71. During a Divine Discourse given in 1968, Baba narrated a story to reveal what having true faith in God can do: “There was once a Sultan who ruled over the region of Mathura, Brindavan and other places on the River Yamuna. During his reign, the Emperor of Vijayanagar came on pilgrimage and stayed at Brindavan for some days. He paid homage to Krishna in the temple. The Sultan argued that he must have come so far only to pay respects to someone greater than himself. He was determined to see that One, come what may.

“So he went late one night and called out before the closed doors of the temple. ‘Who is inside?’ He heard a voice, which gave the reply, ‘Govind Mahaaraaj and Raadha Raani.’

“The Sultan was now sure that there were two living persons inside, a Super-Emperor and His Super-Empress. He was filled with an agonizing yearning to see the distinguished occupants of the Temple. He waited outside the door, without moving, without food or drink, for three full days. He was overcome with hunger and thirst; but he did not stir, for he was afraid the Imperial Couple may emerge any moment and he might miss the darshan (sight).

“That night, when the town was asleep, just before midnight Govind Mahaaraaj and Raadha Raani emerged from the temple. They signed to him to follow them. They were magnificently dressed and wore elaborately bejewelled headgear, necklaces, wristlets and ornaments for the hands and feet. They moved on until they reached the banks of the Yamuna, where thousands of gopas (cowherd boys) and gopees (cowherd girls) were gathered to welcome them. There was music and dance in the bright moonlight. Heavenly joy shone on every face. At 4 a.m. they returned to the temple and before they passed through the closed door, they gave into his hands the kankanas (bracelets) they wore on their wrists, for safekeeping! Before he could say anything, they left.”

When the priests saw the gold kankanas in the Sultan’s hands and presumed he was a thief, how did Lord Krishna save him?

72. During a Divine Discourse given in 1998, Baba narrated a story to teach us how to recognize our own divinity:

“It is not always easy to get the answers to spiritual questions. There is a story to illustrate this. Once there was a king in Kapila, who was putting questions to various scholars in his kingdom. He was not satisfied with their answers and so turned them away from his court.

“A shepherd, who heard about this, came to the king and said he was prepared to answer any question by the king. The king was surprised at his claim and said that if he failed to give a satisfactory answer he would be beheaded. The shepherd agreed to the condition. Then, he told the king that they should exchange places in keeping with the new situation, in which the king would be the learner and the shepherd would be the teacher. The king agreed and transferred his robe to the shepherd and sat at his feet, while the shepherd put on the king's robe and sat on the throne.

“He then asked the king to put forth his questions. The first question was, ‘What does God do in this world?’ The shepherd answered, ‘He makes a millionaire a pauper and a pauper a millionaire. Till now I was a poor man. Now I have been made a king with a seat on the throne. From being a king, you are now wearing a shepherd's clothing. This is what God has done.’

“The king was fairly satisfied with the answer. His second question was: ‘Whom does God favour? Who is the recipient of His Grace?’

“The shepherd pointed to a light and said, ‘The light from the lamp sends its rays in all directions. Likewise, God, who is Embodiment of all Effulgence, sees in all direction, and showers His Grace on all. He does not see in one direction alone.’ The king was pleased with the answer.”

Baba said: “Today, very few people understand the difference between the ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ aspects of life. Whatever attracts the mind is ‘negative’. _________ are ‘positive’.”

73. During the Summer Showers discourses delivered in 1977, Baba narrated a story to teach us the importance of recognizing Divinity in each one:

“A great devotee, who was a very wealthy person, took a lot of gold and out of that gold he had prepared several fine items. He made a fine idol of Krishna, a seat for putting that idol, an umbrella and also a cow to go along with Krishna. Each one of the items weighed twenty tolas, the total being 100 tolas of gold. In this way, he was experiencing Divinity of God in the forms made of gold.

“With the passage of time, he was struck with misfortune and there was poverty in his house. A time had come when he did not have food to eat. He was driven to sell away the gold things, which he was worshipping.

