Grandma on Why Sun Shines

Little Shambhu was playing by himself in front of his house. He continued playing even as his grandma was calling him to come in as it might rain any time.
While he was engrossed in play he was surprised and a bit alarmed when he discovered that the whole world had abruptly become dark. He was instantly relieved as he heard his grandma’s voice. As he ran to her following the direction of her voice, he asked her, `Grandma, what happened? Where has the Sun gone? Will He come back again?’
Grandma said, `Oh yes, don’t worry, Sun would be back soon’.
`But what happened? Why has the Sun gone suddenly?’ asked little Shambhu.
`Oh, it must be a temporary shutdown in Lord Shambhu’s System. Some little boy or girl would be sure to say a good prayer and it would be all right again’ said Grandma.
`Would it work if I say a good prayer?’ asked Shambhu.
`Oh Yes, I suppose it should’ replied grandma.
`Ok. I will start right away’ said Shambhu and started reciting a hymn. The hymn got over, but the world remained dark.
`What is the matter? Was my prayer not good enough?’ asked Shambhu.
`It is good but you should try a better prayer’ said grandma. ‘Tell me how’ asked Shambhu. `You should narrate some good deed done by somebody around you and pray for his or her welfare. That will be a good prayer’ said Grandma.
Shambhu thought deeply and then closed his eyes and prayed. He opened his eyes to see the whole earth flooded with light.
`It worked, it worked’ shouted Shambhu in delight.

His grandma smiled and asked, `for whom were you praying?’
`I was praying for Parvati’ he said.
`But is she not your current enemy?’ asked grandma with amusement.
`Yes, she was, before I prayed for her, but now I am going to makeup with her. I remembered her helping Nandi with his mathematics. I told that to Shiva and prayed for both’ replied Shambhu.
`But Nandi also is your current enemy, is he not?’ asked grandma.
`Yes, he was and he was not in good terms with Parvati too. But he asked Parvati for help and Parvati helped him’, Shambhu’s face lit up in a flash as he continued: ‘I got it. I think the best prayer is when you pray for your enemy, right?’ he asked.
`Yes’ his grandma agreed, `but most important thing is you should find something good done by him to somebody, maybe to you, maybe to your friend or even to your current enemy. Remembering an unselfish work done by him and then praying for him would work best’ she informed.
`Yes, but how did all this happen?’ asked Shambhu.
`Once Shiva was so angry at the misdeeds of humans that he wanted to plunge the world in darkness. At Mother Parvati’s intervention he agreed to withhold darkness on condition that He daily gets to hear in the prayers of a little boy or girl, of at least one good deed being done by a human being ‘
`Don’t worry Grandma; I will always say good prayers’ assured Shambhu.
As he ran out again, grandma smiled to herself, and muttered `has surely worked, this, my instant little story’.
Swami Sampurnananda
Old Math
`Nilambar Mukherjee Garden House’
8.57 a.m. 28 May 2011

The upside down Mahanta

What does ‘Mahanta’ mean?’ asked the young son to his father.

‘Mahanta means Maha anta, the great end. He is the head of a monastery’ explained the father.

‘Why a head is called the end?’ persisted the son

‘Because the head is at the end of the body. The other end having the legs is not as big as the head end. So the head is called maha anta’ the father patiently explained.

‘I think the two feet together are bigger than the head. So the feet end should really be called the mahanta’ argued the son.

‘No. The head bulges and is a single whole’ said the father.

‘The legs support the head. So the legs are greater than the head’ said the son.

‘The head directs the legs. The head also supports the legs when the head is down during shirasasana’ pointed out the father.

‘The head cannot walk without the legs. It cannot support the legs and hop and jump and go places’ argued the son.

‘All right, let’s settle at ‘each is great in its own place’.

‘Yes. But what’s happening in there?’ asked the son.

The bearded resident philosopher was doing shirasasan. His mouth was chiding the wildly swinging legs, ‘why are you not moving on?’ while the legs were fuming within ‘why the head is not changing, why it is sticking to the earth?’

‘Oh, no, that is nothing, he was having some fun’ said the father, ‘but I think that was enough. Let us say the proper word and bring his upside up and downside down’

‘Jai Bhagavat Sangha. Sangham Saranam Gachami’ all chanted in unison.

