LOVE ALL - Episode 5

Part 11!​

KG had agreed to be the leader of the Counseling Forum too provided he had the freedom to design the counseling format. The members were to send all their queries to KG in advance either to his mail ID or to his private message box in the site.

He would answer them, at least as much as he could, and if he found the question/answer suitable he would publish it in the Counseling Forum.

Kripa had suggested that for the first week the Forum Leaders could send some sample counseling queries to KG so that the forum need not be empty on the day of launch.

Yamini, who had been waiting to test waters, was the first to send a sample query to KG.

 

Part 12!​

November 26^th. 9 PM. Yamini was checking her mail. There were two mails from KG. In the first, addressed to Kripa and copied to Yamini, there was a file attachment containing the counseling queries chosen by him for publication along with his answers.


Yamini opened the attachment. KG had chosen twenty queries including hers. She read her query and his answer.

 

Part 13!​

“Dear Sir,

I am a married woman living in the US. My father died long back. My mother is living with my only brother and his wife in Chennai.

Of late my brother has started ill-treating my mother. He does not talk to her at all. His wife makes my mother do all the household work and my brother is a mute witness to all the atrocities committed by his wife.

The latest I heard was that they were going to dump her at an old age home in the city.

But for this my brother is a nice man. He is very honest and though he works for the sales tax department he can be called Mr. Clean. He is a very religious person. He has never cheated on his wife. He does not smoke or drink.

Every morning he gets up at four and spends three hours in our puja room. We have our family heirloom – a salagrama brought by my great grandfather from Nepal. My brother is quite attached to this and performs all the abhishekams and other things as prescribed by our religious texts.

Recently a saint from the Udupi Mutt visited our house and told us that my brother has got some rare powers. And that the salagrama he is worshipping is growing, changing form every day.

I am not sure where to place my brother. Where will you?

Yamini expected a few pages of answer. But KG’s answer was extremely crisp. It had just four words.

Before a hungry lion.

Yamini laughed. She would certainly confide her problems in KG.

Then she opened the second file.

‘Yamini, this is my leader post for the second week. Have a look and tell me whether is okay. KG

Yamini opened the file attachment and started to read.

 

Part 14!​

Sri Bhakthisarar was an ardent devotee of Sriman Narayana. After visiting a lot of temples he arrived at a town called Thiruvehha near Kancheepuram.

The Lord there is called Yathothakaari Perumal. Bhakthisarar was moved by the Lord’s beautiful form and decided to spend the rest of his life in that town.

Bhakthisarar was doing pooja and other service to the Lord at Thiruvehha. A disciple by name Kanikannan was assisting him in his work. Kanikannan was passionately attached to his Guru.

There was also a third member in the team a very old lady with a hunch-back. In spite of her age and failing health she used to do all the chores at the temple.

One day Bhakthisarar and Kanikannan were chatting at the temple gate. The old lady was washing the temple premises. It was too much of a chore for her. She was gasping for breath and after a while she could not move.

She sat down and started crying aloud hitting her head with her hands.

Bhakthisarar and Kanikannan ran to her side.

“Swami, you can never find a fool like me. Those days I was young, strong and healthy. But I did not do anything good for others. I wasted my life on useless things. Now I want to serve the Lord, but alas, my body won’t let me to. What’s the use of this body, if it can’t help you, if it can’t serve the Lord? Why should it be there? Make me die, Swami.”

Bhakthisarar turned his eyes to the Lord. The Thiruvehha Lord who is forever sleeping on His favourite snake-bed is the one who can be described as the real Sleeping Beauty.

The compassion in Bakthisarar’s heart came out as tears. The Lord may turn a deaf ear when someone sings His praises, when someone chants His thousand names, even when someone chants the Vedas in their perfect form.

But definitely not when there is a call of selfless love. The Lord read his devotee’s mind and lo! the old lady metamorphosised into a beautiful young maiden. The hunch-back was gone.

