A milkmaid heard from a Pandi that: "The sacred name of God, is the great ship which makes us cross the ocean, ..." She took the statement literally, and began crossing the river to sell her milk every day, by taking God's name. After she went to thank the Pandit, and asked the Pandit to also cross with her. The Pandit ask his friends to tie him up with rope in case he drown. And he did just that.

Once a fishwife was a guest in the house of a gardener who raised flowers. She came there with her empty basket, after selling fish in the market, and was asked to sleep in a room where flowers were kept. But, because of the fragrance of the flowers, she couldn't get to sleep for a long time! She was restless and began to fidget about. Her hostess saw her condition and said, " Hello! Why are you tossing from side to side so restlessly?" The fishwife said: " I don't know, friend. Perhaps the smell of the flowers has been disturbing my sleep. Can you give me my fish-basket ? Perhaps that will put me to sleep." The basket was brought to her. She sprinkled water on it and set it near her nose. Then she fell sound asleep and snored all night.

In a family some children were raised protected from all dangers. They never went out by fear of being hit by a car. Everything is electric so that they never come in contact with the potentially dangerous fire. No knives, no plastic bags etc.. Once a forest fire reached the house that took flame. Instead of rushing out at the sight of the fire, the children stayed quietly inside, playing, and looking for the first time at the fire that was coming nearer and nearer, not understanding its danger. They all died burned.

Suggested comment:

You inject some of the virus or bacteria at small dose, so the body has time to learn how to fight against it by producing the proper antibodies. But we come in contact with bigger dose without this preparation of the body, we may be overcome and die.

We should be in the world but without being affected by it like a lotus flower which remains white in the mud or a frog dancing in front of a snake without being caught.

If we try to go in the forest, avoid all contacts with the world, our mind become more sensitive to anything (object or souvenir) related to the world. Out of privation we may constantly think about ice cream or power etc...Without contact with reality imagination goes wild and this world we want to escape become glittering and much more attractive. We are trying to protect ourselves but actually we increase our vulnerability. The solution is not to escape, but to accept and serve this universe as the expression of Supreme Consciousness. With this supreme ideation the mind is protected from all negativity.

God does not raise us in this way. He let us have our encounter with difficulties and troubles, danger etc...He is Himself creating all this negativity and brings it to us so that we learn to overcome all clashes and reaching perfection, finally unite ourselves with Him.

Where the mind attains peace by practicing the discipline of 'Neti, neti, there Brahman is .

The king dwells in the inmost room of the palace, which has seven gates. The visitor comes to the first gates. There he sees a lordly person with a large retinue, surrounded on all sides by pomp and grandeur. The visitor asks his companion, " Is he the king? " " No, " says his friend with a smile.

At the second and other gates he repeats the same question to his friend. He finds that the nearer he comes to the inmost part of the palace the greater is the glory, pomp, and grandeur. When he passed the seventh gate he does not ask his companion whether it is the king; he stands speechless at the king's immeasurable glory. He realizes that he is face to face with the king. He hasn't the slightest doubt about it.

Once I said to Narendra, " Look here, my boy. God is the ocean of Bliss. Don't you want to plunge into this ocean? Suppose there is a cup of syrup and you are a fly. Where will you sit to sip the syrup? " Narendra said " I will sit on the edge of the cup and stick my head out to drink it." " Why " said I, " Why should you sit on the edge?" He replied, " If I go far into the syrup, I shall be drowned and lose my life." Then I said to him: "But my child, there is no such fear in the Ocean of Satchitananda. It is the Ocean of Immortality. By plunging into It a man does not die, he becomes immortal. Man does not lose his consciousness by being mad about God."

It is said that whenever Kabir Sahib walked by a certain place in Bananas, he would always find a certain man sitting in his garden. One day Kabir Sahib stopped and suggested to him:
"Sir, instead of sitting idly in your garden, you could better spend the time in spiritual meditation, and thus improve yourself."
"I have very young children, and will be able to afford the time for spiritual practices only after they have grown up, " the man replied.
After the children had grown up, Kabir Sahib met the man again, and asked him:
"Do you now find time for spiritual meditation?"
"Ah, Sir, now I must wait for the children to be married, so they can look after themselves independently. Then I will have the time to devote myself to meditation."
Later, when Kabir Sahib again met the man, he asked him:
"And now, fortunate, man, all you children are married, so you are no doubt devoting yourself to spiritual practice."
"Ah, no," the man replied, '"I am eager to see my grandchildren grow up and get married."
After this had taken place, Kabir Sahib again asked the man:
"What is your position now, my friend?"
"O, Sir, " the man replied, "I find that my grandchildren are very careless. As a result of this it is quite necessary that I look after the house, even during the night. For if I were also careless, thieves would come and steal what little we have."
Some years later Kabir Sahib inquired where the old man was. The sons and grandsons said that he had died.
"Ah, that is indeed a great pity, " Kabir Sahib said. "Poor man, his life was wasted following the orders and desires of his worldly mind, which led him into such deep attachment to his family and his beasts. And even a few moments only of love for the Lord would have started to end his imprisonment here:

Once a dervish sat listening to a sermon in mosque. But soon he began to meditate. Within a short time his body started trembling and shaking, tears ran down his eyes, his voice choked and groans came out. All the people gathered round him and watched with awe. «Look at such power this man has." He managed to master the occult symptoms and everyone looked to him with awe and respect. He said to them, "What you have just witnessed is not power but weariness. Real power is when the cosmic current of beatitude fills you up and not one organ flinches, not one eye-lash moves."