Date : 14 November 2008
Mother’s Old Math, Belur Math
(Nilambar Mukherjee’s Gardern House)

The Swollen Head and the Sullen Workers

As the swollen Head went on issuing impossible orders to the two hands, two legs and the torso, the five rebelled. They asked the mind to attach itself to them too. The mind argued that it would be best for all if it sticks to the head and through him to all of them. But the five wouldn’t listen. So the mind reluctantly spread itself thin on all of them.

Now each leg and hand and the torso too all got a mind of their own. They started confining themselves to their business. When it itched in the right hand the left hand did not go to scratch the place. It minded its own business. The right hand paid back when it had the opportunity. Once when there was a strong itch, the itching hand got enraged at the unhelpful attitude of the other hand and so punched it hard. The punched hand returned it in better measure. Soon the hands were punching each other. The legs too started kicking each other.

The head and the torso too were at their game. The body started to disturb the distribution system. The head started to become dizzy because of less blood coming it. It tried to retaliate by sending less food down to the body.

Soon there were bleeding wounds in the hands and feet. Blood supply to the head and torso became less. Everybody were feeling exhausted. By now the swelling in the head was all gone.

The mind weakly whispered, ‘there is still time. Let’s do it the old way’. Everybody agreed.

All lived happily ever after with a strong single mind.

Date : 18-19 November 2008, 2.05 a.m.
Mother’s Old Math, Belur Math
(Nilambar Mukherjee’s Gardern House)

The monk who forgot his left arm

Within a hundred years after The Buddha’s departure with the burning last message, ‘Be a lamp unto yourselves’, a number of young people had become monks inspired by the message.

One among them was the monk with a good right arm. He was a monk who was always right which in itself was very irritating for others because people always wanted something to be ‘left’ but he left no room for that. He could also prove that he was right. So people who knew about him talked with him for he was good company too but skillfully left him when he would be very near establishing that he was right. Earlier he used to require about an hour to establish his rightness when wise people left him after fifty minutes. He then started wrapping up his arguments within fifty minutes upon which his listeners left him in forty minutes. This process finally reached the stage of ‘five minutes for right and four minutes for left’. The monk became tired with so much running with his words. He paused. He took a good look at this impossible situation.

Then he noticed that he had not been watching what his left arm was doing and that most people noticed only that. Looking only at his right arm he had been haranguing people about his rightness. He decided to bring his left arm out into conversations now and then. It started paying dividends. People who noticed their left arm more started feeling more comfortable with him.

He marched on, left, right, looking more often and wistfully at his right arm and warily at his left arm.

Arogya Bhavan Room 303
12 Jan 2009

A New Finding in Ramayana - a Story that Valmiki edited out

Angadha was getting more and more exasperated.
He was euphoric when Sampati with his long vision, spotted out Sita for them. Many able apes volunteered to go to Lanka. One after another quite a few went but when there was no news he sent a spy to look for them. It took a lot of mental strength for the spy to tear himself away from what he saw and report that the missing Vanaras were in fact having a fine time in Lanka enjoying themselves.
Angadha cried agitatedly, `Enough is enough. I myself will go to Lanka. I will defeat Ravana. We shall be going back not with the mere news of Sita but with Devi Sita herself’.
Wise Jambhavan intervened hastily.
‘Oh, Prince, that will be a rash and unwise thing to do’ he said.
‘You doubt my strength? I will happily complete my father’s unfinished business with Ravana’ said Angadha.
`Oh, Prince, it is not just the question of your ability’ said Jambhavan.
‘Do you then imply that I too will fall for the temptations of Lankapuri?’ thundered Angadha.
`Oh, no, I did not say that’ said Jambhavan warily, `You are our future king. You shouldn’t rush into danger recklessly’
Angadha shouted in despair, `What shall we do then? How did this happen? All stalwart Vanaras, how did they forget they are sent by the Centre which is Rama, and get into temptations thrown by this branch Mahanta Ravana?’
‘Remember that this Rakshasa could successfully tempt Mahamaya herself with his magic deer.’ Jambhavan’s face suddenly brightened, `do not despair, here comes our answer’ he cried out in joy.
Maruti was approaching.
Swami Sampurnananda
18 January 2011

At His Majesty’s Service

He was a simple lad with some would-do talents. He caught the fancy of a lesser prince when royalty visited his village. He ended up an important but never-the-less a minor king. Now nearing ninety, though no longer the reigning king, he still retains enough royal grace and the sting too. The exteriors are silken. The talk, the faculty he is still in nearly full possession of, is almost the same. The walk – very little of which remains, is not too bad. The manners – well, the king still clings to the old folly, that he has the divine right. The way he arranges things on his table and elsewhere in his room, he considers as an infallible divine orderliness whereas it appears to me as pet mannerisms of an old man.

