Enchanted coins!

Ardoo and his wife karni were much in love. Ardoo was a fishermen, the entire village talked about their love and adoration for each other. This also was a cause of envy amongst many.
Maithili and Singhali were their neighbors, these two women were highly envious and wanted them to separate.
They started spreading all sorts of rumours about Ardoo going out early in pretext of fishing to cheat on his wife with another boatman's daughter. Karni would hear them but ignore them promptly.
That made these women all the more angry, so they decided to deceive Karni into believing that all those rumours were true.
They followed Karni around and talked about Ardoo cheating on his wife, how every morning they meet by the riverside to get intimate. Karni finally decided to check out whether if its really true.

It was the hour of the dawn, she followed her husband to the river, Maithili hiding close by,dressed as Ardoo pretended to get intimate with Singhali to deceive Karni into believed that rumors about her husband are true.
She was so hurt and broken hearted, she walked through out the day, clothes unkempt, teary eyed. By the hour of the dusk a wise old elephant with a bell found her sitting under a tree, he inquired the reason for her state. She narrated the story to him, elephant saw with his inner sight that her husband has been doing nothing but fishing in the river from morning to evening.He advised her not to believe in such rumours.
She felt better and came back home. But the doubt kept on gnawing at her and bothering her, she became more irritable and snapped and fought with him over everything. Ardoo felt irritated because he could not understand the reason behind her behavior.
One evening Karni was walking down the riverside where she overheard the two jealous women talking about how their conspiracy has failed to separate the two. She understood and regretted her behaviour immensly.
When she reached home she was seethign with anger, she wanted revenge, she felt really hurt.
When Ardoo was asleep she picked up an arrowhead and went out to stab those women. When she reached their homes she found that Maithilis husband was a ill tempered man who neither cared about her or her children and Singhalis husband was drunk all the time , he had no time to fish and bring some food or money home. She felt sorry for them and decided to forgive them, she understood their pain and jealousy.

Karni decided to befriend and help them. Maithili and Singhali were sharing their sorrowful stories sitting by the river bank one afternoon. Karni went with a few coins tied together in an old handkerchief, after hearing their stories she gave them both a coin and told them that these are enchanted coins giving by her grandmother as a wedding gift, they are supposed to bring love between husband and wife.
Soon Mathili and Singhali's marital life started to improve, slowly peace was restored, several years passed.When their husbands passed away and children moved out to create their own homes.
One afternoon the three friends were sitting together, Maithili and Singhali wanted to return those enchanted coins as they did not require them anymore.

Karni laughed and told them, she made up the story about the enchanted coins, they were ordinary coins, their marriages improved because they believed in the power of those coins and had the faith and willingness to make their relationships better. Three friends laughed a resonant laughter inspired by love, trust and amusement over life's irony.

I am filled with bliss and so I pray...

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love;

for it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.

St. Francis of Assisi - 13th century

Little girl's desire

Veerbhadra was the king of Sarvanna region, His kingdom had peace and prosperity, but he had no children. His royal priests advised him to marry an adolescent kanya as only she was capable of giving him a heir.
The ministers searched and found that the neighboring kingdom of Daivayali had an adolescent princess names Kadambari, her father was a close ally of the mighty king. He gladly agreed to Veerbhadras proposal.Soon they got married.
Kadambari was immensly upset, she understood little of why she had to leave her friends, toys, palace servants who looked after her and live at an unknown palace, with no one to talk or play with.
Veerbhadra felt extremely guilty about marrying a girl young enough to be his daughter, he maintained his distance and gave her time to get use to the surroundings, make friends, be playful again and grow up to understand her responsibilities.
Kadambari however was treated like a queen wherever she went , no one her age could be her friend, because they distanced themselves out of fear and respect for her status.She became increasingly restless and sad.

Veerbhadra got the news of her young queen being unhappy , he found a young musician to teach her how to play veena, sing and dance. Srikant was a talented young musician in his kingdom, he became her tutor.
Soon they struck a friendship, she laughed, danced and played veena with Shrikant as she grew up.
When she turned into a young woman love blossomed between the two.
Veerbhadra caught them in a loving embrace one afternoon in her palace. He was furious at her for misplacing his blind trust. He ordered his guards to see Srikant out of his kingdom and locked Kadambari in her palace under the watchful eyes of her chamber maids.
Unhappy and unable to express her pain her heart chocked she  tried to hang herself to death but was saved in time as a result  she lost her voice.