“He went to a person who would buy these items, and wanted to get each one of them weighed and find out what price he would get for each item. The other wealthy person, who was to buy the items, weighed the idol of Krishna. After finding the weight of Krishna, he offered to pay Rs. 10,000 for it. After that, he weighed the pedestal and he said that he would pay Rs. 10,000 for that. Then he weighed the cow and he said that also will fetch Rs. 10,000.

“The devotee was in great pain. The devotee asked how it is that Krishna, the pedestal and the cow will each fetch the same Rs. 10,000? The person who was going to purchase them was obviously not going to pay more money because it was the figure of Krishna. He will merely pay the cost of the weight of gold in each one of the items and not value the idol of Krishna differently from the cow.”

The lesson Baba wants to impart here is: “Man’s value will depend on ___________ and not on his wealth or his appearance, or his material possessions.”

74. During the Summer Showers discourses delivered in 1990, Baba narrated a story on how to attain liberation:

“Once, a king summoned an assembly of great scholars to his court. He posed the following question before them. ‘You are all distinguished men who have mastered the scriptures. Can you tell me how many among you are capable of attaining liberation?’

“Despite all their academic learning, none of the pundits had the courage to stand up and give an affirmative answer. The whole assembly was stunned into silence. At that stage, an ordinary man from among the public got up and boldly said (in Telugu), ‘Nenu pothe povachchunu’. His reply had two meanings: (1) ‘I may possibly go to moksha’ and (2) ‘If the ‘I’ goes, one can attain liberation.’

“The second meaning did not occur to any of the scholars. So, taking only the first meaning, all the pundits felt outraged by the audacity of that uneducated person, who appeared to be totally ignorant of the scriptures and had done no spiritual sadhana.”

According to Baba, what is the main reason the ‘I’ (ego) cannot go so easily, to facilitate liberation?

75. During the 1977 Summer Showers discourses, Baba narrated a story especially for the youth:

“This is the appropriate age when you should surrender to God. When you grow older, you will then be able to achieve great things with God’s grace. Here is a small story.

“The husband and wife in a family were doing their daily household duties in the normal way and fulfilling their obligations in this world. The wife was a very good devotee. She used to get up early morning, pray to the Lord, do her puja and in many ways served her husband by attending to whatever was needed by him.

“The husband on the other hand was not given to such good habits. He used to get up late, take his coffee without washing and go to his office in a hurry, do his work and was always thinking that duty is God and that there was no need to do any puja. But the wife, during her prayer everyday, used to pray to the Lord, that somehow or other He should instil some devotion and faith in her husband and make him utter the name of the Lord, at least, occasionally.

“One day, when her husband was in a happy mood, she went to him and she said that life was a very sacred thing, but they were living like animals. She asked, shouldn't they think of God at least once a day. She further told her husband that human life was not necessary only for earning a living.

“The husband did not like all this and told his wife that she was an innocent woman. He said, ‘You think I have no devotion? I have great devotion to God, but while I am in service, I am not able to spare the time for the thought of God. After I retire, after the children get married and settle down, I will begin to think of God.’ She thought that there was no use arguing with such a foolish person, so she prayed to the Lord and kept quiet.”

Baba stresses: “Start early, drive slowly, reach safely… On the contrary, if we start late and if we begin to move fast, ____________”

76. During a Divine Discourse given in 1967, Baba narrated a story to teach us how to put our body to proper use:

“A celebrated sage once advised an aspirant that he could get God-realization, in thirty days, if he spent all the twenty-four hours in the contemplation of God. He went to his place, did as he was told and after thirty-six days (he continued for six more days!) he hurried to the sage, in great rage, for he was sadly disappointed.

“The sage asked him for an account of his daily schedule of activity during the thirty-six days. The disciple said, ‘Well, I rise from bed at four o'clock, wash and get ready for meditation by five, meditate until six, move about until eight, have something to eat, doze off for a few minutes, read a few pages, converse with friends for a while on the happenings in the world, bathe and drink something hot afterwards, etc., with chanting the Name of Rama now and then, in the intervals."

