Excellent life's stories - 19 Horses

[Guest guest]

19 Horses

 

One rich man owned 19 horses when he died. In his last will and teastament he

had written that upon his death, half the horses he owned should go to his only

son; one fourth to the village temple and one fifth to the faithful servant. The

village elders could not stop scratching their heads. How can they give half of

the 19 horses to the son? You cannot cut up a horse. They puzzled over this

dilemma for more than two weeks and then decided to send for a wise man who was

living in a neighbouring village.

 

The wise man came riding on his horse and asked the villagers if he can be of

any help to them. The village elders told him about the rich man's last will and

testament which stated that half of the (19) horses must be given to his only

son, one fourth must go to the temple and one fifth to the faithful servant.

 

The wise man said he will immediately solve their problem without any delay

whatsoever. He had the 19 horses placed in a row standing next to one another.

Then he added his own horse as the 20 th horse. Now he went about giving half of

the 20 horses †" that is ten horses to the son. One fourth of 20- that is 5

horses were given to the temple committee. One fifth of twenty- that is 4 horses

were given to the faithful servant. Ten plus five plus four made 19 horses. The

remaining 20 th horse was his own which he promptly mounted, spoke a few

inspiring words, and rode back home.

 

The villagers were simply dumfounded, full of disbelief and filled with

admiration. And the parting words of the wise man were inscribed in their hearts

and minds which they greatly cherished and passed on to their succeeding

generations till today.

 

The wise man said: In our daily lives, in our daily affairs, simply add God's

name and then go about facing the day's happenings. Ever come across problems in

life that are seemingly insurmountable? (Like the villagers, do we feel that

such problems cannot be solved?).

 

The wise man continued: Add the God Principle in our daily lives and the

problems will become lighter and eventually will disappear. In the manner of the

ice which, with the addition of the heat principle will turn into water, and

that will eventually evaporate as steam and disappear. And how do we add God's

name in our daily lives? Through prayers, filled with true love and devotion

with sincerity of purpose and dedication that only total faith can bring about.

Meditation is a powerful means of directing the mind Godward.

 

But without true love and devotion entering into it, it remains like a boat

without water. It is not difficult to push a boat that is floating in water, but

extremely hard to drag the same boat on dry land.

 

In the same way, if our life's boat floats on the waters of true love and

devotion, we can sail easily in it. The principle of love of God and devotion

with total faith, (like water) makes easy the voyage of our lives. When the

mind is pure and the heart full of simplicity and holiness, such a devotee

becomes an instrument in the service of the Lord.

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

A version of this beautiful story has also been used to give an example for

" Maya " which both " is " and " is not "

In this version, what is being distributed are cows, and the wise man is an old

Brahmin - and he does not have any cow.

He just asks them to count " his cow " and start the division. Puzzled they ask

him where his cow is? He simply smiles and says why dont you start dividng the

cows. Finally when the distribution has concluded to everyone's satisfaction he

is again asked the wherabouts of his cow - " and smilingly he replies that he got

back the cow that he never had! " One can say about the Brahmin's cow that it

never was and yet as the distributions were bing done one cannot also say that

it was not.

 

Of course there are limitations to this example, but it is more of an

illustrative perspective.

Hari OM

Shri Gurubhyoh namah

Shyam

 

 

Branko Ivatovic <branko.ivatovic

shivayoga

Wednesday, January 30, 2008 5:02:38 AM

Excellent life's stories - 19 Horses

 

 

19 Horses

 

The wise man came riding on his horse and asked the villagers if he can be of

any help to them. The village elders told him about the rich man's last will and

testament which stated that half of the (19) horses must be given to his only

son, one fourth must go to the temple and one fifth to the faithful servant.

The wise man said: In our daily lives, in our daily affairs, simply add God's

name and then go about facing the day's happenings. Recent Activity

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