ungratefulness

[Guest guest]

(from Mahabharat -- sent to me by my Godbrother Shyamasundar Prabhu, the

devotee-astrologer)

 

Once there was a Brahmana who was very poor. He had a friend who was a Crane

(Baka). On visiting the Brahmana the Crane inquired as to his welfare and

the Brahmana replied that he was suffering from acute povery.

 

"Don't worry" said the Crane. "I have some friends who are Raksasas, go see

them and introduce yourself as my friend and they will solve your problem."

 

Having faith in his friend the Baka, the Brahmana visited the Raksasa who

were pleasantly surprised to see that a Brahmana was visiting. Being

man-eaters they thought that lunch had been delivered with no effort on

their part. But as soon as the Brahmana mentioned his friend the Baka the

mood of Raksasas changed and they imediately saw him as their own friend and

asked how they could help him. The Brahmana told him of his plight and he

had scarcely finished speaking when the Raksasas said that his problem was

already solved and he just had to go home to see for himself. When he

arrived home he could see that like Sudama Vipra all wealth had been

showered on him.

 

However, when the Baka came to visit his friend the Brahmana, the Brahmana

was very proud and impudent and forgetting how much he owed the Crane he

argued with him and killed him.

 

By their mystic potency the Raksasas could immediately understand that their

friend the Baka had been killed by the Brahmana and they angrily appeared on

the scene to chastise the Brahmana. "Only because you called yourself friend

of our friend the Baka did we spare your life and showered you with all

opulence. But you were so ungrateful to your friend the Baka that you have

killed him. Now we shall avenge our friend." And saying that they killed the

Brahmana. But even though they were man-eaters they didn't want to eat the

Brahmana because he was an ingrate.

 

So the Raksasas dragged his corpse to the jungle where some cannibals were

living and offered the body of the Brahmana for them to eat. But knowing

that the Raksasa were themselves man-eaters the cannibals questioned them as

to why they themselves were not eating the Brahmana. When the Raksasas told

them the story the cannibals replied "Oh he is an ingrate---we also don't

eat ingrates. Dispose of the body somewhere else."

 

The moral of the story is that being an ingrate is such a sinful condition

that even Raksasas and cannibals will not eat you.

 

 

(from Ramayana)

 

Once Lord Brahma told an ungrateful person, 'The means of atonement has been

prescribed for the killer of a cow, a drunkard, a thief, or for one who has

broken a sacred vow, but there is no expiation for an ungrateful soul!'