Post by jksivan on Sept 3, 2013 20:28:23 GMT 5.5
22 ‘’ Reminiscence ‘’
Dear Children
You would have by now realized that bhakthi, (devotion) brings god close to us. A true baktha has many ways to seek his god. They are classified into so many categories. Let me explain some of them to you. If you worship god as a friend, like Arjuna to Krishna, such a method is known as Mithrabhava, If the devotee is surrending himself completely as a servant to the god he worships it is known as Dasya Bhava, like alwars, nayanmars and so many bhakthas you may know. If the devotees accept the god as a partner and dedicate themselves as inseparable from them, like Meera, Andal, Radha etc., such a bhava is known as Nayaka Nayaki or Sakhya bhava. There are ever so many as these. I am bringing to your knowledge these just to explain that god is most flexible and and our worship is pliable and not any rigid formal procedure. It is the mind that matters in devotion.
We have seen how close the saintws Eknath, Thkaraam, Gnaanadev, Namdev etc., were with Vittal and how friendly he reciprocated their true love and devotion for him. All these stories we read are spun around them for establishing the eternal truth that complete faith in Him would attach Him to us. Like Saint Ramakrishna Paramahamsa said to Vivekananda ‘’you can feel god, see god and hear god’’ if you become so much attached to Him.
Once Vittal asked Namadevar "Namadeva! Do you realise, I am everywhere?" Namadevar replied
"Of course . I do experience you everywhere and in everyone. Shall I remind you of an incident which you might not have forgotten?
‘I would be much interested if you narrate.’’ What Namdev recalled to Vittal is briefly outlined below:
It was a crowded day at Pandarpur. Namdev and other devotees were performing namsankeerthan and abangh recitals. All the bakthas were participarting in chorus singing and dancing together and every one was in ecstacy.
At the conclusion of the akhand bhajan, roti was distributed as prasad for all participants. Namadev had still not resumed to his normal acrtivities. He was maeditating on Vittal with his eyes closed and a few rotis were dumped on his palms.
He was in ecstacy and walking on the road with the rotis in his palm and his mind was filled with the thought of Vittal only. He never noticed a passerby interested in him!! It was a street dog. It had been searching for its food from the morning unsuccessfully. When it neared the temple it had a hope that someone will give it some food to eat. When it saw Namdev walking with some rotis in his hand, it was hopeful of his throwing some at it. But he never seemed to notice it and was walking along. The dog slowly came near him and followed him for a while without his noticing it. It was lured by the roti in his hand and at one stage it could not control itself. The dog decided to snatch it from him and run way to safety to sit and enjoy the food it earned. So it was waiting for the right opportunity. When Namdev was carrying the rotis without any thought about it, it was visible for the dog and the roti was not held tightly by Namdev. So the dog executed its plan. Namdev was singing in praise of Vittal and walking leisuredly. In a split second the dog snatched the rotis from his hand without any difficulty and ran away. The dog’s sudden pouncing on him and snatching away the roti brought Namdev to this world. He saw the dog running away with the rotis in its mouth. He began chasing the dog. The dog initially ran to a safe distance and began walking but when it observed Namdev was chasing it, it feared that its preay is in danger and increased its speed. Namdev to ran after wherever it went. The dog was starving and weak and could not matchd the speed with which Namdev was chasing it and was caught finally by Namdev. The dog was both disappointed and afraid that he would attack it. But Namdev was holding the dog tighly by one hand and took a container of ghee and cheese he carried in his bag by the other hand. He smeared and applied them with honey on the rotis he recovered from the dog’s mouth and offered the ghee and honey coated roti one by one to the dog uttering ‘’Vittal, how can you eat the dry rotis without these applied thereon. Enjoy your food and make me happy’’ The dog was surprised and could not believe itself. It took the roti offered by him one by one and now he was not holding on to the dog and the dog too was friendly and did not run away from him. After offering the rotis he bowed to the dog and went on his way.
‘’Yes Namdev, I recall the incident particularly that you were running faster than me!!! Today is Ekadasi day and on one Ekadasi day you were planning to die do you remember, asked Vittal?”
‘’Vittal, anything connected with you, I can never forget in any of mybirth! Dear children, let me narrate the story to you now:
Ekadasi days are very special to Pandurangan. On such days, Namadevar would be on complete fast like most of the Vittal devotees, and and he would not even sip a drop of cold water. The whole day he would spend in bhajans.
On one such Ekadasi day, Namdev was at home doing bhajan and there were a few devotees along with him performing the joint bhajans and singing.
There was a knock on the door. Namadevar opened the door and saw an old Brahmin standing outside. He invited him and asked him to join the group for bhajan singing as he was thinking that the old Brahmin had come for Ekadasi nam sankeerthan.
The old man said he was hungry and thirsty. So Namdev ran in and brought a pot of Tulsi jal as it was the only item many devotees were consuming on the Ekadasi day, which Namdev did not even touch for the whole day.
