Anec.15&16 Part I Myths

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Dear Bhagavatas,

 

This post contains Anecdotes 15 and 16 from Part I on Myths.

 

Dasoham

Anbil Ramaswamy

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15. The power of Grace ( Kuchela)

 

Kuchela a.k.a. Sudhama was a classmate of Krishna when they studied in

Gurukula. He married Kshudshama and had 27 children. The family wallowed

in poverty. One day his wife suggested that he should approach Krishna

for help. It was customary for anyone visiting another to offer some

gift. Kuchela had nothing to offer except four handfuls of old and

stinking beaten rice (Aval)which his wife neatly bundled up in the torn

upper garment of Kuchela. No doubt, he went to Krishna not for seeking

any favor but merely to meet with an old friend.

 

As soon as Krishna came to know of the arrival of Kuchela, he rushed to

receive him at the outer gate with all royal honors, seated him on par

with him on the throne, embraced him and enquired about his welfare.

Kuchela did not say a word about his financial plight and was ashamed to

offer the beaten rice to Krishna. But, Krishna seized the rice and ate

one handful. When he was about to put into his mouth a second handful,

Krishna's wife Rukmini stopped him.

 

Next morning, Krishna saw him off with a warm send off but empty handed.

Kuchela bemused that Krishna purposely didn’t offer any financial

assistance lest in the newfound riches, he might forget Krishna. When he

approached his home, the poor hut in which he was living had turned into

a mansion, his wife and children were bedecked with expensive jewelry

and attire and the whole atmosphere was resplendent with opulence never

before seen or heard. But, Kuchela was not affected by the sudden

fortune but remained constantly meditating on the Lord for the rest of

his life and attained salvation in due course.

 

Comment

 

The story brings out two points. Firstly, with the grace of God, there

is nothing that cannot be achieved- wealth, prosperity, health, peace of

mind, salvation and whatever it takes and God will grant them unasked

for.

 

Secondly, it emphasizes how one should approach God. One should not seek

any favor from God as if the all knowing God does not know what the

supplicant needs. All that God expects is sincere devotion to him for

its own sake(Swayam Prayojanam) with no strings attached. He knows what

to give, when to give and how to give- which will be in the best

interests of the devotee.

 

Before demanding his grace, we should ask ourselves whether we deserve

it and whether we are prepared to receive it. In the absence of either,

there is no point in accusing God of being merciless.

 

16. The power of Innocence ( Rishyasringa and Sukhabrahmam)

 

Rishyasringa

 

Rishyasringa, son of Sage Vibhandaka was brought up in blissful

ignorance of sensual pleasures. He did not know anyone other than his

father. He was so innocent that he never set his eyes on any member of

the opposite sex. By dint of his innocence and austerities, he acquired

a power to bring rains wherever he set foot.

 

Romapada, king of Angadesa was distressed at the famine in his country

which took a heavy toll of humans and cattle. His courtiers advised him

that if Rishyasringa could be brought over, rains would come and relieve

the country from famine. But, how?

 

The king ordered a bevy of beauties to pose as hermits and approach

Rishyasringa. They did accordingly. The leader of the group, an

irresistible beauty approached him when he was alone, his father having

gone out for a while. She greeted him reverentially, garlanded him and

embraced him saying that it was the customary greetings of their

hermitage. Rishyasringar felt an unusual thrill and was struck by her

graceful charm, accepted the gifts and sweets offered by her all the

while thinking that she was also another celibate like himself. and when

she left, he started pining for her company.

 

On another occasion, when she visited him alone, he expressed a desire

to go with her to her place. And, that was precisely her mission. When

Rishyasringa arrived, arrived also welcome rains and the Angadesa was

relieved from the grip of famine. The king gave his daughter, Santa to

him in marriage.

 

Vibhandaka who came to know what was going on was angry at the

beginning. But, when he saw the courtesies of the king and the charm of

his daughter-in-law, he became pleased with the outcome, blessed the

couple and bade his son to join him after a son was born to them.

 

Sukhabrahmam

 

Sri `Sukabrahmam', the great sage whose only thought was

`Parabrahmam'(the Supreme Lord) and nothing else was one day passing

along the banks of a river. Some girls taking bath in the waters were

completely nude. On sighting Sri.Sukabrahmam' they did not hasten to

cover themselves. But, when his father, sage Vyasa followed Sukha, they

hurriedly wrapped themselves with whatever clothing they could lay hands

on. Vyasa was amazed at their behavior and asked them why they who did

not feel shy in the presence of the youthful`Sukha' felt shy before an

old man like himself.

 

They replied that Sri.Sukha was so engrossed in the Lord that he was

oblivious to sexual distinctions of persons encountered by him and saw

them all only as Brahmam. But since Vyasa's concentration was not that

intense, he could discern the distinctions which distracted his

attention and that in spite of his deep erudition and his `magnum opus'

of classifying the four Vedas, besides authoring epics like Mahabharata

etc. This, they said, was the difference between the two which accounted

for their reaction. This kind of intensity of concentration of Sukha to

the exclusion of all the rest is the hall mark of Bhakti.

 

Comment

 

The two stories above show how the innocence of a person unsullied by

temptations of sensual pleasures acquires a pride of place among

mankind. The single-minded concentration on the Lord to the exclusion of

all that is extraneous to the object of meditation is bound to endow the

practitioner with such tremendous powers. Even elements of nature like

rain and sunshine meekly follow the lead of such persons as it happened

in the case of Rishyasringa. As in the case of Sukhabrahmam, such a

person would command high esteem all around.

 

Though it may be questioned how one could live totally insulated from

the world and how could nature act in consonance with an individual's

proclivities, we have to repeat that such skeptics can never experience

the ecstasy unless they reach up to the level of intensity of innocence

and austerity which Rishyasringa and Sukhabrahmam exemplified.

 

The salutary moral, however, is the emphasis on virtuous and unsullied

conduct and this is valid for all time, past. present and future.

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