Gods and Demons

[Guest guest]

Namskar

Another good story for all :

 

This happened a long long time ago.

 

A little boy asked his father : "Daddy, what is the difference

between gods and demons?"

 

The father said to the little boy: "Son, I will organise a big

banquet at our residence where I will invite both the gods and the

demons. At the end of the banquet you will get your answer."

 

And the father sent out invitations to both the gods and the demons.

On the appointed day, a most lavish banquet was organised and

hundreds of gods and hundreds of demons arrived at the house.

 

The demons were an impatient lot, disorganised and noisy. They asked

the host that they wanted VIP (very important person) treatment, and

therefore wanted to have their food served first to the demons and

the gods must eat last.

 

The host agreed to their request on one condition that the demons

tie wooden planks to both hands when eating. The demons said that if

the same condition was also applied to the gods as well then they

had no objection to tying the wooden planks on both their hands when

eating.

 

All the demons had wooden planks tied to both their hands and they

immediately sat on the floor, seating one next to the other in one

straight line. They were all very eager to be served with delicious

food.

 

The first course of food arrived. It was the best smelling soup in a

bowel with spoon. Now when the demons got spoons filled with the

soup, they realised that they could not bend their hands to bring

the spoons to their mouths. They tried to lift their hands over

their heads and tilt the spoons with their mouths wide open. They

got the soup falling in their eyes and all over the face and also on

their expensive garments.

 

The demons got noisier, became angry and started swearing at the

host. Some of the demons wanted to beat up the host. Some demons

tried to restrain the other demons and they started fighting among

themselves. The demons agreed that it was totally useless for them

to remain at this banquet as it was not possible to eat the food

without bending their hands. It was impossible to eat the food

without messing up their beautiful and expensive garments. With

angry words the demons left the banquet.

 

Now it was the turn of the gods to eat. The gods were of a peaceful

nature. They also sat in a line on the floor. Both their hands were

also tied with wooden planks. When the first course of food was

served, which was the delicious soup, the gods first recited the

food prayer. The gods realised that they could not bend their hands,

and therefore it was impossible to eat the soup.

 

Each of the gods thought: "Never mind if I cannot eat the soup, but

let me be of help to my fellow brother who is seated next to me."

 

The gods turned towards each other and started feeding each other.

They thus enjoyed the most delicious soup. Then the next course of

meal was served and they enjoyed that delicious meal. They went

through five course meals and ate to their hearts content. They

thanked the host, presented the host with gifts they had brought,

and peacefully went back to their homes.

 

The son was observing all that happened. The father told him that a

major difference between the gods and the demons was the difference

in their attitude of `Giving' and the attitude of `Taking.' The

demons thought only about their individual self-interest whereas the

gods thought about selflessly serving others. When you open your

heart and give selflessly, you receive also much more than you give.

 

OM SHANTI

 

Source: http://www.hinduism.co.za/