Now she observed everything and everyone around in silent seething anger. Her heart filled with anguish and venomous rage, she was unable to express.
Veerbhadra eventually died of old age, heir less. Kadambari took over the kingdom.Many years passed of wordless fury and unfulfilled and crushed desires.
One day Shiva and Parvati was passing through the kingdom, seeing dying fields, withered plants, silent children, and gloominess around, she inquired 'Lord Mahadev ! why Veerbhadras kingdom has and air of doom about it'?
Shiva explained ' Because a little girls dreams were snatched and love from her heart was wrenched out'.
Parvati felt her pain and asked Mahadev to heal her unhappy heart, Shiva said ' If you so desire devi we will leave something for her that would help her to be a woman again'.

Next morning Kadambari found the most beautiful baby boy floating in a basket on the river while she was taking a bath. She could not resist picking the baby and embracing it close to her heart.
The divine blessing in form of a baby blessed her heart as she held him close to her
bosom.Kadambari's heart blossomed again, her son filled her life with joy and love that she yearned to experience since her childhood.With her son she re-lived the innocence, simplicity and love all over again.
Baby grew up to be a mighty king he was name Veerkadambh after the parents and Kadambari renounced the worldly life and went into the forest to dwell on the inner truth.

8th Horse of the Sun!

A warrior once had a horse so powerful and unique. His name was Ashthawarga, the horse flew with the winds, leaped into the skies and dove back right into the battlefields, when he neighed thunderbolts and lightning struck from the clouds, frightening one and all.
His sweat had the fragrance of etheric flower, his presence unnerved other horses in the stable, so he had to be kept away from the other horses.


Ashtawarga had a ball of fire, like sun in his throat, Which created contact with the heavens whenever he neighed.He understood that he is not from the earth and longed to know where he came from.
One day a wise old man told him that he came from a comet that was about to strike the earth, instead it collided with the sun and created 8 mighty horses like itself, Sun god took 7 of them  with him and left the last one on the earth.

He requested the warrior to help him find his home again, the might Sun, the biggest golden ball of light from which everything  was created.The comet that created Asthawarga and his seven brothers had also descended from the Father-sun.

They took a long and arduous journey , warrior climbed and galloped out of the earth's orbit . On their journey they encountered several demons who tried to create hindrances, that they overcame together. They were also helped by various saintly souls and gods.

Finally they reached the Sun, Asthawarga was ecstatic to meet his brothers. He played with them for some time. After taking blessings from the Sun , they moved forward,  After a while Asthawarga felt extremely thirsty, the sun in his throat had started to weaken.

They landed in a broken planet it had waterfalls gushing out, but the beings of that planet did not allow him and the warrior to have water from that waterfall, They told Asthawarga that he was a part of the comet that struck them eons ago, breaking it into pieces, they asked if he can assemble their planet together again, they will let them have water.

The rider and Ashthawarga took off, he neighed loudly to create a vortex that pulled in all the pieces of the broken planet , floating in the space and brought it together, and finally had a drink of ethereal water.
Rejuvenated, they galloped and a few layers later they saw the mighty sun, the home of Asthawarga.

He leaped and dissolved into the brightest golden light the essence of his being, along with him the warrior escaped from the mundane existence and found the ultimate source of joy.

Sometimes when we choose to help others,unknowingly we end up helping ourselves.

Fruits of Wisdom!

There was a trader and his wife who lived in Chaurashi Town by the bank of river Tamli.
 The trader and his wife had a daughter who was a toddler when a bhikshu visited him on a rainy evening.
Hungry he asked for food, the trader gave him a mango as offering. Bhikshu had mango with great relish, after satiating his hunger he advised the trader to plant the mango kernel in his garden.
Trader ignored his advise and threw the kernel aside , nevertheless kernel sprouted and soon a young sapling sprung out of the earth, right outside his courtyard.
The mango tree and little girl grew up together, the tree bore its first fruit when she turned into a beautiful young woman.

