Story

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In one village, there lived a Brahmin, whose family was very pious

and orthodox. This Brahmin however was not pious, had evil thoughts

in his mind. He resorted to living in a village as a farmer. Slowly

he cultivated bad habits like drinking, and got immersed in sensual

pleasures of women and gold. He lived a very mean life, and was very

harsh and arrogant. Thus he spent his entire life.

 

When his time was up, the messengers of Yama (God of death), came to

Earth to take him away. Chitragupta (Yamas' assistant who maintains

an account of all our merits and sins) accounted to Yama the details

of the Brahmins life, how he didn't perform any of his Vedic duties,

how he resorted to a mean life, and got immersed in sensual

pleasures, and how he cultivated bad habits / character. Yama on

hearing the details pronounced various punishments for the Brahmin in

hell.

 

The Brahmin was thus sent to hell, and underwent all that he had to

undergo for the reckless ins he committed. After having undergone his

sentences, he was sent back to Earth to be born as a buffalo.

 

His master in this birth as a buffalo was a handicap, and this

buffalo's job was to carry his master wherever the master desired. He

thus had to always carry a load. As he grew older, he found it really

tough, as his master didn't feed him properly, but extract a lot of

work from the buffalo. This weakened the buffalo, and his body

weaned.

 

One day, as he was carrying his ruthless master on a hot scorching

day, his head began to spin, and he could no longer carry his master.

He felt his left breath slowly leave him. He fell onto the ground.

The master left the buffalo to struggle on its own and left.

 

To the buffalo's luck, soon some passers by gathered around him, and

they took pity on him. One of them said, "This buffalo looks like,

it's on the verge of death. I wish to help the buffalo by offering a

few of my punya (merits obtained by doing good deeds) ". After he

thus pronounced, one by one, the others too started donating a little

of their punya to the buffalo. Among the group that gathered around

the buffalo, was a dasi (prostitute). After hearing the kind

donations of the other passers by, the dasi said, "I do not know if I

have any done any punya. However if there is any punya done by me, I

donate it to this buffalo."

 

The buffalo then breathed its last, and was taken to the court of

Yama. Chitragupa while reading out to Yama, said that during his last

moments, many people donated a part of their punya. Out of all these

punyas, the greatest punya is that donated by the dasi. Hence this

buffalo has a lot of punya credited to him."

 

Due to his meritorious gains, he attained the birth of a Brahmin

again. In this birth, he remembered his past life as a buffalo, and

all that had happened in his last moments, and at the court of Yama.

Having learnt from his mistakes, in this birth, he was very pious,

and followed the Vedic injunctions strictly.

 

However, he was really surprised to know that the dasis punya was the

greatest that he received. He thus decided to meet the dasi, and

enquire as to what deed she did, that proved to be the most

meritorious.

 

He visited the dasi, and narrated to her his past life, and the

happenings in Yama's court and said that her donation was the

greatest of all donations.

He said, "May I request you to tell me what it is you've done, that

proved your punya to be the greatest of all punyas?"

The dasi was really surprised to hear the story from the Brahmin, and

replied, "I really don't know of any good deed that I performed. I

thought I never really did any good deed. However, I have a parrot

and the parrot chants the some slokas everyday, and I listen to it.

That's all I have done."

 

So they decided to meet her parrot. On confronting the parrot and

narrating all the incidents, the parrot had another story to tell.

The parrot spoke, "I was a learned pundit in my previous birth. I had

mastered the Vedas, Upanishads, Gita, and all the other scriptures.

As my knowledge grew, my pride also grew commensurately. I slowly

began to feel that there was no one on Earth that equalled me. With

pride, I became very arrogant, and I started ill treating people. I

became ruthless to the core.

For all my sins, I endured punsihments in hell, and now I have taken

a birth of a parrot. One day in the jungle, when I grew up, and

developed wings, I flew a very large distance, and fell onto the

ground tired. There was a group of sanyasins (saints) passing my way.

Taking pity on me, they took me to their ashram (hermitage). While

in the ashram, I used to hear the Veda Paranayana everyday. I slowly

memorized the first Adhyaya (chapter) of the Bhagavad Gita. One day,

a hunter came by the forest, and on seeing me stole me from the

ashram. He sold me to this dasi, in whose house I am in now. Having

learnt lessons from my previous birth, I continue to chant the first

Chapter of the Bhagavad Gita everyday."

 

The three of them (Brahmin, dasi and parrot), then realised the power

and greatness of the first chapter of Bhagavad Gita. They realised

how chanting the Gita, could redeem one of all sins, and could render

one pure, to the extent of relinquishing the sins of the buffalo

enough to give him a holy, and pure birth of a Brahmin.

They thus decided to chant the first chapter of the Gita everyday for

the rest of their lives. When the hour of their departure from earth

arrived, they had the Gita on their lips, and they attained

Salvation.

 

Hari Aum !!!