Worship Of God
King Vikram went after the Vetal with determination and brought down the hanging corpse once again. The Vetal addressed the king saying, “O king, what do you expect to get from all this labour? Things are not always as you expect them to be. Sometimes you might work at something with great patience and persistence only to find that you have been barking up the wrong tree. Listen to this story and be warned about doing anything with such single-minded purpose.”
The Vetal began his narration. Once, the king of Chakrapuri, Chandrasena, fell very ill. All the royal doctors were called but he remained bedridden. One night, as the king slept, he had a dream. The divine being appeared before him and said, “A king is responsible for the ills affecting his country. All is not well in your kingdom. Everyone has become very selfish, and there is a lot of harassment of ordinary people in the name of caste, creed, and religion. That is why you’ve fallen so.”
Chandrasena promised the divine being that he would look into the affairs of the kingdom with care as soon he felt better. The divine being told him that just three leaves of theholy tulsi (basil) would cure him, but the leaves had to be handed to him by a holy man who had worshipped God for ten years continuously without even a moment’s break. On the orders of the king, the ministers set out to find such a holy man the very next day.
In a temple in Sitapur, a man named Ramachari had been worshipping God for twelve years continuously. He had vowed to leave the temple only after receiving proof that he had become a pure being. Chandrasena’s ministers sent messengers to bring Ramachari as he seemed to fit the requirements set by the divine being. However, Ramachari refused and said that he was bound by his vow. The only way out was to bring the king to the temple.
King Chandrasena set off in a palanquin accompanied by a big retinue. As the procession reached the borders of Sitapur, a strong gale began to blow. They halted under a tree. At that point, a yogi came that way, went to the king and asked him where he was going. The king told him the reason behind his journey and the yogi confidently replied that the king would be cured if he ate three tulsi leaves given by him. The king hesitantly enquired if the yogi had spent ten years in worship of God.
No comments:
Post a Comment