The Previous Day Score Rolls Over

There was a test match going on between the teams of Delhi and Chennai. Chennai were batting and

by the end of the day had accumulated 261 runs for the loss of 3 wickets. At stumps, Murali was playing on 36 while his partner Gopi was playing at the score of 63.

Everyone rested in the night in a hotel near the stadium. The players were planning their strategies for the next day.

The sun rose. The play was on. Kumud, a little girl had come with her dad to watch the play. She looked at the scoreboard and was confused.

She asked her dad - Dad! The play has just started. Why is the scoreboard saying that Murali is playing on 36?

Her dad explained - Kumud Beta! The play has started for today but the match had started yesterday. Murali scored 36 yesterday and he starts with that score today.

Moral Of The Story

Just like in a test match, the two batsmen start their new day with their scores where they left the previous day, The Jeev takes birth with its score of paap and punya from the previous life.

And based on its previous score of Paap and Punya, the Jeev gets its body. That may be a human, a dog, a mosquito or a tree. If two Jeev get a human body, one may be rich and the other may be born in a beggar's house.

I Am A Millionaire!

Giridhar found a ring on the street. He first thought it was just a shiny glass. Then he thought - May be this is worth a few hundred rupees. I should not throw it. He showed it to a jeweler friend. His friend was a bit surprised. Without telling anything his friend looked under his magnifying glass and said - You are rich. This is pure diamond. It may be worth a few crore rupees.

As soon as Giridhar found the value of the ring, he exclaimed - So, am I a millionaire now?

His friend said - Yes, you are!

Giridhar took the ring and kept it safely in a locker. He was so happy after he found out the value of the ring.

Moral of the Story

Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj referred to this story to explain the reason for not enjoying the chanting of the Name of God.

He explained that the day we come to realize the value of God's Name and that God Himself resides in His Name with all His powers, we will automatically start getting the divine nectar from it.

A Sweeper Is Purer Than A Brahmin

A Rasik Saint Shri Jagannath Das was in Vrindavan. One day, he was very hungry. 

He saw a sweeper sweeping the floor. He asked him - I am hungry, give me your roti (bread).

The sweeper replied - O Sage! Why do you ridicule me? I am a low caste sweeper. Why would you eat my roti?

The sage said - Come on! A sweeper of Vrindavan is superior to any Brahmin.

The sweeper could not disobey. He gave his roti to the sage who ate it.

However, when this event spread in Vrindavan, all the Brahmins complained that the sage did an impure action. His act was defying the historic rules of the society.

To this, the sage replied - I understand your complaint. But all I know is that the raj (dust) of  Vrindavan is charged with the cleaning powers of Krishna. And who would be purer than the sweeper who incessantly bathes in that raja?

This silenced everyone.

Moral of the Story

This story tells us that the Rasik saints have their own ways and rules of living. They are self-willed and fearless. They do not worry about what others will say about them.

Strange are the ways of Rasiks but through this story they also teach us that we should always realize the importance of the dust (Raj) of a Dham.

The Hidden Treasure

Chandu was a very poor man. Due to a disability, he could not work. Very soon, his savings dried up. As his poverty began to show on his appearance, his friends and relatives stopped talking to him.

Chandu was all alone. He did not know where to get help from. He cried but that wouldn't help. He needed money

to eat and live. So he decided to beg. He was thankful to God that people gave him enough money and food in alms to be able to survive on his own.

Chandu had great respect for God and the saints. One day, a saintly person was passing by his hut.

Chandu thought to himself - I have heard that if we serve the saints, that brings us good luck.

So he called out - O Mahatma! Please come and accept some food.

The Mahatma came and sat. Chandu quickly cooked some food and served to him. The Mahatma ate the food and thanked Chandu. 

The Mahatma said - O noble soul! You fed a hungry person. I am very happy with you. So, on the basis of the powers that God has given me, I disclose to you that you have been living on a treasure. If you dig your angan, you will discover gold and diamonds that will change your life.

Chandu exclaimed in surprise - Really? Thank you so much Mahatma Ji. I feel as if I should have met you before. I have been living a real hard life.

