THE YOUNG SADHU
The Young Sadhu
Punya a small town situated on the banks of the holy river Stuthi at the foothills of Himalayas. A very wise and learned Brahmin named Pandit Sitadas lived there. He spent his time meditating and reading the holy books.
One day he saw a young Sadhu walking towards the Himalayas. He looked very depressed and worried. Pandit Sitadas called out ‘O young Sadhu, please come here. You look very sad. Share your burdens with me and I may be able to help you out’.
Upon hearing this the Sadhu came quickly to the Pandit and said, “O Pandit, I am from a good family but the days have been bad. As a fish swimming in the ocean gets caught in the fisherman’s net I was caught in the evil net. Bad times have come upon my family. All hope is lost. I tried many pujas, homas, yajnas and balis but all to no avail. Each passing day brought new troubles. The old ones were big enough but daily our burdens grew heavier. My health, my wife’s health, all my dear and near ones had some or the other illness. Our financial troubles grew worse, the money was never sufficient to meet our ends. All the (jyotishis) astrologers predicted different things three astrologers did not reach the same conclusion. Life is too much to bear. My wife chose to end her life in despair. I have given my children to the care of my brother and have left the house and come to do (tapas) meditation in the Himalayas.
Hearing this, the Pandit gave out a big laugh and said, “The way of a yogi (worthy man) is not for losers”. Even if you spend ten years in meditation, will you be able to extinguish your unfulfilled desires. How do you think you can overcome your heart and its wishes? How can you get victory over your emotions and thoughts? Tell me the source of your troubles.
If it is black magic, we can undo it, if the bad times are the result of stars, we can reduce their influence, if evil spirits are behind your troubles, we can appease them, if karma has caused it, we can do some good deeds to get a better life. Tell me the reason for your troubles.
Hearing this, sadhu said, “Panditji, the cause of my problems is a curse that has been put on our family. It comes upon some people in every generation and they lose everything. So it has been a practice for them to give up everything and go for sanyas (renounce man). But honestly I have burning desire in my heart to sleep well on a good bed, in a good house, have nice vehicles, have a good job, a beautiful and loving wife, blessed kids, honour and status in the society, yet all this has been snatched from me. What should I do to escape my fate?
Hearing this, the Pandit was crest fallen. He said, “Why did you not say this before?” If you are cursed, there is nothing we can do. There is no recompense of penance or worshipping even the greatest of gods. Have you not heard that the creator Brahma was cursed that he would not be worshipped in this yuga (age), he had to bear that curse. Vishnu, the sustainer, deceived Jalandhara’s wife, Vrinda and slept with her to break her chastity. As a result of her curse, he had to be born in human form and suffer. Shiva, the destroyer, was cursed and a result of that he is even now worshipped in the form of a phallic stone. The curse that Indra, the king of gods, had to endure is too shameful to be mentioned but he was cursed by Gautama Maharishi for the shameful deed he did to his wife. Even Sri Krishna was cursed by Gandhari, the mother of kauravas and as a result of that Sri Krishna had to remain a helpless spectator. When his own Yadhava clan was destroyed, Sri Krishna had to die like an animal as a result of this curse.
So O young sadhu, even the greatest of gods could not escape the ill effects of their curses. How can you O sadhu, escape your curse. There is no redemption. It is best that you resign yourself to your fate. There is no hope for you in this world. I am sorry, I cannot help you.” Saying this, the Pandit shook his head and walked away silently into the night.
The young sadhu fell down on his knees and lay prostrate on the floor. The darkness of the night penetrated his heart and lay heavily on his shoulder. He knew what a prisoner feels like when the jailer shuts the prison bars. Sadhu was thinking about life in prison. The entire earth was his prison. His hopeless heart pleaded with all the gods he could think of, like a sinking sailor clutches at straws, he begged the gods, mountains, skies, stars, rivers, stones, trees and everything else. All remained mute spectators to his tears.
Hours passed, the universe was moving around him, he could see the fading stars and the brightening dawn. He felt that the gods he had served were mocking him. The chirping birds and blooming flowers, fishes jumping in the dancing river, the fresh dew and the wet earth were ignorant of our young sadhu. The young sadhu realized that he was nothing, unwanted, uncared and helpless. The world would go on without him.
At this time, a happy young boy came dancing along, and his each step had a song in it, the melody in his heart came out in a tuneful whistle. His eyes sparkled with hope and his countenance was bright. The boy was happy in his spirit.
