as possible.

In the same way, the devotees also need to do three things - 

1. Work hard on their Sadhana as much as possible.

2. Prevent exposure of the world as much as may be possible. Prevent feelings of love and hate in the world.

3. Protect themselves from kusang.

Vairag or Detachment Resides In The Mind

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

One day, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu went to see one of His old associates Pundarika Vidyanidhi. When Mahaprabhu saw him, the two embraced each other and shed tears of love. This is what happens when two people who are really close to each other, meet after a long time.

Pundarika Vidyanidhi

Pundarika Vidyanidhi lived in exclusive luxury. He had a palace like home, a bed made of gold and several beautiful maids serving Him. This confused one of Mahaprabhu's disciples, Gadadhar Pandit. He made a wrong opinion about Pundarika Ji. He thought Pundarika Ji was extremely attached to the worldly pleasures. And He further thought - Why would Mahaprabhu come to see such a worldly person? Has something gone wrong with Mahaprabhu too?

Well, the visit ended and Mahaprabhu came back to Navadweep with His disciples. Mahaprabhu knew everything what happened with Gadadhar. He called him and asked - Why were you confused at the home of Pundarika Vidyanidhi?

Gadadhar told the truth - Prabhu! That man lives in lavish luxuries. I was confused that you went to see such a worldly person.

Mahaprabhu asked him - You judged that saint with all the external luxuries.Where do you think does the Vairag or detachment reside?

Mahaprabhu explained - It is the mind which holds the Vairag for the world. You should not have judged him from his external outlook.

Mahaprabhu further gave examples of Dhruv, Prahlad and Janak who were saints but ruled the entire earth for thousands of years.

Then, Shri Mahaprabhu instructed Gadadhar to go and get Deeksha from Pundarika Vidyanidhi and come back only when Pundarika Ji pardons him.

Moral of the Story

It is the mind that holds the indifference for the world. It is the mind that holds the love for God. 

Since we the souls are under the influence of Maya, we cannot see anything inside the saint's heart and hence cannot judge Him with His external behavior and belongings.

The Power of Selflessness (Nishkamata)

Nishkamata or selflessness 

is a quality when a devotee does not care about his own pain to please Krishna. If he does something what Krishna wants, then Krishna becomes happy and that is what a devotee wants. This is a story of a Sadhu (hermit) who attempted to make Krishna happy. And the God who does not appear on hard austerities of sages was compelled to appear to keep the wish of his devotee.

Moral of the story:

This story was referred to by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj to explain how a devotee can get everything without asking for anything.

If a devotee does not care of his own pain to make Krishna happy, then Radha Krishna, the Yugal Sarkar become a slave to him.