The rod – yes, he has a bit of it still. Many of his junior peers would still strike some blows for him. His name kindles respect among many, most of whom had lived away from him or lived with him for short periods. The scepter – he wants to be known as just. Tries to couch his likes and dislikes in a lofty package.

Loyalty, the heady drug the king injects his subjects with, which makes them ready to die for him, ready to be there in passive alertness, which makes the king stand apart from rest of men around him. He tries it still.

He had inherited the king’s robes. Done some justice to them. It is wearing thin now. Will he ever get wise to the simple joys and sorrows of his true common self? We can only wait and hope!

Arogya Bhavan
4.55 p.m. 24 Nov. 2008

Rama & Krishna Horses and Riders Academy

Krishna struck a deal with Yudhishtira at the end of Kurukshetra war. He took a large lot of orphan horses at the end of the Great War and plunged into his passion, the Horse Arts. He put all his love and craft into Rama & Krishna Horses and Riders Academy so named after Dada and himself.

Horses from around the globe gathered to become pedigree and riders swarmed in to train themselves to be fine horsemen and horsewomen. Krishna belonged to the school of nurture and not to that of nature. He had said that very clearly in his great Gita. His basic teaching to both horses and riders was, ‘Remember you are one. You are a Unit. The supporting base is called horse and the guiding head is called Rider’. Riders seldom thrashed their own bases and the horses never tried to throw their own head off. As well-trained units regularly turned out Krishna was happy.

But when the day of dissolution came his brow furrowed. ‘Where to transplant these horses and riders?’ he thought hard. He relocated the whole unit carefully at a different time and place, retaining as much of the old trappings as possible.

As the Unit picked up itself, there were starting troubles. As a Dada was involved in the beginning many riders indulged in Dadagiri. Heads forgot their bases and bases forgot their heads. There were all types of twists and turns. Heads and Bases behaved as if they were species apart. Then as the realization came that it is one equestrian unit, the top portion having a technical name and base portion another, it moved majestically.

Swami Sampurnananda
Talk-Ananda series
June 9, 2010
Old Math, Mother’s Place
Belur Math

All the King’s Asses

Thanks www.4to40.com

(Swami Talkananda continues talking to a gathering sometime in the year 2020)

“Once there lived a great king who owned 1,700 Asses”, began Talk-ananda.

“Why not horses?” asked an incorrigible heckler.

‘Why not asses?” Talkananda smiled and continued, ‘Well, the King in fact began with 17 elephants which begot ...’

‘170 horses which begot these 1700 asses’ interrupted an irreverent wise man.

“Don’t be so sure” advised Talkananda, ‘There were serious threats of some unintended beasts emerging. But the machine managed to churn out decent workhorses in the end who begot the asses’

‘I don’t like asses’ remarked a brother.

‘What a pity! Ass cubs are very charming to look at. I have nothing against asses but when they grew up these asses became vicious and started kicking and biting each other.’ Said Talk-ananda

‘Why did the King start this animal farm experiment?’ asked a brother.

‘The King had built a new machine running on bio-power. He wanted to experiment with different animals. The elephants ran the machine perfectly. The horses too were satisfactory. The King got bored. He wanted to test run and check for worst case scenario. He created mutually quarrelsome, self kicking, back biting, warring donkeys’.

‘Did the machine break?’ asked a Brother.

‘No. Some donkeys were very horse like. They managed to sustain the motion of the machine. It ran quiet decently. But as the kicking melee was producing torrid heat the King placed many good eggs below the thick carpet’.

‘And what animal came next?’ asked another one.

“No more animals now. The eggs hatched into good birds. So as you fly up, look down on us remaining asses with some indulgent affection’ signed off Talkananda to the surprised fledglings.

Nov. 2008
Belur Math Sadhu Niwas