Shaivali looked at those mango fruits with amazement, they reflected extraordinary golden light when she touched them. When she ate those fruits she felt more aware of everything.
 Every morning she woke up and rushed to the tree and asked for more, mango tree happily provided her with more fruits. She became more aware and wiser everyday, after-all, those mangoes were the fruits of wisdom.
The parents now started looking for a suitable match for their daughter, Shaivali would ask those young suitors questions that they failed to answer, she would tell her parents that these men are not wise enough to answer her questions, if she married them they would always feel lesser than her and would not love her.
When she turned 30 , parents gave up their search for a groom, Shaivali turned wiser, radiant and silent, she went into a deep state of meditation.
One Amavasya she sat under the mango tree in silence/Mauna, and radiated with celestial light.
Prince Dashmesh of the neighbouring kingdom had lost his way into the forest. He walked past the traders courtyard and he caught a vision of her sitting under the tree on a dark moonless night , radiant silvery blue light emanating from her body, he mistook her to be a stone idol of a goddess and that light is reflecting off her jewels. As he came closer he was mesmerized by her presence, he sat spellbound and watched her throughout the night. Morning, when she woke up, she found the prince admiring her.Conscious, she felt instant recognition and attraction. They have been lovers and mates in many lives before.Even though the prince was much younger than her, they decided to get married. He took her to her palace, soon they had two sons.
Shaivalika felt immense pain and separation being away from her wisdom giving tree. She yearned to eat one more fruit, radiate some more light, be more aware. Soon she lost her radiance and silence.
Prince felt her sadness but did not understand it, their sons were growing up, but because of  their mother sadness, they were lacking the vigour and brilliance that their parents had.
Shaivalika's pain was causing immense sadness to the prince, he finally asked her what is making her so depressed. She told him the story of her mango tree and how those fruits had turned her into a wise human being.
He suggested bringing the seed into the palace, to which she said it was only that one seed of that mango which satiated the hunger of an enlightened bhikshu can bear fruits of wisdom.He asked if he can tell his guards to bring the fruits to her, she said its only the fruit that is willingly given by the tree to me and the one that is accepted by me with utmost gratitude would bring that wisdom to me.
Prince understood and next day he went to see the tree, he found that the tree has withered and its leaves were drying and falling off the branches, as if tree was feeling the pain of separation equally.

Prince kneeled before the tree and requested the tree to help his wife. Hearing the story, the tree shed all its leaves and went back into the earth. That very moment a tulsi plant emerged from the palace grounds, Shaivalika felt the same joy seeping into her being , she rushed out, crying happy tears, she radiated with same celestial light.
She got the essence of the wisdom tree back in her life, making her aware of all duality and the bliss hidden in everything.

Friendliness and Opposition

This world is made of opposites.Things alike have the affinity to live harmoniously , without conflict but without any challenge as well , this limits your growth, stagnating you.

On the other hand, opposites leave much to be desired, because similarity is lacking, there is discomfort created by the unknown. It generates strife and it saps energy. until the principle of equilibrium is achieved it changes polarity of the either of the opposing forces. And the pole that changes its polarity to bring harmony ends up a winner in the process. Simply because readjustments require growth that leads to further growth.
Growth is the channel of prosperity, faith,kindness and love.

The trick lies not in changing yourself and becoming your opponent in the moment of discord, but in changing your approach.
For example, if you try to nail a hammer into a rock, it will go crooked or may even break, but it will not be able to go into the rock. Same thing done on a cement wall would work because it gives access to the nail. Your approach can either make you a wall or the rock.

The purpose is to let the nail 'sink in' and how?
A strong wall does not crumble or gets weak if a nail goes through it, but a rock fails to create the contact and the strife continues.
It is not advocated to become like a sponge that gives the nail the power to tear through it.
So a middle approach works, neither hard nor soft, neither love nor hatred.
It would  allow you to 'BE' without destroying your peace of mind.

Do not confuse this with indifference; indifference is consciously rooting yourself out of the problem.
Here we are talking about dealing with it , without getting hurt or loosing yourself in the process.

A moderate approach = 'modify and erase your hatred'.

                             MODERATE: Mode= Method
                                                     Ire     = Anger
                                                     Ate   = Consumed

Meaning* Method to consume your anger (instead of letting your anger consume you)

Think about ways to make your approach more moderate towards opposites, it is not necessary to fight the opposite but to accept it.
Once there is acceptance there is no opposition left, there is no longer a need for discord, as a result harmony and balance is achieved.

Following the rules of 'Existence',you move 'with' the existence and as a result you 'become' the existence. When you are the existence then what can harm you, what can touch you, you are beyond all opposition , you allow yourself to experience bliss even in the moment of supposed opposition.

Next time you feel you are moving to an extreme, step away and watch the drama unfold without participating in it.Simply let go, remove yourself from such a situation, move beyond that wave of disturbing feelings and maintain your equilibrium.

Then nothing can disturb your peace because you have learned not to participate in the drama.

Divine Mates.

