Here we shall go through the stories directed by Sh. Maharajji during His discourses. These are small, effective and make people understand the important knowledge very easily.
Some of His Stories are available for both reading and downloading.
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Following seven beautiful stories directed by Shri Maharajji are available for reading.
One must understand one's true nature
At one time, the emperor Akbar and the king Birbal were going on some mission when they came across a brahmin beggar. Spotting the beggar Akbar said to Birbal: "Did you see that a man of your own caste was begging on the street?" Birbal replied: "Maharaj, he has not yet understood his true self. The day he finds his true self, he won't behave the way he behaves now." Saying that Birbal called that man over to him and said: "I shall pay you a sum of five rupees per day, if you will recite the Gayatri-Mantra 1000 times per day." From that day onward the brahmin began to recite the Gayatri-Mantra 1000 times a day. Within a few days, he had a change of heart & he decided to recite the Gayatri mantra for his own spiritual growth instead of for the benefactor. He also stopped accepting the money from Birbal. He actually declined to accept an offer of 10 rupees for the recitation of the Gayatri Mantra 2000 times made by Birbal, left his home, & went away for tapasyaa (spiritual practices). He succeeded in his tapasya and returned to Delhi as a great sadhu. In time, he became very famous, and many people began to visit his place for his darshan.The emperor Akbar also visited his place along with many gifts, but he didn't even cast a glance at Akbar. He didn't even accept his offerings. Akbar enquired of Birbal: "What is the attainment of this sadhu?" Birbal revealed to Akbar: "Lord this sadhu is none other than the beggar we had met on the road. But now he has found his true self."
Everyone must try to understand the true self. That leads to an awareness of the very fact that he is not just a JEEVA (a temporal animate being) with a separate identity from the Brahman (the Eternal Self), but his true self is inseparably one with the Brahman.
Nothing is impossible with deep faith
Once upon a time there was a king called Vijaydhar. His kingdom was Chandrapur. He was married to some young, beautiful & well cultured girls.The chief consorts Vidyadhari, Chandramukhi & others being well cultured, beautiful and young, were immensely dear to the king. But he also had one simple queen. She was Sumati. The king wasn't biased although, but the love of the king for this queen was not visible. It was making Sumati miserable.
Sumati being miserable was deeply mulling over this issue. In the mean time a saint happened to be there. After hearing for the alms, she honoured the saint with whatever he desired for. She also requested the saint to bless her & to suggest some way out to have the love and affection of her husband. She also uttered one line from the epic Ramayana: 'Pati viyog sam koi dukh nahin'. This means there is no other misery than not being dear to the husband. Hearing like this from the queen, the saint asked her not being affectionate to any thing but to her husband. The saint further asked her not being attached to any kind of ornaments & eatables, but to keep thinking about her husband day & night. He said that it is not important being beautiful and learned to get the love of husband, but what is essential is to have true love and deep faith in him. By saying so he finished his discourse.
The queen Sumati followed the words of the saint and started behaving that way. After some time a war was started between king Vijaydhar & the Russian king. Vijaydhar emerged victorious. Russian capital was declared his capital & was handed over to one of his representatives. King Vijaydhar being happy on his victory wrote letters to his queens asking if they wanted to have anything from Russia, because lots of beautiful varieties of clothes, ornaments and other favourites were available there in Russia. The king also promised to present, anything they would demand. Being happy with this the wives wrote about their favourites to the king. But when it came to Sumati, she happily drew a simple straight line on the paper, because she was not very learned, but had a great amount of devotion for the king.
When the reader started narrating all the letters to Vijaydhar, he got amazed seeing the letter of Sumati. At this the king asked the reader to explain the letter of Sumati.The reader told the king that Sumati had simply drew one straight line on the paper expressing that she had only wished to get him & his affection. The king became very happy and instructed the minister to leave Russia for their own kingdom.
When Vijaydhar reached his kingdom, he presented the chief consorts with whatever they had wished for. When it came to Sumati, the king decided to be with her as this is what she had wished for. When the chief consorts came to know about this decision of the king, they regretted and requested the king to reconsider his decision. But the king tried to console them. He also told them to be satisfied with whatever they had wished for. He further told them that they did not wish for him & Sumati had wished only for him, so everybody needed to be happy with whatever they had wished for. Later Vijaydhar honoured his words and remained with Sumati.
Thus whatever the devotees wish for, they are blessed with the same. If someone seeks worldly pleasure, he gets the way the chief consorts got and if someone seeks the union with the God, he gets the way Sumati got. That's why every one must try and seek the union with the God.
The fruits of desireless actions
Once upon a time, there was a chakravarti (the universal) king. At one time, on account of a lack of rain in a distant part of his kingdom, there was famine. The news reached the king, and he ordered that a canal must be excavated in that area, so that there would be no fear of a possible famine in future.