After the Mahatma left, Chandu began to dig his angan. Very soon, he found

the treasure. He became a rich man. Because he had seen hard days, he started helping the poor. He no longer had any suffering. He was a happy man.

Moral Of The Story

Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj referred to this story to give us a message. We the jeev are suffering. All of us are suffering, even the ones who seem to be happy. Our house is our body which has an angan which is our heart. And this heart has a treasure which is God. We are suffering because we are ignorant that we have a treasure hidden in our heart. The moment we discover this treasure, we will become happy forever.

Now that we know that there is a treasure hidden in our heart, we should immediately start digging our angan and find that treasure.

I Can Not Tolerate Injustice To My Devotee

Ambarish was a King in the Satya Yuga. He was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu was so happy with the devotion of the King that he blessed the king with his Sudarshan Chakra. Anyone who was protected by the Sudarshan Chakra was protected from everything.

King Ambarish fasted on the 11th of every month for a year. Lord Indra, the God of the heavens grew

worried. The king already commanded the Sudarshan Chakra and if he also completed this fast successfully, he would become even more powerful than Indra. Wondering what to do, Indra saw Sage Durvasa. Indra went to Sage Durvasa with a plan.

Sage Durvasa was pleasantly surprised to see Indra. and blessed him. Indra was at his best behavior and soon won over Sage Durvasa. Sage Durvasa was happily enjoying Indra's hospitability, when Indra said, 'Great Sage! Have you heard about King Ambarish's fast? It is said that he is true devotee of Lord Vishnu! I think tomorrow he will break the fast...It would be a great occasion sir!'

Sage Durvasa nodded.Indra knew that if Sage Durvasa went there, He would always find something to get angry about and if King Ambarish even put one foot out of line....the fast would not be complete.

The next day Sage Durvasa came to Ambarish who wholeheartedly welcomed Him. The sage was very happy but he shook his head, 'Ambarish! I have just come...I need to wash up first and then we will both have some food...I think you are also due to break your fast soon...'

King Ambarish smiled, 'Yes Sir! Two hours from now would be an auspicious time to break the fast!'

Sage Durvasa smiled, 'I will clean up and both of us together will do it...'. King Ambarish nodded.

However Durvasa got delayed and the auspicious time came. The minsters of King Ambarish came forward, 'Sir! I think it would be best if you broke the fast and had a sip of water! You can wait for the sage and then have the food sir!'

The king said - No! I will wait for the Sage.

The Sage however did not come. The ministers said again, 'Sir, the auspicious time for the finishing the fast is approaching...If you do not break the fast now...there was no point in keeping your fast sir!'

Finally Ambarish agreed and took a sip of water...Just as his luck would have it, as he finished taking the sip, Sage Durvasa came all fresh and...angry!

'Ambarish! Is this how you show respect to your guest?' He thundered, 'You just broke your fast before I came...'

The king humbly said - Sir! The auspicious time was passing....I took only a sip of water.

'AUSPICIOUS TIME!....You don't know how to deal with guests...and you talk about auspicious time...' Sage Durvasa looked far from forgiving....

'Sir! I am sorry, if I have offended...' King Ambarish said again.

'OFFENDED...I...You...' Sage Durvasa said angrily, 'See what I am going to do to you...'

Sage Durvasa said plucking out a strand of hair from his head and threw it on the ground. From the strand of hair emerged a huge demon. Sage Durvasa ordered the demon, 'He...He has offended me...Kill him...' .

The demon charged at Ambarish. King Ambarish prayed to Lord Vishnu, 'My Lord! I have not committed any mistake...Please protect me and my men...' As the demon came forward, the Sudarshana Chakra appeared and killed the demon.

Now the Sudarshana Chakra turned towards the Durvasa. Durvasa ran for His life and the Chakra

followed Him! He ran on top of mountains, on plains, caves, even under water...the Chakra followed him everywhere.

Sage Durvasa ran to Lord Brahma and gasped, 'Lord! Please help me....the Sudarshana....is after me....'
Lord Brahma replied - 'I cannot help you...Durvasa...Please seek the help of Lord Shiva...'
 

