God Provides!!! fable

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GOD PROVIDES

 

A generous king once ruled in the land of Andhra. Every day two beggars used

to come to him for alms and he always gave them food and money.

 

On receiving the alms one of them, the older one, used to say: "God

provides." The other beggar, the younger of the two, would say: "Our king

provides."

 

One day the king gave them more money than usual, whereupon the older man

cried out lustily: "God provides." This annoyed the king who thought: "It is

I who am feeding him and he keeps saying: 'God provides, God provides'. It

is time he learnt who his real benefactor is."

 

The next day after he had given them alms he asked the beggars to go by a

little-used road instead of their usual one. "I have provided for one of

you," he said. "God will provide for the other." He made sure that the one

who always praised him went first. He had ordered that a purse of gold be

kept on the road in the beggar's path so that he would find it.

 

But as the beggar walked down the road he wondered why the king had sent him

that way. "Perhaps he wants me to enjoy the privacy of this road," he

thought. "It is indeed a beautiful road and so broad. One can walk with eyes

closed." And he closed his eyes. As a result he missed seeing the purse. It

was spotted and picked up by the other beggar who was coming behind him.

 

The next day the king asked the beggars whether they had found anything on

the road he had sent them by and he looked meaningfully at the younger man.

But the beggar shook his head. "It was a beautiful road," he said. "But I

did not find anything on it.But I did," said the other man. "I found a

purse of gold. God provides."

 

Now the king became even more determined to show the older beggar that he

was their true benefactor. So while the beggars were going away he called

the younger one back and gave him a pumpkin. The pumpkin had been hollowed

out and filled with silver coins. But the beggar did not know that. On the

way he sold it to a baniya for a few coins.

 

The next day the king asked the beggars if anything eventful had happened

the previous day, looking meaningfully at the younger beggar. "Nothing,"

said the beggar. "Except that I earned a few more coins than usual by

selling the pumpkin you had so generously given me."

 

The king tried hard not to show his dismay. "And you?" he said to the other

beggar. "Did you too earn more than usual?"

 

"I certainly did," said the beggar. "As I was passing by a baniya's shop he

called me and gave me a pumpkin. When I went home and cut it I found that it

was full of silver. As I always say, God provides."

 

— A folktale from Andhra Pradesh

 

MORAL: When God wants to give anything, he gives by one means or other. But

when he doesn't, even though you get that anything in your hand but still

you will give away like the above beggar. We should remember that the fruit

of our karmas (actions).......whether good or bad.......we get with

astounding precision. But when we repent for bad karmas and do not repeat

and pray to God, God listens and provides on any day.