One fine day, Narad rishi visited Lord Vishnu, who looked very sad.
Narad: “What happened Lord? Why are so sad?”
Vishnu: “I am sad with my devotees.”
Narad (surprised): “How come Lord? Throughout the land, millions of devotees visit your temple everyday.”
Vishnu smiles in his typical captivating manner and says: “Why don’t you check it out yourself Narad, and update me.”
It was a long time since Narad rishi visited the land of birth and death. So he sets off along with one of his celestial (Gandharva) friends – Santanu.
Santanu was designer of the mode of transport, i.e. flying chariots in heaven. So he had this desire to experience the mode of transport on earth. Both Narad and Santanu disembark at a bus stop.
As soon as the bus arrives, everyone pushes their way though without paying any heed to women or children.
They notice a stout man who shoves an old woman to get into the bus. Once in, he gets into a caustic argument with a young lady over a vacant seat.
Later, the same stout man is seen hurriedly climbing the steps of the temple.
Santanu is disturbed on seeing all this and tells Narad: “Naradji, if this man’s behavior is like this while visiting a temple, I wonder how he will be like at other times?”
Narad smiles “Maybe he’s in a hurry to fill his quota of sins and reach god. That explains why he’s in such haste. But the poor man does not realize that filling his quota of sins will not take him to god, but to hell.”
Santanu smiles.
While they climb the steps, Santanu notices a man giving alms to a beggar.
He tells Narad: “While majority of the crowd is ignoring the beggar, this man is displaying generous deed. Naradji, you have the power to read his thoughts. Can you tell the reason behind his benevolent gesture? He seems to be a good man.”
Naradji goes into a trance for a moment and smiles:
“That man is thinking that no one else is giving alms, so he will drop a coin and god will be happy with him more than others. He seems to be very pleased with himself and is still thinking about his gesture”.
Santanu: “What smugness! And I thought he was genuinely generous”.
Next, Naradji spots a drunken man and intimates Santanu. Santanu is shocked and says:
“This man has no respect for god. Then why is he coming to the temple?”
Narad: “He seems to have lost his way to the arrack.”
Santanu laughs and then looks curiously at a group of teenagers sitting on a bench.
Narad anticipates the question and goes into a quick trance.
Santanu looks eagerly at Naradji.
After a brief moment Naradji says: “Those boys there are planning for the booze party on the weekend”. Santanu is again shocked “Young kids drinking liquor and talking about it in the temple?! What has the world come to? Imagine they are the future.”
Narad: “Yes, future drunkards i.e., like the one we saw a while ago”.
There were quite a few young couples in the temple. Narad tells Santanu: “Majority of them is unmarried”.
Before Santanu could speak, Naradji interrupts: “I cannot tell you what they are talking about. Its absolute rubbish considering where they are right now.”
Santanu understands and continues climbing the stairs.
Naradji reads Santanu’s curiosity and briefs him one by one.
“You see that young executive? He’s thinking about different ways in which he can bash his boss. I tell you that guy has got tremendous imagination.”
“Those two rough looking guys, they are discussing on how to take revenge on few fellow rogues in their colony.”
“See those three ladies over there? One is bitching about her mother-in-law, other about her neighbor and the third about the kids who cause nuisance near her building.”
Santanu is dizzied at the mindset and conversation of the people in the temple and says: “Naradji, is there no one who’s thinking about God?”
Narad: “Very few. That old couple is chanting god’s name.” pointing towards top of the stairs.
Santanu: “Ah! Someone!”
Narad: “But they were not like that when they were younger. They belong to the breed, in vogue since last few decades, who believes spirituality is for the oldies.”
Santanu: “How ignorant! Who teaches them this crap?!”
Narad: “That’s the problem – No one. There are no proper teachers nowadays to give them right knowledge.”
Santanu’s eyes fall on one of the priests. Naradji smiles again: “Don’t have any misconceptions.”
Santanu: “I don’t. I can see that he offered handful of prasad (food offering) to the guy who dropped money in his platter; not so much to the others.”
Narad: “It’s programmed in his mind. He does it sub-consciously.”
Santanu: “And he’s so rudely asking the devotees to move on.”
Santanu gets disgusted with all this “Why is everyone like this. Those beggars there, how about them?”
Narad: “Well, they are very unhappy with the devotees these days.”
Santanu: “Ah! So they realize.”
Narad: “No, they are cursing because fewer people are giving alms nowadays.”
Santanu: “Oh! So generosity too has become scarce.”
Narad: “Most people find it fashionable to donate funds in the already rich temples.
And these funds instead of being properly utilized for benevolent deeds have now become earnings of the rich and the corrupt.”
Their conversation is disturbed by a commotion. A middle aged man and a shoe keeper were hurling vitriolic words at each other.
Santanu could take it no more, but before he could react Naradji held him and said
“You cannot change anything by throwing just two of them out of the temple. There are a lot more out there, not just here, but throughout the land. What is needed is a revolutionary change and till the appropriate person incarnates on this land, things will just keep deteriorating.”
Santanu nods and says: “I have had enough of it. Naradji, Let’s go back to heaven and apprise Lord Vishnu.”
Naradji smiles: “No need. Now I understand the meaning behind Lord Vishnu’s smile at my question.”
“There seems to be an ocean of devotees, but not a drop of devotion!”
No comments:
Post a Comment