She fell at Bhakthisarar’s feet, got his blessings and then resumed washing the temple as if nothing had happened.

Sobbing in love and gratitude Bhakthisarar ran to the Lord with Kanikannan in tow.

The King of the land learnt about the incident. He summoned Kanikannan to his chambers. He gave a bag of gold coins to Kanikannan spoke to him in soft words.

“I will give you hundred bags like this. Just make your Guru perform the same trick on me and make me young again. You see, I want to enjoy life more.’

“No way. My Guru will never do that.” Kanikannan returned the gold coins to the King.

The King upped the stakes. He was now ready to offer half of his kingdom.

Kanikannan’s roar was only more ferocious this time.

“Not just your kingdom, even if you place the entire world at my Guru’s feet, he won’t do that for you.’

The King got wild and ordered that Kanikannan be exiled from his kingdom.

Kanikannan ran to his Guru and told him about the punishment. He did not mind staying away from the town. He did not even mind staying in the forest. He did not mind being hungry or cold.

He did not even mind being away from the beautiful Lord of Thiruvehha. But how can he even begin to think of being away from his beloved Guru? What was the point in living, if he could not do service to his Guru?

No, he’d rather drop dead at his Guru’s feet than being dragged away from him.

Bhakthisarar affectionately placed his hand on Kanikannan’s shoulder.

“How can I be without you, Kanikanna? Come let’s go out of the town together.”

Kanikannan wiped his eyes and smiled.

“But what about the Lord, Gurudeva?”

Bhakthisarar did not have the heart to part from his Lord. After all he had settled in that town only to be with his Lord.

He looked at his loving Lord. Tears of anger and humiliation were flowing from his eyes.

He thundered to his Lord.

“See, my Lord, Kanikannan is going away. And so am I. What business have you to stay here in this place? If you have any trace of Love still left in You, wrap up your snake-bed and come with us.”

Having said that Bhakthisarar did not turn back. He almost ran out of the temple.

Kanikannan ran behind him.

The temple priest who opened the door the next morning screamed and fainted. News spread everywhere. Soon the King came running to the temple to see that ghastly sight. The Lord was not there.

The King was staring at the blank walls. Thiruvehha literally became a godforsaken place

The King ran to Bhakthisarar and Kanikannan and fell at their feet. The Master and the disciple returned to Thiruvehha.

Bhakthisarar saw the blank sannadhi and composed another verse.

“Kanikannan has come back. And so am I. Now it’s your duty to stay here. Why don’t you stretch your snake bed and sleep here?”

The very next moment the Lord was there with his usual bewitching smile.

The Lord at whose command are a billion universes, the Lord whose slightest whim could destroy all of them, that Great Lord obeyed the commands of his devotee. He who has killed all the asuras bowed down to a simple devotee's love.

The Lord got the name Yathothakari – Sonna Vannam Seitha Perumal - which means one who does what he is told.

Therefore dear ladies, the second lesson on God is that His love for us is at least a billion times more than our love for Him.

LOVE ALL.

 

Poem Selected by Vashini this week (Author Unknown)

I used to think I loved you
But now I know for sure
I will give you everything
and you still can ask for more
But one thing you will never have to look for is me...
Because I will always be yours.

 

That was the verse Thirumazhisai Azhwar (Bhakthi Sarar)sang when he went out. This was the one he sang when he came back.

"கணிகண்ணன் போக்கொழிந்தான்
காமருபூங்கச்சி மணிவண்ணா நீ கிடக்க
வேண்டும்� துணிவுடைய செந்நாப்
புலவனும் போக்கொழிந்தேன் நீயுமுன்
பைந்நாகப் பாய்ப்படுத்துக்கொள்''

Our tradition says that once the first verse is recited the second has also is to be recited soon thereafter. That's why I hurried to post this verse.
Will give a detailed reply to your wonderful fb, DD.
love,
Your
SriPa