The excavation of the canal began, and the progress of the work was duly reported to the king every day. The work proceeded at a good pace. But an unusual thing was noticed. There was one labourer, who reported for the job every day, worked full time with total zeal, but remained absent at the time of payment of daily wages. Days, months, and even a whole year went by, but he didn't ever come to receive his wages. The canal approached completion, but he still didn't come to claim his wages. The issue then was as to what to do with all his wages.
The king decided to have the darshan of such a worker, and he walked to that far off place from his capital in the name of resolving the problem. After reaching there, he sent for the selfless worker and tried to give him his money. But the worker said: "Sir, I don't want to accept this money. You spent so much from the royal treasury to excavate this canal, so I also served the cause by way of this physical labour. Please, divide this money among these other workers. I work elsewhere at night and feed myself with whatever I am able to earn."
The king was deeply impressed by the reply of this labourer, and he reflected: "What a selfless man! What a DHARMATMA (moral man)! This man deserves to be my minister." And with that view in mind, the king took that man to his capital and made him his minister. The labourer thus became the minister of the state, but he didn't change his habits. The salary for the post was one lakh rupees, but he took only a very nominal sum out of this salary to meet his needs and the rest of the portion remained untouched in the royal treasury.
The account-keepers informed the king of this new development & sought his opinion as to what to do with this little less than a lakh of rupees out of the minister's salary. The king marvelled at the ways of his new minister: "He works so efficiently, yet has no desire for name and fame. How so very much committed to dharma & moral conduct he is! Why should I not put him in charge of all my duties? That way the public shall get a good ruler, and I shall have an opportunity to meditate upon God." The king followed the dictates of his conscience, placed the minister on the throne, and took himself to a solitary residence.
How self-evident is the fruit of a selfless action? You see! The king went to confer with the worker, and in the end gave him his own throne. Similarly, God comes to meet the person engaged in selfless action, & in the end gives that person his own post.
The self is ever liberated
Once upon a time there were two saints, one was the master & the other one was his disciple. The disciple used to visit the city for alms. One day, while the disciple was in the house of a money lender for alms, a caged parrot asked the disciple. "Where do you live sir, please do something to bring me out of this cage? Because I feel very miserable being under the bondage here in this cage. Although the money-lender and his family take a good care of me, but still that is not independence. I used to feel very happy flying in the endless-open sky, doing rounds on the branches of various trees and taking bites of various fruits. But how could I expect the cruel bird catchers & bird keepers to show any sign of kindness towards me.
No one else can understand the pain of one who suffers. But off-course time shall come to enjoy the results of the deeds, and then those who are involved in catching and bondaging shall be regretting, crying and feeling uneasy. But right now, the eyes of their hearts are closed and do not see my grief of bondage and separation from my family and cast. Sir! How come I narrate my miseries before you? A series of thoughts come in my mind but all in vein & I don't find any suitable thought for liberation. I think I need a master like you. I am your refugee. Please help me and some how get me liberated out of this bondage."
Hearing such words from the parrot the saint spoke, "I don't know how to get you liberated, & I also don't want to lie. I will narrate the whole story to my master, because he is capable to show some way out, & then I will let you know."
The saint then reached his place with the alms. He bowed before his master after putting down the alms. He also narrated him the entire story of the poor-parrot. Hearing the sad story of the parrot the master-saint at first became very happy and later laid down as if he was no more. This made the disciple-saint apprehensive and he resolved not to narrate the remaining story to his master. He then helped his master get normal.
Next day the disciple-saint again went to beg for the alms. He was again asked by the parrot, if he had got any suitable solution for the problem? The disciple-saint replied, "There was a tremendous effect in your grief story, & it made my master (guru) faint." This immediately made the parrot understand the message given by the master& became liberated by behaving that way.
Thus we come to understand that our only reality is our self (atman) & not our body. So by meditating upon God all the time, we can enjoy this world & be liberated.
Happening is bound to happen
Once a Brahmin follower of Sh. Garuda ji (the divine eagle believed to be the vehicle of Lord Vishnu) was residing somewhere. One day 'Kala' (believed to be the in-charge of deaths) passed by him and cast an abnormal glance on him. This made the Brahmin apprehensive and he made a sincere call to Garuda ji. Garuda ji immediately responded.
The Brahmin narrated the whole incident before Garuda ji. Garuda, while asking him to ride on his back, consoled him that he didn't need to worry as he would land him safely across the seven seas in to the cave of a mountain. He further consoled the Brahmin that even the Kala would not reach there.
Garuda ji then approached the Kala and asked him, "Why did you cast an abnormal glance on my devotee." The Kala replied, "He is to die in a cave of a mountain across the seven seas, & I will bite him becoming a snake. But he was sitting here. So I thought if I could make him fearful, then he would call you for help and you would be able to land him in that cave."
At this Garuda ji reached there & saw the Brahmin dead of a snake-bite. So it is proven that the God has prefixed the death & all other happenings. A very good composition by Soordaas ji is there.