Sage Durvasa ran to Lord Shiva and said - My Lord!...Please protect me.

Lord Shiva said to Durvasa with pity - 'The Sudarshana Chakra belongs to Lord Vishnu...He is the only person who can call it off!'

Durvasa ran to Vaikunta and pleaded to Lord Vishnu - 'My Lord! Please protect me from your Chakra...please'

Lord Vishnu smiled, 'Durvasa! The Sudarshana is mine, no doubt! But it is now protecting Ambarish. He is the only one who controls the Chakra. Apologize to him. Only then will you be protected.

The sage ran back to Ambarish and said - Ambarish! Please forgive me. please protect me from the Chakra!' Ambarish understood. He closed his eyes and prayed to the Lord, 'Lord! Please forgive the sage..I have forgiven Him.

No sooner had Ambarish thought the words, the Chakra stopped. It wavered for a minute and then disappeared.

Durvasa then said to King Ambarish. 'Ambarish! I have never seen a man equal to you in devotion! You broke the fast by taking a sip of water and you waited for me! The mistake was mine because I became angry for my fake ego.

Ambarish smiled and fell at the Sage's feet and asked for his blessings. Then the two of them ate together. Thus despite all the hurdles, Ambarish completed the fast, which made him as powerful as Indra, the Lord of the Heavens!

Moral Of The Story

The story teaches us that God loves His devotees more than His Swansh. He cannot tolerate injustice on devotees like Ambarish and will do anything to protect them.

Protect Your Earnings

Kamal was blind. He made his living by making ropes from dry grass and then selling them in the market close by. That is all he learnt from his father. In his state, he had gotten used to do it over the years.

Kamal had a cow Kajari whose milk was additional help to him and his mother to run the house

. Kamal's mother would feed her, clean her and get her milk.

One day, Kamal's mother had to go somewhere. Kamal forgot to give Kajari anything to eat. 

The only thing he did was to keep chatting with her while he was making a rope. Kamal was making the rope from one end while he left the other end loose towards his back where Kajari was standing. 

Kajari was starving, so she started eating the rope from the loose end.

At the end of the day, although Kamal thought he made 15 feet of rope, he was surprised that he only had one feet in his hand.

Moral of the Story

Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj teaches us from this story that we may be doing a lot of Sadhana and earning lots of spiritual progress. But if we come across any kind of Kusang, we are bound to lose a part or all our earnings.

Hence, even if we earn little, we should try to protect ourselves from Kusang, which is anything that takes us away from God and Guru.

Ajamil who was known to be a Jitendriya (one who has won over his senses) saw just one second of Kusang and became such a sinner that he became an example in Hinduism.  

Saints of Braj - Shri Nand Kishore Das Goswami Pad

Shri Nandkishore Das belonged to the seventh generation of Nityanand Prabhu. His father used to make a living by giving Diksha to people and accept their offerings. His parents wanted him to do the same but Nandkishore was hungry to realize Krishna.

His parents started planning his marriage and Nandkishore became extremely uncomfortable. He

slipped away from home and accepted Shri Vishwanath Chakravarti as his Guru in Vrindavan. People from his village came searching him there and disclosed to Shri Vishwanath how grieved were the parents of Nandkishore. Shri Vishwanath could not bear it and asked Nandkishore to go back and get married.

Nandkishore agreed. He returned, married and had a son. A few years went by. But Nandkishore

again slipped away and came to Vrindavan. He installed the images of Gaurang and Nitai under a banyan tree in Sringarvat and started worshiping them day and night. The Raja of Jodhpur came for a pilgrimage to Vrindavan and saw this. The Raja was so impressed that he imparted some surrounding land, a few cows and a servant to him. The servant's name was Bhondu. He was not so smart in the worldly sense but was a clean minded boy. He started learning about Krishna and devotion from Nandkishore and treated him like a Guru.

Every morning Bhondu would take the cows to the other side of Yamuna in Bhandiravan and graze them. There were other cow-herds who would come there to graze their cows. Since Bhondu was hearing about Krishna from his Guru, he started making a desire to meet Krishna some day in Bhandiravan.

