Gita 9.22

[Guest guest]

Om Namo Narayanaya.

From the Times of India--

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Speaking_Tree/Story_Illustrating_The_Power_Of_Devotion/articleshow/2746991.cms

A man and his wife lived a simple, pious life. They were so poor that they had barely enough food or clothing. The man made both ends meet by begging and whatever he got the couple offered to God before consuming it themselves. One morning, while reading the Bhagavad Gita, the man came across verse 9.22 where Lord Krishna says: "To those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, constantly absorbed in thoughts of Me - to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they already

have". Perplexed, he thought: "I am a singularly staunch devotee of the Lord and I have Him in my thoughts constantly. Yet He keeps us in abject poverty, giving us nothing. Moreover, why should He who is the creator and master of all the universes, personally carry a devotee's necessities? I am sure the Lord could not have said these words; someone has interpreted them incorrectly". So thinking, he struck off the words 'vahaamy aham' (I carry) with red ink. He now felt relieved. As the husband set off to seek alms, his wife called out: "There is not a morsel to eat in the house. Get something and come home quickly". A while later the wife heard someone at the door. At the threshold stood a dark, handsome lad of some 12 years with a huge basket on his head. She could not take her eyes off the young boy, so strikingly attractive was he. "Here, help me put down the basket, Maiya . Your husband has sent these for you", he said. She lent a hand and as he bent down to put the basket on the floor, she noticed three ugly red gashes on his back, raw and bleeding, as if someone had just struck him with a whip. "Oh my God! What wretched man did this to you?" she burst out. " Maiya , it was your husband who whipped me because he doubted my willingness to deliver this basket to you". "Wait here", she said, "I will clean up your wounds". But when she came back the boy was gone. Soon the husband returned and was surprised to see his

wife busy in the kitchen. "What are you cooking?" he asked, "You had said that you did not have anything to eat in the house". "Why, you sent that huge basket full of fresh vegetables, fruits and grains, lentils and condiments enough to last us six months. But why did you beat the handsome young boy and inflicted three ugly red lash-wounds on his tender back?" "I did not get any alms today, dear wife, so how could I have sent any foodstuffs to you? I never saw the young lad you speak of, so how could I have beaten him?" Thoroughly bewildered by what his wife had said, the husband went into deep thought. He rushed to the Gita he had been reading that morning and opened it to verse

9.22. His heart missed a beat as his eyes focused on the verse. Gone were the three red lines that he had drawn across the words vahaamy aham . He was dumbfounded. Slowly, tears flowing down his cheeks, he prostrated himself before the deity, "Hey Jagannatha! Forgive me. The wretch that I am; how could I have ever doubted Your words". Then he turned to his wife: "It was He! How blessed you are to have had darshan of Bhagvan Himself".

Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Search.