“The sage answered, ‘Wonderful indeed! I did not anticipate you would behave so crudely. I directed you to use all the 24 hours in the contemplation of God, without wasting a single moment. I did not lay down any other schedule. Spend as much time as there is in thirty days, in the unalloyed contemplation of God; you will attain liberation."

For us to ponder, Baba advises us: “Life is a jungle…one has to wear the boots of _________ if one has to pass through the jungle of life, without harming oneself.”

77. During a Divine Discourse given in 2001, Baba narrated a story to make us realize the value of self-respect:

“An actor once came to the court of a king to give performances. That day, he had come dressed as Shankaracharya. He gave a scholarly exposition on the philosophy of Adi Shankara and preached thus:

Janma Dukkham, Jara Dukkham, Jaya Dukkham Punah Punaha,
Antyakale Maha Dukkham, Tasmath Jagrata Jagrataha
(Birth, old age and worldly life are full of misery. Death too is miserable. Beware of this truth.)

Matha Nasthi, Pitha Nasthi,
Nasthi Bandhu Sahodaraha
Artham Nasthi, Griham Nasthi,
Thasmath Jagrata Jagrataha
(Parents, friends, relatives and wealth are like passing clouds. Beware of this truth.)

“The King was very pleased and offered a lot of gold. The actor said, ‘O King, a renunciant (sanyasi) does not need gold. I cannot accept this gift.’

“The next day, the actor appeared in the court as a dancer. He danced beautifully and pleased everyone present. At the end of the performance the king offered a small gift of just a few coins. The actor said, ‘O King, this payment is meagre and not enough.’

“The King was astonished and asked, ‘Yesterday, you refused a substantial gift but today you are demanding more. What is the reason for this strange behaviour?’”

“The actor replied, ‘O King, an actor will not be true to his profession if his words do not match the costume he is wearing.'

Baba wants us to realize: “Today, though man has put on the garb of a human being, his conduct is not in accordance with his ‘________’

78. During a Divine Discourse given in 1974, Baba narrated a story for us to re-evaluate and do a check on our devotion:

“A clever villager used to enter the village temple in the early hours of the day, and sit on, with eyes closed, in the hope that people will honour him as a great devotee. Since he did not get up and go about his business until about mid-noon, the temple priest was hard put to close the doors and go home for his daily tasks there. So he struck upon a plan to stop the nuisance.

“He knew that the closed-eye session of dhyaana (meditation) was all pretence. He hid himself behind the idol of the Deity, and when the villager was well set in his pretence of deep meditation, and said, in an imposing sonorous voice, ‘Listen! Excellent Devotee! I am mightily pleased by your asceticism and your steadfastness. Come. I shall merge you into Myself.’ At this, the fellow ran fast out from the temple, leaving no trace where he had gone to!”

According to Baba, “The devotion and sense of surrender of men are similar to those of this impostor…faith is weak, discipline is absent; _________ is lacking.”

79. During a Divine Discourse given in 1965, Baba narrated a story to teach us how disastrous it can be when one does not do their allotted task: “A washerman had a dog and a donkey; the donkey to carry the clothes to the river and back, and the dog to watch the clothes hung to dry.

“One day, the dog refused to bark, for it was ill-treated that morning by the master; it was mum even when a thief was bundling up the clothes. So, the donkey decided to bray in order to warn the washerman. But he mistook it as sheer impertinence and so, without pursuing the thief, he belaboured the poor beast for all its pains!”

Baba guides us: “Each must do only one's allotted task; or else, _________ will arise and multiply.”

80. During a Divine Discourse given in 2001, Baba narrated a very short story to teach us how to shed differences of any kind:

“Once God wanted to grant liberation to a person and sent Yama, the God of death, to him. When Yama approached this devotee, he questioned whether the devotee knew him. But the devotee answered that he (Yama) was a stranger to him. Then Lord Yama told him that he would return to him only when he could recognize Yama.

“When Yama returned after three days the same question was posed to him. Now the devotee answered that Yama was no longer a stranger to him because he had already seen him.”

According to Baba, to shed differences in religion, what should we develop?

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- Heart2Heart Team