Sudama

[Guest guest]

Happiness in a Fool's Paradise. Baba, sincerely I think you are doing more

harm than you are doing good with the non-reference emails. People are

getting annoyed, and your missionary activities for Srila Narayana Maharaja

invoke a reverse effect in a good majority of the audience to whom you are

posting. Thanks for considering my fourth mail which probably goes without

response as the three others I sent to you.

 

Please note that I am not a demon (hope) who is outraged upon hearing the

name of Narayana Maharaja. I am a disciple of his. But even I don't

appreciate non-reference postings, because I tend to estimate the value and

authority of a text according to its source. No source means what is the

value. Only minimal, because no sane person will have faith in something

which has no known origin. God only knows where it comes from, and what is

its intention. Thank you.

 

> When Sudama left the palace, Krishna followed him. (When any Vaisnava or

> brahmana comes, we should stand up and go to meet them, and when they

> leave we should follow them to the border of the village or the town.)

> Krishna was saying very sweet things to His friend, and bade him farewell,

> but He did not give him any gifts, although a wealthy householder normally

> offers lavish presentations in charity to a worthy brahmana.

>

> When they reached the border, Krishna returned, and Sudama went on by

> himself just as he had come — in dirty, old, worn and torn clothes. He

> thought happily to himself, “Krishna is so merciful! If He had given me

> wealth, I would have become absorbed in thinking about my opulence, and I

> would have forgotten Him. He saw that I am not qualified, and that is why

> He did not give me anything.” Thinking how kind and merciful Krishna is,

> Sudama began to cry.

>

> TRANSFORMATION AT HOME

>

> It was evening when he reached his village. But as he came close to his

> house, he was puzzled. “Where is my hut, which always leaks when it rains

> and which has no rats because we have no food-grains? Where is my cow,

> which is as thin as a skeleton? Where is my old meditation seat of kusa

> grass? It has all disappeared!”

>

> And indeed, everything had changed. In place of what he had known before,

> there were 16,108 royal palaces. People were riding horses and royal

> elephants along the splendid roads. There were very beautiful gardens full

> of lovely flowers and berries, and decorated with attractive ponds of cool

> water. Peacocks danced madly, and doves and cuckoos called melodiously.

>

> “What has happened?” thought Sudama. “Where have I come? Am I in heaven?”.

>

> Meanwhile, someone told his wife, “Your husband has returned.” Oh, she was

> so happy. She came out very joyfully to meet her husband. She was just

> like an angel, for during the night Krishna had made her as beautiful as a

> young, teenage girl. She was surrounded by thousands of

> maidservants, for each of Krishna’s 16,108 queens had given something to

> Sudama and his wife. Now they had all the wealth and opulence that one

> could ever imagine. That is why he could not believe that he had come to

> his own house. Sudama’s wife saw her husband coming, with his stick in his

> hand. He had not changed. He still wore the same dirty, old clothes, and

> looked like a poor, old person, although he was still young. Then she came

> out with her whole party of 16, 108 maidservants, singing and playing

> drums and many other musical instruments.

>

> Sudama saw the party coming with golden water pots to welcome him. He was

> surprised. “Why are they coming towards me? Perhaps they have mistaken me

> for someone else.” But there was no mistake. If Krishna had changed Sudama

> as well as his wife, she would not have recognised him when he came back.

> That is why Krishna left him in his original form.

>

> When she came towards Sudama with her arms outstretched, he became alarmed

> and began to run away, but they detained him. Immediately his wife touched

> him, he became as young and beautiful as she was, and very strong. Then

> Sudama said out loud, “O Krishna, you are wonderful. I never wanted

> anything, but during the night while we were asleep, You gave me so much

> wealth and opulence!” and he began to weep. “How kind and merciful Krishna

> is. We thought that He might give some donation, but we cannot believe

> what He has given.”

>

> KRISHNA LOOKS AFTER HIS DEVOTEES

>

> We should understand that Krishna is very merciful. If you chant His name,

> Hare Krishna, He will provide enough for you if you have some requirements

> or even if you don’t have any requirement. So don’t be afraid. If you have

> a job, you can donate one thousand or ten thousand dollars a month. But if

> Krishna is pleased, then hundreds and millions of dollars may come without

> your having to do anything. Krishna will give so much. He will break open

> a hole in the ceiling and he will pour it in.

>

> _______________

> Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp