Stories from Vedanta

Retold by N K Srinivasan 1 Gopala-the Friend

In a small village, there lived a boy ,called Govinda. Govinda had lost his father and his mother , Devaki, a poor widow, brought up the boy with loving kindness. There was no school in that village. Devaki wanted to send Govinda to a school in a nearby village,but he had to cross a big forest everyday to reach the school. Govinda told his mother that he was afraid of walking alone in the forest to reach the school. His mother told him: " Govinda,

don't worry. When you enter the forest , call "Gopala"...a young boy with flute in hand will come and hold your hand and walk with you to the school. Do the same thing in the evening while returning from the school." Govinda did as his mother told him. He will enter the forest and call out as his mother told. Gopala, a young boy with flute in hand would appear, hold Govinda's hand and walk nicely and then disappear after

reaching the school.Again Gopala will appear and hold Govinda's hand on the return trip from the school to the home. Sometimes Govinda will ask Gopala for snacks to eat on the way and Gopal would

give him some puffed rice. Both will eat the rice on the way to school. Towards the end of the year, the school had annual function. The teacher requested each pupil to bring some snacks to the school and offer to all the kids, after prayer. Govinda told his mother that he had to take some snacks to the school. His mother told that she had no money to buy or make snacks. "Why don't you ask Gopala to give you snacks ?" she told Govinda. Govinda anxiously waited for Gopal to meet

in the forest. When Gopala came, Govinda told him: "Gopala, there is a function at the school and I need some sweet snacks to carry". Gopala immediately said that he would provide on the next day--the day of

the function.True to his word, Gopala gave a large packet of milk sweets to Govinda. Govinda carried the packet and gave it to his master. The teacher was thrilled and tasted the sweet which was delicious. The teacher asked Govinda whether his mother

prepared them . He knew that Govinda's mother was a poor widow and could not afford to make these sweets. Govinda replied that the sweets were given by his friend Gopala in the forest. The teacher was puzzled and asked Govinda: "Who is your friend Gopala in the forest?". Govinda replied that he is a small boy who escorts him everyday to the school. The teacher was further intrigued. He could not believe

that any such boy lived in the forest. It

must be some wild imagination on the part of Govinda. Govinda told that Gopala is a very rich boy who can give him many things. The teacher asked curiously: " Govinda, can you show me your friend Gopala in the forest?" Govinda replied : "Yes, come with me Sir, I will show him." The teacher wanted to test Govinda about his friend. Next day he gathered a few more teachers. They all set out to the forest to meet Gopala if he was there. The small group---the teachers, Gopala and a few students --walked towards the forest. On entering the forest, Govinda cried out : "Gopala, come here, my teachers have come". There was no reply. Gopala did not appear.

Govinda started crying : " Gopala, why are you hiding? I want you to come here". Again there was no response and no one was seen. Govinda cried louder and called: " Gopala ,you should come;otherwise my teacher will think I am a liar and scold me. I will lose my honor. Gopala, you should uphold my honor." At that time there was a clap of thunder. A voice was heard from the sky: "Govinda, I appear only for those who believe in Me and are pure in heart. I cannot appear before these persons." The teachers and the other students were astounded and knew that Lord Krishna himself was escorting Govinda all these days and gave the sweets too.

God appears to those who believe and are pure-hearted.

Story 2

The Value of Karma Yoga

There was a great yogi who used to meditate under a tree, with full concentration on Brahman and soon attained many supernatural powers called 'Siddhis'.The yogi, whom we would call "Yogeshwar' for this story, was soon puffed with pride. He knew that he had attained a high state of yogic perfection. He was also short tempered---would become angry . One day when he was meditating or doing

'tapas' under the peepul tree, a crane perched on a branch of the tree and was

making noise. Yogeshwar got irritated by

the noise and looked up at the bird with stern eyes. The crane was instantly burned to ashes and fell down as a heap of bones. Yogeshwar was delighted with the result. He told himself: " See how with my yogic powers, i could burn the crane which was disturbing my meditations."

After a few days, Yogeshwar was in his rounds to beg for alms in a nearby village. He would walk slowly through the streets and clap his hands in front of any house. The lady of the house would come out and drop food into his begging bowl. This was the custom in those days. As usual, Yogeshwar stopped in front of one of the houses and clapped his hand. There

was no response even though the door was open. After clapping again and waiting for some time, Yogeshwar saw the lady of the house come out with food . Yogeshwar was angry with her for making him wait so long. He stared at her with a stern,angry look.

The lady immediately smiled and told the yogi: "What Yogiraj, Do you take me for a crane? I was delayed because I was serving my husband who is ill...that is all". Yogeshwar was puzzled how this lady, a quiet woman, came to know of the incident-the way he had burned the crane by his

look-- that took place under the tree far away in the forest. He at once felt humbled and realized that this woman must be a perfected soul herself. He quickly asked

her: "Mother, Can you teach me the Divine Knowledge which you seemed to have acquired? ". The lady replied : " Look, I am no Yogini or Guru. But you go to the next village of Rampur where you will find a cartman named Raikwa. He can teach you". Yogeshwar was first intrigued that a cartpuller would be enlightened enough to teach him. But he had faith in the words of this lady,and walked to Rampur and located the cartman Raikwa, resting under a tree smoking beedy.[home-made cigarette.] Raikwa listened to the story of Yogeshwar and told that he could not teach him anything and there is a butcher by name Bhairava in the market,who might help him.

Yogeshwar was still puzzled how a buthcer could give him divine knowledge. Yet he went to the market street and located meat shop. Bhairava at once welcomed him and asked whether Raikwa had sent him. Yogeshwar was puzzled that Bhairava knew about his the

meeting Raikwa just a short time ago. Bhairava told him that he cannot talk to him in the shop as he was busy with the customers and that he should go and wait in the front porch of his house. Bhairava

gave him directions to reach his house. Yogeshwar then walked to Bhairava's house and waited at the porch for Bhairava to return from the shop.

It was almost dark when Bhairava returned home. He again greeted Yogeshwar sitting at the porch and told him that he had some work inside the house and would return after an hour to converse with him. Yogeshwar had learned enough humility by then. He patiently waited, recalling the events of the day since morning and his fate that he should wait in front of a lowly butcher's house! [Butchers were treated as outcastes in those days in India.] After about an hour, Bhairava came out and sat by the side of Yogeshwar in the porch. Yogeshwar asked about the work he had earlier. Bhairava told that he had his ailing father inside the house and he had

to nurse his wounds. Then he asked Yogeshwar why he had come and what he wanted. Yogeshwar narrated all the strange things that had happened that day. He asked Bhairava how he knew that Raikwa had sent him in the first place. Bhairava told that he had some intuitive thought to suggest that Raikwa ,his friend , might have directed Yogeshwar to his place. Then Yogeshwar posed his question " How you had attained Brahma Jnana--or Divine knowledge." Bhairava replied that he knew

nothing of yoga or tapas but he did his job of doing a butcher's duties with honesty

and faith in God and that he never avoided his duties at home. He added: " I guess,

the so-called divine knowledge comes of its own ,even though I am an illiterate." Then Yogeshwar realized the value of karma yoga.!

The Story of Affection for a

Deer
Bharata was a great monarch of India. In fact India is called "Bharatavarsha" or "Bharat" after him. He was the son of Royal-sage or Raja-rishi Rishaba. Bharata ruled over his subjects with love and with fairness. He performed all tasks --even minor ones-as service to the Lord of the Universe. In his old age, Bharata divided his kingdom into five parts for his five sons and then

retired to the forest near Gandaki river in the Himalayas to meditate .He built a small cottage for himself and devoted all his time to the worship of the Lord.He soon found inner peace.Bharata spent many years in deep contemplation. One morning he was offering his prayers to the Lord. He found a rustling of waters in the river and saw a deer being followed by a ferocious lion at some distance. In the fright, the deer which was carrying a baby fawn gave birth to the little one and crossed the river. On reaching the other side, the deer fell and died out of fright. The little fawn was floating in the water.Bharata was moved by this sight and picked up the fawn.

He brought the fawn to his cottage, nursed it with milk and fruits and soon became fond of the fawn. Though he had renounced all the desires and was meditating on the Lord, his attachment for the fawn grew day by day.He spent lot of time playing with the fawn and grew anxious about the future of the fawn.! A few years passed by. Bharata grew weak and knew his end was near. When his mind was turned towards the deer , he breathed his last. As a result of his karma and the affection for the deer, and the thought of the little deer at the time of death, Bharata was born as a deer in the next birth. The deer's name was Jatismara or Jadabharata.

Though Bharata was a deer now, he listened to the wise sayings and prayers of sages in their ashrams. In the subsequent birth, Jadabharata or Jatismara was born as the youngest boy in

a rich brahmin's family. In this life, Bharata remembered his past lives and led a quiet life, without much attachment. He would speak very little and was withdrawn most of the time. His brothers thought that he was a dim witted boy and refused to give him any property when his father died. The wives of his brothers were harsh towards him . But Jadabharata continued to lead a withdrawn life, not speaking a word against them.

One day when the wives of his brothers were unkind, Bharata quietly left the house and sat under a tree in deep contemplation. The local king , King Rahugana was passing

by in a palanquin carried by four bearers. One of the bearers got sick and the King's men,finding Bharata sitting quietly there was healthy enough to carry the palanquin , asked him to be one of the bearers. Bharata did not reply but carried the palanquin along with three other bearers. But Bharata did not carry the palanquin properly. The king was annoyed and told him : " O Fool, if you cannot carry properly, rest a while and then lift the palanquin." Then Bharata layed down the palanquin and spoke for the first time and addressed the

king:'Whom do you call "Fool"--O King.If you call 'you' this body, this mass of flesh, it is the same as yours.If it is the mind you call 'you' then it is the same as yours--the Universal mind.If you call my soul as 'you' . it is the same as in you--it is the Self, the Reality---it has no weariness, no sickness.I moved about to avoid some insects on the ground.But my Soul is not wearied and never carried the pole of the palanquin." The king Rahugana realized the mistake, knew that this bearer was indeed a great sage and fell at his feet and asked for pardon. Later the king asked Bharata to teach him Divine Knowledge.

Later Bharata ,in the new incarnation, moved about preaching Lord's knowledge.'

4 All for a piece of Loincloth! A great sadhu lived in a remote village ,having renounced everything. All his possessions were a begging bowl, a water jug or kamandalu and two pieces of loin cloth--about the size of a towel which he would wrap around his waist.He would wear one piece and wash and dry another piece. Soon he found that a rat was chewing the loin cloth at night and had made numerous holes in it. The sadhu thought that he should put an end to this rat problem.

He wanted to shelter a pet cat to eat the rat. So he requested a villager near by to bring a cat to him. The villager brought a cat and offered to give some milk to feed the cat. The cat took care of the rat.His loin clothes were not damaged. To feed the cat with milk, the sadhu thought that he should get a cow. Again he requested a rich villager to offer a cow to his ashram. In those days, offering a cow to a brahmin or sadhu, called 'go-dhan" ['go' means cow and 'dhan' means charityoffering] was considered an act of merit or punya and many villagers would come forward to offer a cow. So ,soon the sadhu had a cow in his ashram.

He grew grass in a patch of land near by for feeding the cow.He was burdened with

too much work to attend to the cow. His puja or worship and meditations decreased. He sought the services of a young village girl to look after the cow. It so happened that he ended up marrying the girl. After about a year, the sadhu had become a father for a child. Thus a sadhu became a householder---all for a piece of loin cloth!

Vyasa and his son Suka

Vyasa is a common name for one who 'expands' scriptures or writes/edits sacred works. Thus we learn about Veda Vyas who compiled and edited the Vedas. There was

one vyasa by name

Krishna Dweepayana [who

was born in a island] who is considered the 28 th Vyasa in the line of such editors. This vyasa is credited with editing Srimad Bhagavatam which has several puranic [mythological] stories, lives of kings and sages and above all, life of Lord Krishna. This book is widely regarded by all in the devotional path. Suka was the son of Vyasa, a scholarly and spiritually enlightened master in his own right. In younger days, Suka was taught by his father much of scriptures. Suka later taught Parikshit the whole of Bhagavatam in a week. Vyasa and Suka were walking through a forest during their journey.

Vysa was walking in front followed by Suka at some distance. It so happened that Vyasa was passing by a small lake in which young women were bathing in nudity. Vyasa saw them and immediately told his son to close his eyes while walking for some distance. Suka who was following Vyasa closed his eyes and slowly walked , listening to the foot steps of his father. After walking some distance, Vyasa told that Suka could open his eyes...Suka was intrigued and asked his father: "Revered Father, why did you ask me to close the eyes?" Vyasa replied that there were some women bathing in the lake on his left side without any clothes and that Suka should

not see them. Suka replied, taking Vyasa to be a great Jnani so far," Father ,do you still see a woman and a man differently?" Vyasa realized that he had not yet reached maturity in terms of Jnana. [The implication is that a Jnani is one who had crossed the feelings of gender differences and the temptations of the sexes.]

6 Adi Shankara and the Chandala

Adi Shankara , the great Advaitic philosopher and pontiff , lived in the eighth century [788- 820 CE] . He traveled throughout the length and breadth of India three times.In one of his trips to Varanasi

[Benares or Kashi] ,the holy city, the following incident took place. Though Shankara was a great philosopher, he had still caste prejudices at that time-perhaps due to his early upbringing in Kerala. Shankara was born in a pious Namboodri brahmin family, steeped in caste conventions . Adi Shankara was walking along a narrow lane, after bath in the Ganges, towards Lord Viswanatha's temple. He spotted a chandala or outcaste with his wife coming towards him at the end of the lane. Shankara shouted " go away, go away" at the chandala, since if he came close to this brahmin, pollution would occur. [Such was the caste prejudices then and the practice

of "untouchability."]. The Chandala who had some ropes and nets in his hands, stopped immediately and looked at Shankara with stern eyes and told: " Look, Revered Brahmin, Did you say "go away' at this body, made of flesh and produced by food, which is same as your body. If you say 'go away" at my consciousness which is the same as yours , where is the question of "going away" we are both the same.". On hearing this, Shankara got the message that he was wrong in identifying with the body and considering that chandala was inferior in birth.He knew at once that the Chandala was none but Lord Shiva himself or Lord Viswanatha who had come to teach him.Shankara fell at the feet of the

Chandala and his wife and suddenly he had a vision of "Shiva and Parvati". At once, Shankara sang a hymn of five verses called " Maneesha Panchakam" ---about the knowledge of Advaita. The divine couple --Shiva and Parvati --disappeared in a blaze of light. [ There are slightly different versions of this story.One may even doubt that such an event occurred in the life of Shankara. Modern scholars doubt the authorship of these works which may be due to later saints.]

7 Emperor Shivaji and Samartha Ramdas

Samartha Ramdas was a great Marathi saint ,devoted to Lord Rama and the author of "Dasbodh"-- a poetical work on Vedanta. He was the guru of Emperor Shivaji who fought against Moghul rulers and established a Hindu kingdom around Pune. Samartha Ramdas used to stay with Shivaji for long periods in his palace. Shivaji was building several fortresses on hills in Maratha country to defend his kingdom.Many of the fortresses are tourist attraction today. One fine morning, Samartha Ramdas was walking along a road near a fortress,

chanting the name of Lord Rama. Shivaji joined him and walked with him.There was a major construction of a fort nearby, where

several stone cutters were working. Shivaji spoke to some of them and while walking further felt some pride that he was giving work to so many poor workers who may otherwise go hungry without jobs. Ramdas who was walking closeby immediately read the mind of Shivaji. He told Shivaji to go near a small boulder lying on the roadside. He asked Shivaji to get some stone cutters to break that boulder. Shivaji summoned some workers and asked them to break the boulder though he did

not know why his guru Ramdas wanted him to break the boulder. In a short while ,the workers broke the boulder into two halves. Inside the boulder, there was a big hole with some

water in it. Ramdas asked Shivaji to look closely at the hole. There was a small lizard inside. Ramdas told Shivaji: " Look ,Emperor, the Lord has made the lizard not only live inside this boulder with air,but also provided some water to drink". Shivaji felt humbled and told: " Guruji, My pride is gone! I know it is the Lord who will protect and provide for all---not the king" and then fell at the feet of Samartha Ramdas.