In a matter of days, Bhondu became extremely anxious to see Krishna and started crying and sobbing for Him. Krishna could not bear it for long and appeared before him with His cows. The two became friends. Bhondu started bringing food for Krishna and his friends and everyone started having a party at lunch everyday.

Once Nandkishore noticed that Bhondu was taking so much food with him to graze cows. And so he asked him why? Bhondu was simple and told him that it was for Krishna and His friends. Just to ensure who Bhondu was talking about, Nandkishore asked him how he looked. Bhondu said that Krishna had a blue body, yellow clothes and was extremely handsome. Now, Nandkishore was pretty sure that it was his Krishna and he also wanted to meet Him. So he asked Bhondu to invite Krishna to Sringarvat for a feast with Him. Bhondu agreed.

That day when he met Krishna, he invited Him for a feast with His Guru. Krishna refused. Bhondu started crying. He did not expect Krishna to say No to him. And he started walking away. Krishna could not bear it and ran after Bhondu. Krishna said - Listen Bhondu! I said No because Sringarvat is where Radha Rani resides, so Balram will not go there. So, ask your Guru to come here alone and we would eat together.

Bhondu was very simple. He was convinced that he was not able to understand Krishna and should have heard the full story. And he thanked Krishna and went back.

Next day, he and his guru Nandkishore came to Bhandiravan with a lot of food. Krishna appeared with His friends and everyone ate together.  Nandkishore could not believe that he was eating with Krishna and watching Him play. After a while, Krishna said good bye to Bhondu and Nandkishore and disappeared.

Bhondu was used to the disappearance of Krishna but Nandkishore was not. So he fell unconscious. Krishna appeared in his dream and asked him to write about his Leelas and His Dham. And so Nandkishore Das spent the rest of His life remembering and writing about Krishna in his two books - Shri Vrindavan Leela Amrit and Shri Shri Rasakalik.

Test Of Faith

Kak Bhushundi was a saint in the form of a crow. So much was His glory that when Garuda went in doubt upon seeing Lord Ram in Naag paash, Lord Shankar asked Garuda to take instruction from Kak Bhushundi and clear his doubts.

Kak Bhushundi in a prior birth was a Shudhra. He was a God

abiding humble person. However, one day He unconsciously did a Naam Apraadh towards His Guru. Although His Guru ignored the event, Lord Shankar cursed him to be a bird or a worm for next 1000 lives. 

This was a very tough situation. It is hard to take the wreath of Lord Shankar. An ordinary person would break down and shatter. But Kak Bhushundi stayed calm and fearless. The first thing that came to His mind was - God must have planned something for me. Being an ordinary being, I cannot decipher His ideas. All I  know is that Lord Shankar is so merciful that even a curse on me is a blessing.

Later when Brahma Ji told Lord Shankar of what Kak Bhushundi was thinking, Lord Shankar became very pleased and He blessed Him - Kak Bhushundi! You will not feel any pain in any of these births. And in Rama Avatar you will receive liberation.

Moral of the Story

God and Guru may take fierce tests of the devotees. But a surrendered soul stays calm and fearless even in these situations due to his faith in God and Guru.

 

56 Foods Are Waiting - Eat Or Die Hungry

Prashant was very picky in terms of food. His mother cooked several different kinds of

food and invited him to try. But he just did not like anything. This started affecting his health and he started losing weight and energy rapidly. 

Prashant's mom took him to a doctor.

The doctor said - Feed him what he likes. That way he will start eating.

Mom said - Well I tried feeding him 56 types of foods but he keeps on rejecting everything. I am so worried.

The doctor said - Yes, this is something to be worried about.

If someone is invited to eat 56 different types of food and if he keeps rejecting it day after day, one day he will die of hunger.

In the same way in the spiritual world, there are three most important things to

attain God. The Human body, the association with a true saint and the devotee's surrender to that saint.

Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj reminds us that if someone has the human body and the association of a true saint (both are extremely rare) but still does not make an effort to attain God then he is extremely unfortunate. He will stay hungry for bliss and his human form will serve him no purpose.