"Teenn loka bhavi ke bas mein, bhavi vash na pare.
Soordaas honi so honi, kyon man soch kare. Karam gati taare nahi tare."
{Meaning of this composition is that every happening in this creation is being controlled by Bhavi [destination as per ones previous karmas (deeds)], and nobody could ever control the bhavi. Soordaas ji says that one should not bother much about happenings and should remain involved in doing desire less good karmas, because one has to enjoy the results of one's deeds.}
Whatever happens, happens for the good
We should always believe that even if events happen against our wishes, they are still the will of God and have happened for our betterment. A minister in the court of a king used to believe this. Once the king cut his finger and all his courtiers expressed their consolation. This minister, on the other hand, told the king that all of God's actions are for the betterment of people. This angered the king and he secretly decided to have the minister killed.
Later the king and his minister went to hunt in a forest. The king took the minister & ventured deep into the forest while leaving their other companions behind. After a while they felt thirsty and located a well. The king ordered his minister to draw water from the well for him. The minister drew some water and offered it to the king. After this when the minister proceeded to draw water for a second time the king tossed him into the well.
The king proceeded from that place but it was beginning to get dark and the king lost his way. He decided to tie horse to a tree and get some rest near a tribal village. As he was thinking about this he was suddenly surrounded by the sound of beating drums and captured by the tribe. They wanted to sacrifice the king to appease their deity. When they were about to do so, they were asked by their priest to inspect the King's body to ensure that all his body parts were intact. They noticed the cut on the King's finger and then the priest decreed that an injured human couldn't be sacrificed to their deity. As the result the king was let go.
The king reflected on this incident after being released and realized the truth in his minister's belief. He realized that having cut his finger actually saved his life. So, the king went to the well and rescued his minister. He apologized to the minister and informed him about his realization in the truth of the minister's statement. At the same time, the king expressed his doubt as it was obvious to him how having cut his finger had saved him from being sacrificed but it wasn't clear to him how being thrown into the well had benefited the minister. To this the minister replied that if they both had been together then the tribesmen would have sacrificed him instead since he did not have any injuries. That is why it is said -
"Ram jyon rakhe tyon rahiye.
Jo kuch kare bhala kar mano, kabahun bura na kahiye"
(Live as Ram chooses to keep you. Take whatever he does as being done for good, never complain about it being bad)
A very strong desire is needed to see God
A pure-hearted boy went to a devotee of God and said to him: "Please help me in having the darshan of God. I take you to be my guru." That devotee was not a very accomplished person, so he told the boy very honestly: "God is everywhere, but it is difficult to find him." But that reply did not satisfy the boy. So he repeatedly pressed his guru: "No, I am certain that you can help me in having the darshan of God. You must tell me some way of accomplishing that." At that, the devotee simply told this much to the boy: "God lives in Mathura-Vrindavan. You can find him there."
The boy followed the advice and went to Mathura-Vrindavan. For two days, he wandered the cities of Mathura and Vrindavan, and asked everybody, he ran into about the whereabouts of God. People gave him all kinds of answers. Somebody told the boy: "Yes, truly there was a time when God lived here. But now He either lives in the hearts of people or in his own LOKA (world, celestial space or location)." Another told him: "What that person says is true, but through efforts we can find Him here as well." The boy moved about from one place to another, enquiring like that. But, he could not get a reply, which could serve his purpose. All the same, he kept on thinking, "Guruji's recommendation could not be untrue. If he had said that God is in Mathura-Vrindavan, then He must be here. Let me go and search for Him in the forests and groves."
Thinking like that, the boy went into a forest. When he could not locate God, he sat down to engage in tapasyaa. He decided to stay put and get up only after finding God. He neither ate nor did he drink. Three days went by like that. On the third day, a boy came to him with milk in a bowl and pressed him to drink. The boy told the newcomer: "I will eat or drink only from the hands of God, and nobody else." The newcomer repeatedly pressed our boy to drink the milk, but our boy refused to give in. Finally, seeing his firmness, the newcomer declared to him: "I am the God."
"When the boy heard that, he was very happy. But he told the newcomer: "How do I know that you are God? Only when my guru accepts you as God only then I shall accept you as God. So you must come with me to my guruji."
The newcomer said to the boy: "I will go with you, but please drink the milk at least." The boy caught hold of the hand of the newcomer and drank the milk. Thereafter, he proceeded to the home of his guruji while strongly clutching the hand of the newcomer. After reaching there, he shouted from outside of the home: "Guruji, I have brought God with me. You must look at Him, and tell me if He is God or not?"
Guruji got up, looked down from the top story, and said: "Yes, He truly is the God. But why are you holding His hand so forcefully?"
So a man's intentions and desires must be very strong. Once they are firm, nothing is impossible for a man, and God cannot be beyond his reach.