The Brahmin said "what? Are you going to give only water? I am very hungry. Please give me some rice".
"Today is Ekadasi. There is no food available as everyone is fasting here. I will arrange some fruits for you swami" replied Namadev.
The brahmin said "Look , I am very hungry. If you do not give me any food, I will die here and you will commit the sin of killing an old brahmin.
Namadev politely said "Swami! I do not know how I can help you because no one cooks today and there is no food available and I said I can manage some fruits only for you which please accept.’’
The Brahmin became very angry. ‘’ I was told that you are a philanthropic and generous hearted person but you disprove it by your rough behavior refusing me any food. You are fully responsible for whatever happens to me because of not providing the food I need now. This papam will cause difficulties for you’ cursed the Brahmin.
‘’Swamiji, I don’t know anything about Punyam (virtue) or Papam (sin)". Vittal will take care of this. ‘’
The brahmin retorted "Look! It looks like you are a hypocrite and heartless. It appears I may die without food because of you today”.
"Today is Ekadasi. If you die here without food it is sacred and a rare privilege we onsider but if you think it is a sin that I have committed, let it be for Vittal to decide and punish me". Immediately the old brahmin fell down and he was dead.
Namadev and others with him prayed to Vittal and took the old man's body to Chandrabaga river and got ready for cremation. As he was a stranger and they cannot keep the body overnight they decided to bury him before sunset on this sacred day in the name of Vittal? Te=hey all gathered some wood and laid the old man's body on the makeshift funeral pyre. They brought enough ghee to burn the body and chanted Vittal’s name before lighting the funeral pyre. Suddenly Namdev neared the funeral as it started engulfing the body and stretched himself next to old man's body for the fire to burn him also. His wife heard all these and ran to the riverside. The moment she learnt that Namdev was lying next to the body of the dead Brahmin to end his life she too decided immediately to join her husband. She too jumped into the fire .
Dear children do you know what happened next? The fire did not burn any one of them. The ‘dead’’ oldman got up smiling and embraced Namdev and both of them were joined by Namdev’s wife as they were getting out of the funeral pyre and walked towards the river to have a bath. When Namdev looked at the old man, in his place, he found only Vittal smiling at him.
“ Is it you again, smilingly asked Namdev, who was replied, ‘’who else did you think will be so friendly with you than me’’ countered Vittal.
When Namdev recalled the above incident his mind was filled with divine love and his eyes welled with grateful tears.
Dear Children
You would have by now realized that bhakthi, (devotion) brings god close to us. A true baktha has many ways to seek his god. They are classified into so many categories. Let me explain some of them to you. If you worship god as a friend, like Arjuna to Krishna, such a method is known as Mithrabhava, If the devotee is surrending himself completely as a servant to the god he worships it is known as Dasya Bhava, like alwars, nayanmars and so many bhakthas you may know. If the devotees accept the god as a partner and dedicate themselves as inseparable from them, like Meera, Andal, Radha etc., such a bhava is known as Nayaka Nayaki or Sakhya bhava. There are ever so many as these. I am bringing to your knowledge these just to explain that god is most flexible and and our worship is pliable and not any rigid formal procedure. It is the mind that matters in devotion.
We have seen how close the saintws Eknath, Thkaraam, Gnaanadev, Namdev etc., were with Vittal and how friendly he reciprocated their true love and devotion for him. All these stories we read are spun around them for establishing the eternal truth that complete faith in Him would attach Him to us. Like Saint Ramakrishna Paramahamsa said to Vivekananda ‘’you can feel god, see god and hear god’’ if you become so much attached to Him.
Once Vittal asked Namadevar "Namadeva! Do you realise, I am everywhere?" Namadevar replied
"Of course . I do experience you everywhere and in everyone. Shall I remind you of an incident which you might not have forgotten?
‘I would be much interested if you narrate.’’ What Namdev recalled to Vittal is briefly outlined below:
It was a crowded day at Pandarpur. Namdev and other devotees were performing namsankeerthan and abangh recitals. All the bakthas were participarting in chorus singing and dancing together and every one was in ecstacy.
At the conclusion of the akhand bhajan, roti was distributed as prasad for all participants. Namadev had still not resumed to his normal acrtivities. He was maeditating on Vittal with his eyes closed and a few rotis were dumped on his palms.