Once upon a time there was a child sadhu and sadhivi who were chosen to live and meditate on the divine together by the elders.
They meditated , cooked, ate, lived and grew up together , the bond between the two was unbreakable.
Sadhvi in time came to be known as Sukanya and young Sadhu Paramjit.
They lived together in their humble cottage in the forest with meager means in total love and devotion to the divine.
They turned 25 and started to think about creating a family.
However destiny had different plans, he left one morning to collect wood and told Sukanya he would be back soon.
While collecting wood he was bitten by a snake and fainted by the riverside, A king who was out hunting in the forested spotted him in time, got him to his palace , the palace healer took care of him and dream the poison out but with one problem. The poison altered his Brain and he could not remember his past.
King had no son of his own , seeing Paramjeets qualities and unmistakably good behavior.
He adopted him, got him married to one of the princess and left the kingdom to him, which he ran successfully for many years and had a few offsprings with the queen.
In the meantime Sukanya waited patiently for him to return, cooking, gathering fruits, taking care of birds, deers and other animals that she formed a bond with over the years.

                                                     (Moon Goddess by Mollie Kellogg.)
 
Her pain brought her closer to the divine, she slowly grew older, wiser, calmer and more beautiful than one could remember.

She radiated love and wisdom.
One day Paramjeet happened to be in the same forest hunting, he lost his way and went looking for water in his own old cottage, seeing him Sukanya's dam broke, she hugged him and shed many tears of joy, Paramjeet could not recognize her but he felt as if she knew her every bit, he was puzzled.
Sukanya touched his forehead with her finger and gave back his memory.

Paramjeet cried out in pain , he felt immense sadness for all the years lost and all the pain caused by this unintended separation.
They shed tears of joy now that they were together again.
Sukanya recognised the lines of worry appearing on his face he looked helpless.
She understood immediately.
She said she has lived with his love for many years now she does not need his physical body to love him, for her she is always there. While you need to complete your duties and fulfill your obligations,
Paramjeet nodded in agreement and left with pain and love in his heart.
Sukanya lived on for a few more years, with her love, loving silence and beauty.Till time took her back to eternity.

Of loving dreams.

Once there was sadhu who meditated  on the banks of river saraswati. One day he was in meditation, he saw a girl bathing in the river, looking at her perfect golden skin, beautiful shapely breasts, shapely waist and legs he felt that she is the gods image of perfection. she was in such a state of simplicity totally unaware of the beauty, totally in trust that i will not watch her, he thought.
She got out of the river and placed a flower at his feet , she did it everyday after her bath.
The sadhu was spiritually advanced, as soon as he would sit in meditation birds of all kinds flocked around him and sat over his arms and body and by his side.
The girl's friends came by and started talking to her, they addressed her as princess, he thought not only that she has unparalleled beauty and simplicity, being a princes she carries no trace of arrogance in her demeanor.
The ritual carried on for days and sadhu saw his immense attraction for the person turn into love, However, their love was too deep for her beauty as a person and had no ground for physical attraction.
His attraction because of his yogic power and her openness drew them to each other.
Day after day she would sit next to the meditative sadhu after a dip in the river and be lost for hours in the dream world where they met talked and shared their universal love with each other.
It got them so close that she felt like a recluse in her waking life.
Her father, the king got worried, but he was a wise man and he respected sadhu's divinity.
He found a noble prince who wanted to marry her.
When sadhu got to know of this he understood her pain, but told her that she must fulfill her duty first, he cannot be in her dream forever or she would be left alone, so she must get married to the
noble prince.
She understood and followed sadhus advise, he promised to remain a part of her dreams till as long as he should and would not leave her by herself.
The prince felt immense love for her new queen, she did all her duties but when she slept she went in her own dreams and spent time with the sadhu.
He understood everything and felt hurt, he tried creating his own dream scape and tried getting together with other attractive women in his dreams but the Queens sweetness and beauty and
loving gentleness was so good he could not keep himself in his dream and longed to be in her dream.
sadly she was still communing with her sadhu in her dream, so he resorted to watch her as she disappeared into her dreams and showered her with love.
Years passed by, prince's love became so strong that one night sadhu told her its his time to leave and he disappeared from her dream showering her with love, forever.
She woke up to find the prince gazing at her lovingly without questions, without any expectation of return for many years.
She understood everything and felt extremely sad for the prince and fell at his feet.
He already forgave her, knowing of the purity of her heart and embraced her lovingly. The two of them on rediscovering their deep love for each to her, decided to get together in a new dream to live it again.

Kingdom of the Kalp Vraksha

The flying gandharvas are narrating this story to young boys in the school, they are restless for more.The Gandharva flying on a turtle narrates the story to the boys about an ancient kingdom in the himalayas.
Somewhere close to Patal Bhuvaneswar now.

There was a prolonged drought, the king was a kind man he tried his best to take care pf his kingdom in those trying times.He opened his treasures to provide food and water to dying people and animals.
However the drought persisted and his treasure became empty, King felt saddened by his inability to keep his subject alive left everything in care of his Prime Minister. He fled to the forest to find solace for his grieving heart.

