Atonment by Swami Ramarajyam

[Guest guest]

Indian history bears witness to the fact that the wrongdoer himself

would go to the king and want the King to punish him. This may look

strange and unbelievable, but an incident testifying to this fact took

place long ago in the age of Mahabharata.

 

There lived two brothers named Shankh and Likhit. Both of them owned

orchards on the bank of river Bahuda. One dayh Likhit went to the

orchard of his elder brother in his absence, plucked some fruits there

and ate them. In the meantime, Shank reached there. Likhit told him

that he had plucked some fruits from his orchard.

 

Shankh said, " You ate teh fruits without my permission. This is theft.

Now go to the King and request him to punish you. " Likhit went to the

king and told him what had happened and prayed the King to punish him

for his offence. The king said, I forgive you. Now you can go. But,

Lihkit kept standing there and said, I have committed a crime and want

to atone for it. Please punish me for that. The king then got both of

his hands chopped off.

 

Likhit went to his brother. He looked at Likhit affectionately and

said, Now you should go to the bank of the River Bahda and pray to God

to keep you away from wrongdoing. Lihkit sat down on the bank of the

river. To pray to God, he began to fold his hands out of force of

habit, but lo, hands he had none. His eyes were filled with tears. As

soon as he closed his tearful eyes, his hands reappeared.

 

At that time Shankh came there. He embranced Likhit and said, " Dear

brother, now you are a flassless man. You have atoned for our mistake

by undergoing the punishment. I could have forgiven you, but then, you

might not have realised that a mistake was a mistake, irrespective of

ghe degree of its magnitude. The mistake committed by you was

insignificant, as there is no difference between your and my

properties; nevertheless it is wrong to take anything without the

permission of its owner. One must realise one's mistake and atone for

it without the slightest hesitation.

 

Devotees must always pray to God, " Kindly bless me so that I would

never make a mistake. If ever I do so, make me realise my mistake and

punish me. That will be my atonement " . Atonement relieves you of your

burden of the commisison of mistakes and God continues to love you, as

He loved you before.