He was in ecstacy and walking on the road with the rotis in his palm and his mind was filled with the thought of Vittal only. He never noticed a passerby interested in him!! It was a street dog. It had been searching for its food from the morning unsuccessfully. When it neared the temple it had a hope that someone will give it some food to eat. When it saw Namdev walking with some rotis in his hand, it was hopeful of his throwing some at it. But he never seemed to notice it and was walking along. The dog slowly came near him and followed him for a while without his noticing it. It was lured by the roti in his hand and at one stage it could not control itself. The dog decided to snatch it from him and run way to safety to sit and enjoy the food it earned. So it was waiting for the right opportunity. When Namdev was carrying the rotis without any thought about it, it was visible for the dog and the roti was not held tightly by Namdev. So the dog executed its plan. Namdev was singing in praise of Vittal and walking leisuredly. In a split second the dog snatched the rotis from his hand without any difficulty and ran away. The dog’s sudden pouncing on him and snatching away the roti brought Namdev to this world. He saw the dog running away with the rotis in its mouth. He began chasing the dog. The dog initially ran to a safe distance and began walking but when it observed Namdev was chasing it, it feared that its preay is in danger and increased its speed. Namdev to ran after wherever it went. The dog was starving and weak and could not matchd the speed with which Namdev was chasing it and was caught finally by Namdev. The dog was both disappointed and afraid that he would attack it. But Namdev was holding the dog tighly by one hand and took a container of ghee and cheese he carried in his bag by the other hand. He smeared and applied them with honey on the rotis he recovered from the dog’s mouth and offered the ghee and honey coated roti one by one to the dog uttering ‘’Vittal, how can you eat the dry rotis without these applied thereon. Enjoy your food and make me happy’’ The dog was surprised and could not believe itself. It took the roti offered by him one by one and now he was not holding on to the dog and the dog too was friendly and did not run away from him. After offering the rotis he bowed to the dog and went on his way.
‘’Yes Namdev, I recall the incident particularly that you were running faster than me!!! Today is Ekadasi day and on one Ekadasi day you were planning to die do you remember, asked Vittal?”
‘’Vittal, anything connected with you, I can never forget in any of mybirth! Dear children, let me narrate the story to you now:
Ekadasi days are very special to Pandurangan. On such days, Namadevar would be on complete fast like most of the Vittal devotees, and and he would not even sip a drop of cold water. The whole day he would spend in bhajans.
On one such Ekadasi day, Namdev was at home doing bhajan and there were a few devotees along with him performing the joint bhajans and singing.
There was a knock on the door. Namadevar opened the door and saw an old Brahmin standing outside. He invited him and asked him to join the group for bhajan singing as he was thinking that the old Brahmin had come for Ekadasi nam sankeerthan.
The old man said he was hungry and thirsty. So Namdev ran in and brought a pot of Tulsi jal as it was the only item many devotees were consuming on the Ekadasi day, which Namdev did not even touch for the whole day.
The Brahmin said "what? Are you going to give only water? I am very hungry. Please give me some rice".
"Today is Ekadasi. There is no food available as everyone is fasting here. I will arrange some fruits for you swami" replied Namadev.
The brahmin said "Look , I am very hungry. If you do not give me any food, I will die here and you will commit the sin of killing an old brahmin.
Namadev politely said "Swami! I do not know how I can help you because no one cooks today and there is no food available and I said I can manage some fruits only for you which please accept.’’
The Brahmin became very angry. ‘’ I was told that you are a philanthropic and generous hearted person but you disprove it by your rough behavior refusing me any food. You are fully responsible for whatever happens to me because of not providing the food I need now. This papam will cause difficulties for you’ cursed the Brahmin.
‘’Swamiji, I don’t know anything about Punyam (virtue) or Papam (sin)". Vittal will take care of this. ‘’
The brahmin retorted "Look! It looks like you are a hypocrite and heartless. It appears I may die without food because of you today”.
"Today is Ekadasi. If you die here without food it is sacred and a rare privilege we onsider but if you think it is a sin that I have committed, let it be for Vittal to decide and punish me". Immediately the old brahmin fell down and he was dead.
Namadev and others with him prayed to Vittal and took the old man's body to Chandrabaga river and got ready for cremation. As he was a stranger and they cannot keep the body overnight they decided to bury him before sunset on this sacred day in the name of Vittal? Te=hey all gathered some wood and laid the old man's body on the makeshift funeral pyre. They brought enough ghee to burn the body and chanted Vittal’s name before lighting the funeral pyre. Suddenly Namdev neared the funeral as it started engulfing the body and stretched himself next to old man's body for the fire to burn him also. His wife heard all these and ran to the riverside. The moment she learnt that Namdev was lying next to the body of the dead Brahmin to end his life she too decided immediately to join her husband. She too jumped into the fire .
Dear children do you know what happened next? The fire did not burn any one of them. The ‘dead’’ oldman got up smiling and embraced Namdev and both of them were joined by Namdev’s wife as they were getting out of the funeral pyre and walked towards the river to have a bath. When Namdev looked at the old man, in his place, he found only Vittal smiling at him.
“ Is it you again, smilingly asked Namdev, who was replied, ‘’who else did you think will be so friendly with you than me’’ countered Vittal.
When Namdev recalled the above incident his mind was filled with divine love and his eyes welled with grateful tears.