A few years later when he returned the drought was over there was a mighty river flowing and people were almost worshiping the Prime Minister as their savior and God.

On hearing the news of King's arrival the Mantri went running to welcome him but King was angry.
He thought that his prime minister kept the royal treasures hidden from him and used it to gain his position when he left for the forest as a destitute and a failure.

King in a fit of rage kicked the minister out of his kingdom all this while the minster pleaded to be heard. But king was furious.

The truth was, a few days after King took off to the forest as a recluse, Minister tried his best to feed people from whatever that was left in the royal kitchen and palace.
soon even their clothes were sold off then in his dream the goddess appeared one night ad  asked him to dig out gold from the ground under the mango tree by the dried river banks. Minister did as asked and found enormous heaps of gold beneath the ground. He used the gold to buy food and water for the kingdom from surrounding areas till the drought lasted and as Goddess has predicted a mighty river called Saryu changed its course and started flowing right by the tree.People declared the minster to be the kings successor and held him in high esteem.People worshiped the mango tree as Kalp Vraksh  thereon.

The king presumed him to be a traitor and insulted an honest man, do you think king was wrong in his conduct?asked the Gandharva guru to the boys and the one with the right answer will get the fruit of the Vriksha. saying this he dropped a ripe and sweet yellow fruit towards the boys and flew off on his turtle.

Solaris and Mystica!

Once upon a time in devaloka there was an extremely beautiful courtesan, the talks of her sensational and flawless beauty was all over the kingdom.
Raja Surya Pratap was smitten-ed by Pawan Mudrikas unparalleled beauty.
He was enchanted by her sweet melodious voice , her graceful demeanor, her flawless beauty, her dance transported him into a state of trance.
Soon this appreciation turned into possession, all he thought about was her, he ignored his duties and chased her all around the court like a love struck teenager.
He became a subject of ridicule everywhere.
People stopped taking him seriously, Raja so blinded by the dazzling beauty could think of nothing but her.
Soor the news reached one of the sage who lived and prayed in isolation behind the misty mountain, covered in the layers of clouds. no one would know he is there if he did not move.
He saw all the drama with his cosmic eye and he decided to awaken the King from his slumber.
Through his yog-shakti he transformed himself into an even more gorgeous woman and headed towards the court.
Raja was busy staring at the images of the moon in water, drowned in deep thoughts of pawan mudrikas beauty.
When king glanced at the beauty , at first he thought it was pawanmudrika, his heart skipped a beat, but as the camouflaged yogi reached nearer he was dumbstruck by the absolute perfection of Gods creation in form of a woman.
He stared speechless at this new beauty, taking advantage of the kings state, yogi decided to play the game further and started to walk away from the king.
King as if shaken out of a beautiful dream stopped her (The Yogi) in his tracks.
Yogi/Beauty said I need to go , Its about morning, I exist only in the moonlight when the sun comes out i disappear like mist in the morning.
Raja got highly curious, he inquired her name and whereabouts.
Yogi said I am Vishwa Mohini and I come out in the night to spread beauty of the cool moonlit night and the silence of the forest.
King now totally in trance begged him to stay...
Yogi declined and said my beauty, form and existence is tied to darkness in light I am nothing.
Raja broke down at the thought of VishwaMohini taking off. He collapsed in pain to which Yogi Vishwa Mohini answered...
O King of Kings
O mighty King of seven planets,
you are the provider for all life and beings
How do you not recognize me
I am your soul
I am the most beautiful being you may ever see,
it can only be seen in the depth of your being
It does not exist in the outside where everything is made visible by light
I am your nectar
I am your being of being
I am the par Brahma
Rise oh Mighty king do not follow the form blindly
what is beautiful in experience
may not be so beautiful in existence
what is beautiful in existence
May not be so beautiful in experience!!

saying this Yogi disappeared into the morning mist ...
Raja woke up as if from a strange dream
He glanced around to confirm that it was a dream indeed.
But found yogis rudraksh on the floor.
At once the king understood the purpose of the visit and decided to pay him a visit.
When he reached the misty mountain Yogi Dhyanendra was in his Samadhi.
Raja decided to wait for the yogi to come out of his samadhi and took a stroll around.
there were beautiful and fragrant flowers around.
The morning misty air full of scented flowers filled his lungs.
For the first time in many years of chasing Pawan Mudrika for her beauty he understood the true meaning his life.
He gave searching for beauty and perfection in physical beings and
drowned himself into the eternal bliss filled beauty of the universe and became one with it.