The young sadhu gazed at him in wonder and asked, “O happy boy, I am under a curse and all joy has drained out of me, but you are so happy. Could you give me some of your joy? Hearing this, the boy gave a sweet laugh and asked, “Is that all?” You can have all the joy you want from the person who made me happy. I was also under a curse once, long time ago. I could not eat anything as blood used to come out when I go to bathroom next morning. I could not eat meat or spice, certain vegetables were also out of bounds. I could not go out in the sunlight as sunlight caused unbearable headaches. I could not earn money. My entire family was under a curse. My eldest brother used to have an accident every six months. The money he earned in six months used to be spent for medication. Another brother had no stable job. He would get a job for a few days and then again had to wait for the next one. We did not have enough money for decent meals every day. The future was black and hope was extinguished. Many archanas, pujas, homas (prayers) left us poor, did not give us any solace”.
The young sadhu heard all this silently. This was like his own story. He knew the meaning of the boy’s words too well. The boy continued, “It was in such a desperate situation that a person preached about a Savior called Jesus. I was told that Jesus is Lord God and came to this earth to redeem all of us from all sins, worries, pains, tears, sickness and all curses. If we believe in Him, He will not only move us from deception and lies to the truth, from darkness to light, from death to life but also translate us from this world to His Kingdom and the Laws of His Kingdom will bless you.
Joy, peace, gentleness, patience, and faith will be among other fruits that will be in you. These and your emotions will not be a result of circumstances and situations but the circumstances and situations will result from your faith ad prayer. I looked to the face of Jesus and He healed me and delivered me from all curses. Jesus, my Savior and Lord, is mighty and strong. He has done things for me which no one else could do. I am happy today because He is my God. Your curse and grief will be removed in a moment, joy and peace will flood in you and will overflow out of you in such a way that others will benefit from it. Your life will be changed for the better.
Today Jesus is inviting you too. If you humbly bow your head and accept Him as your King and Savior, He will save you and be your King. He will send His Holy Spirit in you to guide you in the sure way, His angels will guard your feet from slipping. He will receive you in His arms when He comes again. His Word is sure and will not fail.
If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior then I advise you to get a Bible and read it every day. He will send His children to meet you and walk with you.
One day he saw a young Sadhu walking towards the Himalayas. He looked very depressed and worried. Pandit Sitadas called out ‘O young Sadhu, please come here. You look very sad. Share your burdens with me and I may be able to help you out’.
Upon hearing this the Sadhu came quickly to the Pandit and said, “O Pandit, I am from a good family but the days have been bad. As a fish swimming in the ocean gets caught in the fisherman’s net I was caught in the evil net. Bad times have come upon my family. All hope is lost. I tried many pujas, homas, yajnas and balis but all to no avail. Each passing day brought new troubles. The old ones were big enough but daily our burdens grew heavier. My health, my wife’s health, all my dear and near ones had some or the other illness. Our financial troubles grew worse, the money was never sufficient to meet our ends. All the (jyotishis) astrologers predicted different things three astrologers did not reach the same conclusion. Life is too much to bear. My wife chose to end her life in despair. I have given my children to the care of my brother and have left the house and come to do (tapas) meditation in the Himalayas.
Hearing this, the Pandit gave out a big laugh and said, “The way of a yogi (worthy man) is not for losers”. Even if you spend ten years in meditation, will you be able to extinguish your unfulfilled desires. How do you think you can overcome your heart and its wishes? How can you get victory over your emotions and thoughts? Tell me the source of your troubles.
If it is black magic, we can undo it, if the bad times are the result of stars, we can reduce their influence, if evil spirits are behind your troubles, we can appease them, if karma has caused it, we can do some good deeds to get a better life. Tell me the reason for your troubles.
Hearing this, sadhu said, “Panditji, the cause of my problems is a curse that has been put on our family. It comes upon some people in every generation and they lose everything. So it has been a practice for them to give up everything and go for sanyas (renounce man). But honestly I have burning desire in my heart to sleep well on a good bed, in a good house, have nice vehicles, have a good job, a beautiful and loving wife, blessed kids, honour and status in the society, yet all this has been snatched from me. What should I do to escape my fate?
