God Trims The Ego Of His Loved Ones

Once in a battle between the angels and the demons, angels won heavily. The Angels were having a victory celebration and boasting of their powers. Agni, Vayu, Indra - all were present. Each had a story of their own to tell.

The powerhouse - God - the One who is the source of all powers - was watching. God was unhappy to see the bloating egos of his angels. And so He decided to fix this problem.

He went as a Yaksh to the Heaven. The Angels saw a bright sun in the sky - the brightness of which was unseen before. They were surprised. What is this? 

So, Indra asked Agni - O Agni! You are a fraction of the sun. Please go and find out who is the source of this bright light?

Agni went and asked the Yaksh - O powerful light! Who are you? Why have you come here?

The Yaksh replied - Before I tell you who I am, introduce yourself first.

Agni said - I am Agni, the Angel of fire. I can burn the entire universe by the virtue of my power.

The Yaksh nodded and said - I see! Can you you burn this little piece of dry grass to prove yourselves?

Agni laughed but tried and tried and just could not burn that twig. He was shocked that he had become so powerless. And so he was embarrassed and rushed back without another word.

Indra was shocked when he heard this. Now he asked Vayu, the Wind - O Vayu! With a power like you on my side, I have no doubt that you will be able to go and find out who was able to humble Agni.

Vayu went and asked the Yaksh - O powerful light! Who are you? Why have you come here?

The Yaksh replied - Before I tell you who I am, introduce yourself first.

Vayu said - I am Vayu, the Angel of wind. I can blow away the entire universe by the virtue of my power.

The Yaksh nodded and said - I see! Can you you blow away this little piece of dry grass to prove yourselves?

Vayu laughed but tried and tried and just could not move that twig. He also was shocked that he had become so powerless. And so he was embarrassed and rushed back to Indra without another word.

With two of his most powerful generals humbled that way, Indra decided to go himself and find out about this stranger in heaven.

But before He could meet the Yaksh, the bright light vanished. Indra was lost. He looked in all directions but could not see the Yaksh. He decided to return. Just then, Yogmaya, the internal power of God appeared and said  - O Indra! That Yaksh was in fact God Himself. The purpose of His visit was to humble the angels who were boasting of their powers after their victory over the demons. You know He hates ego, specially in the ones whom He loves so much.

Indra understood and realized that the powers the angels were boasting of came from God. The angels should have thanked God for their victory instead of taking the entire credit themselves.

Moral of the Story

Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj teaches us through this story that ego is an illusion about us and

God - The Almighty

created by us. We forget that God is the powerhouse and we are His powers. We start thinking that we are everything. And since God loves us so much, He does some Leela to burst this ego.

Another concept associated with ego is that the primary objective of devotion is to cleanse and prepare our mind to receive the divine love. And a mind with ego is like a mountain on which the rain water of the sweetest love cannot stay. By becoming humble, we carve our mind into a utensil so that the rain of love stays in it forever.