GLORY UNTO KRISHNA

ONCE I went to a certain place with Mathur Babu.
Many pundits came forward to argue with me. And
you know that I am a fool. The pundits saw that
strange mood of mine. When the conversation was
over, they said to me: "Sir, after hearing your
words, all that we have studied before, our
knowledge and scholarship, has proved to be mere
spittle. Now we realize that a man does not lack
wisdom if he has the grace of God." 'The fool
becomes wise and the mute eloquent.' Therefore I
say that a man does not become a scholar by the
mere study of books.
Yes, how true it is! How can a man who has the
grace of God lack knowledge? Look at me. 1 am
a fool. I do not know anything. Then who is it that
utters these words? The reservoir of knowledge of
God is inexhaustible. There are grain dealers at
Kamarpukur, When selling paddy, one man weighs
the grain on the scales and another man pushes it
to him from a heap. It is the duty of the second
man to keep a constant supply of grain on the
scales by pushing it from the big heap. It is the
same with my words. No sooner are they about to

run short than the Divine Mother sends a new
supply from Her inexhaustible storehouse of
knowledge.
You know I am a fool. I know nothing. Then who
is it that says all these things? Hers (Divine
Mother's) is the glory; we are only Her instruments.
Once Radha, to prove her chastity, carried on her
head a pitcher filled with water. The pitcher had a
thousand holes, but not a drop of water spilled.
People began to praise her, saying, "Such a chaste
woman the world will never see again!" Then
Radha said to them:
"Why do you praise me? Say, 'Glory unto Krishna!
Hail Krishna!' I am only His handmaid."

A DEVOTEE AVOIDS WHAT THE WORLD RUNS AFTER

AFTER the death of Ravana, his brother
Vibhishana refused to be the King of Ceylon. He
said: "O Rama, I have obtained you. What shall I
do with Kingship?"
Rama said: "Vibhishana, be King for the sake of
the ignorant, for those who might ask what riches
you have gained by serving me so much. Be King
to give them a lesson."

DEVOTION, THE DIVINE OPEN SESAME

HAVING received no news of her Gopala
(Krishna, God incarnate), Yasoda once came to
Radha and asked her if she had any news from
Him. At that time Radha was in a deep trance,
and so did not hear Yasoda. Subsequently, when
her trance was over, she saw Yasoda, the queen of
Nanda, sitting before her. Bowing down to her at
once, Radha asked Yasoda the reason of her visit,
and when Yasoda stated the reason, she said:
“Mother, shut your eyes and meditate upon the
form of Copula, and you will be able to see Him”.
And as soon as Yasoda shut her eyes, Radha, who
was herself the very essence of spiritual feelings
(Bhava), overwhelmed her with her power, and in
that super-conscious mood, Yasoda saw her
Gopala. Then Yasoda asked this boon of Radha,
"Mother, grant me that I may see my beloved
Gopala whenever I close my eyes."

RAVANA—THE GREAT DEVOTEE OF RAMA

MANDODARI told her royal husband Ravana, "If
you are so intent upon having Sita as your queen,
why don't you impose on her by assuming the
form of her husband Rama with the help of your
magical powers?" ''Fie on you!" exclaimed Ravana
"Can 1 stoop to the pleasures of the senses while I
am in the holy form of Rama—a form the very
thought of which fills my heart with such
unspeakable joy and blessedness that even the
highest heaven appears to me worthless?"

IN WEAL AND WOE, GOD FOR EVERMORE

IN a certain village there lived a weaver. He was a
very pious soul. Everyone trusted him and loved
him. He used to sell his goods in the market-place.
When a customer asked him the price of a cloth,
the weaver would say: "By the will of Rama the
price of the yarn is one rupee and the labour four
annas; by the will of Rama the profit is two annas.
The price of the cloth, by the will of Rama, is one
rupee and six annas." Such was the people's faith in
the weaver that the customer would at once pay
the price and take the cloth, The weaver was a real
devotee of God. After finishing his supper in the
evening, he would spend long hours in the worship
hall meditating on God and chanting His name and
glories. Now, late one night the weaver couldn't
sleep. He was sitting in the worship hall, smoking,
now and then, when a band of robbers happened
to pass that way. They wanted a man to carry
their goods and said to the weaver, "Come with
us." So saying, they led him off by the hand. After
committing a robbery in a house, they put a load of
things on the weaver's head commanding him to

carry them. Suddenly the police arrived and the
robbers ran away. But the weaver, with his load,
was arrested. He was kept in the lock-up for the
night. Next day he was brought before the
magistrate for trial. The villagers learnt what had
happened and came to the court. They said to the
magistrate, "Your Honour, this man could never
commit robbery." Thereupon the magistrate asked
the weaver to make his statement.
The weaver said: "Your Honour, by the will of
Rama I finished my meal at night. Then by the will
of Rama I was sitting in the worship hall. It was
quite late at night by the will of Rama. By the will
of Rama I had been thinking of God and chanting
His name and glories, when by the will of Rama a
band of robbers passed that way. By the will of
Rama they dragged me with them; by the will of
Rama they committed a robbery in a house; and by
the will of Rama they put a load on my head. Just
then, by the will of Rama the police arrived and by
the will of Rama 1 was arrested. Then by the will of
Rama the police kept me in the lock-up for the
night, and this morning by the will of Rama I have
been brought before Your Honour." The

magistrate realized that the weaver was a pious
man and ordered his release. On his way home the
weaver said to his friends, "By the will of Rama I
have been released."
Whether you live in the world or renounce it,
everything depends upon the will of Rama.
Throwing your whole responsibility upon God, do
your work in the world.

SINGLE-MINDED DEVOTION TO ONE IDEAL

ONCE the Pandava brothers performed the
Rajasuya sacrifice. All the kings placed Yudhisthira
on the royal throne and bowed low before him in
homage. But, Vibhishana, the king of Ceylon, said,
I bow down to Narayana and none else." At these
words the Lord Krishna bowed down to
Yudhisthira. Only then did, Vibhishana prostrate
himself, crown and all, before him.
Such is unswerving and single-minded devotion
to one ideal.

THREE FRIENDS AND THE TIGER

ONCE, three friends were going through a forest,
when a tiger suddenly appeared before them.
"Brothers," one of them exclaimed, "we are lost!"
"Why should you say that?" said the second friend,
"Why should we be lost? Come, let us pray to
God." The third friend said: "No. Why should we
trouble God about it? Come, let us climb this
tree."
The friend who said 'We are lost!' did not know
that there is a God who is our Protector. The
friend who asked the others to pray to God was a
jnani. He was aware that God is the Creator,
Preserver and Destroyer of the world. The third
friend, who didn't want to trouble God with
prayers and suggested climbing the tree, had
ecstatic love of God. It is the very nature of such
love that it makes a man think himself stronger
than his Beloved. He is always alert lest his
Beloved should suffer. The one desire of his is to
keep his Beloved from even being pricked in the
foot by a thorn.