Hearing this, the Pandit was crest fallen. He said, “Why did you not say this before?” If you are cursed, there is nothing we can do. There is no recompense of penance or worshipping even the greatest of gods. Have you not heard that the creator Brahma was cursed that he would not be worshipped in this yuga (age), he had to bear that curse. Vishnu, the sustainer, deceived Jalandhara’s wife, Vrinda and slept with her to break her chastity. As a result of her curse, he had to be born in human form and suffer. Shiva, the destroyer, was cursed and a result of that he is even now worshipped in the form of a phallic stone. The curse that Indra, the king of gods, had to endure is too shameful to be mentioned but he was cursed by Gautama Maharishi for the shameful deed he did to his wife. Even Sri Krishna was cursed by Gandhari, the mother of kauravas and as a result of that Sri Krishna had to remain a helpless spectator. When his own Yadhava clan was destroyed, Sri Krishna had to die like an animal as a result of this curse.
So O young sadhu, even the greatest of gods could not escape the ill effects of their curses. How can you O sadhu, escape your curse. There is no redemption. It is best that you resign yourself to your fate. There is no hope for you in this world. I am sorry, I cannot help you.” Saying this, the Pandit shook his head and walked away silently into the night.
The young sadhu fell down on his knees and lay prostrate on the floor. The darkness of the night penetrated his heart and lay heavily on his shoulder. He knew what a prisoner feels like when the jailer shuts the prison bars. Sadhu was thinking about life in prison. The entire earth was his prison. His hopeless heart pleaded with all the gods he could think of, like a sinking sailor clutches at straws, he begged the gods, mountains, skies, stars, rivers, stones, trees and everything else. All remained mute spectators to his tears.
Hours passed, the universe was moving around him, he could see the fading stars and the brightening dawn. He felt that the gods he had served were mocking him. The chirping birds and blooming flowers, fishes jumping in the dancing river, the fresh dew and the wet earth were ignorant of our young sadhu. The young sadhu realized that he was nothing, unwanted, uncared and helpless. The world would go on without him.
At this time, a happy young boy came dancing along, and his each step had a song in it, the melody in his heart came out in a tuneful whistle. His eyes sparkled with hope and his countenance was bright. The boy was happy in his spirit.
The young sadhu gazed at him in wonder and asked, “O happy boy, I am under a curse and all joy has drained out of me, but you are so happy. Could you give me some of your joy? Hearing this, the boy gave a sweet laugh and asked, “Is that all?” You can have all the joy you want from the person who made me happy. I was also under a curse once, long time ago. I could not eat anything as blood used to come out when I go to bathroom next morning. I could not eat meat or spice, certain vegetables were also out of bounds. I could not go out in the sunlight as sunlight caused unbearable headaches. I could not earn money. My entire family was under a curse. My eldest brother used to have an accident every six months. The money he earned in six months used to be spent for medication. Another brother had no stable job. He would get a job for a few days and then again had to wait for the next one. We did not have enough money for decent meals every day. The future was black and hope was extinguished. Many archanas, pujas, homas (prayers) left us poor, did not give us any solace”.
The young sadhu heard all this silently. This was like his own story. He knew the meaning of the boy’s words too well. The boy continued, “It was in such a desperate situation that a person preached about a Savior called Jesus. I was told that Jesus is Lord God and came to this earth to redeem all of us from all sins, worries, pains, tears, sickness and all curses. If we believe in Him, He will not only move us from deception and lies to the truth, from darkness to light, from death to life but also translate us from this world to His Kingdom and the Laws of His Kingdom will bless you.
Joy, peace, gentleness, patience, and faith will be among other fruits that will be in you. These and your emotions will not be a result of circumstances and situations but the circumstances and situations will result from your faith ad prayer. I looked to the face of Jesus and He healed me and delivered me from all curses. Jesus, my Savior and Lord, is mighty and strong. He has done things for me which no one else could do. I am happy today because He is my God. Your curse and grief will be removed in a moment, joy and peace will flood in you and will overflow out of you in such a way that others will benefit from it. Your life will be changed for the better.
Today Jesus is inviting you too. If you humbly bow your head and accept Him as your King and Savior, He will save you and be your King. He will send His Holy Spirit in you to guide you in the sure way, His angels will guard your feet from slipping. He will receive you in His arms when He comes again. His Word is sure and will not fail.
If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior then I advise you to get a Bible and read it every day. He will send His children to meet you and walk with you.