There was a rich man who, although extremely wealthy, was so stingy that he could not bear to spend even one coin. One day, Japanese Zen Master Mokusen Hiki came to visit him. He raised his right hand with closed fist, and asked:
- Suppose my fist were always like that. What would you call it?
- Deformed.
Then he opened his fist and asked:
- Suppose it were always like that. What would you call it then?
- Still the same- deformed.
If you understand that much, you are a happy rich man.
Since then, the rich man became more understanding. Not only was he thrifty, but he also knew how to distribute his wealth and spend money.

There is a story about a man who practiced Sava-sadhana. He worshipped the Divine Mother in a deep forest. First he saw many terrible visions. Finally a tiger attacked and killed him. Another man, happening to pass by and seeing the approach of the tiger, had climbed a tree. Afterwards he got down and found all the arrangements for worship at hand. He performed some purifying ceremonies and seated himself on the corpse. No sooner had he done a little Japa than the Divine Mother appeared before him and said: "My child, I am very much pleased with you. Accept a boon from Me." He bowed low at the Lotus Feet of the Goddess and said: "May I ask you one question, Mother? I am speechless with amazement at your action. The other man worked so hard to be the ingredients for Your worship and tried to propitiate You for such a long time, but You did not condescend to show him Your favor. And I, who don't know anything of worship, who have done nothing, who have nether devotion nor knowledge nor love, and who haven't practiced any austerities, am receiving so much of you grace?" The Divine Mother said with a smile, "My child you don't remember your previous births. For many births you tried to propitiate Me through austerities. As a result of those austerities all these things have come to hand, and you have been blessed with My vision. Now ask me your boon."

The nun Wu Jincang asked the Sixth Patriarch Huineng:
-I have studied the Mahaparinirvana sutra for many years, yet there are many areas I do not quite understand. Please enlighten me.
- I am illiterate. Please read out the characters to me and perhaps I will be able to explain the meaning.
- You cannot even recognize the characters. How are you able then to understand the meaning?
- Truth has nothing to do with words. Truth can be likened to the bright moon in the sky. Words, in this case, can be likened to a finger. the finger can point at the moon's location. However, the finger is not the moon. To look at the moon, it is necessary to gaze beyond the finger, right?

A monk had some copper coins and was about to give them away to some boys. Many poor people came to him to get them, but he would not give them. Finally, there came before the monk a king seated on an elephant. The monk threw the copper coins into the howdah on the top of the elephant where the king was seated. The king was astonished at this unexpected act of the monk. The monk said the money was for him, the poorest man. The king inquired how he could be the poorest man. The monk said he was the poorest man, because of his possessions and of his continual hunger and thirst for more kingdoms. Hence he was the poorest man.

Once a great Siddha was sitting on the sea-shore when there came a great storm. The Siddha, being greatly distressed by it, exclaimed, "Let the storm cease! " and his words were fulfilled.. Just then a ship was going at a distance wit all sails set, and as the wind suddenly died away, it capsized, drowning all who were on board the ship.

Now the sin of causing the death of so many persons accrued to the Siddha, and for this reason he lost all his occult powers and had to suffer in purgatory.

Occult powers are more a hindrance than a help to god-vision

Once upon a time a sadhu acquired great occult powers. He was vain about them. But he was a good man and had some austerities to his credit. One day the Lord, disguised as a holy man, came to him and said, "Revered sir, I have heard that you have great occult powers." The sadhu received the Lord cordially and offered him a seat. Just then and elephant passed by. The Lord, in the disguise of the holy man, said to the sadhu, "Revered sir, can you kill this elephant if you like?" The sadhu said, "Yes, it is possible." So saying he took a pinch of dust, muttered some mantras over it and threw it at the elephant. The beast struggled a while a while in pain and then dropped dead. The Lord said: " What power you have: You have killed the elephant!" The sadhu laughed. Again the Lord spoke:" now, can you revive the elephant?" " That too is possible," replied the sadhu. He threw another pinch of charmed dust at the beast. The elephant writhed about a little and came back to life. Then the Lord said: " Wonderful is your power. But may I ask you one thing? You have killed the elephant and you have revived it. but what has that done for you? do you feel uplifted by it? Has it enabled you to realize God?" Saying this the Lord vanished.

Subtle are the ways of Dharma. One cannot realize God if one has even the least trace of desire. A thread cannot pass through the eye of a needle if it has the smallest fiber sticking out.

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 picked in the foot by a thorn.

Buddha asked his disciples: "How long is the human life span?"
After getting various answers like seventy years, etc...Buddha refuted all of them and said:
"Life is all in the breathing."
He meant that only the present has significance. Past and future are just mental projection, speculation or memories. We should live as if we are born in the beginning of the breathing, and going to expire at the end of the breathing. That much attention we have to give to the present moment.

Madalasa was the queen of Kasi in ancient times. The King of Benares married her. Before the marriage, she said," I can marry under one condition. If we have a child, the entire responsibility of education is on me. If you interfere, I will leave you." He agreed but actually he was dishonest.
She had a child and in his infancy she spent much time singing songs to the child. She sang a song to her son for him to leave attachments of family and seek t he white effulgence. To her second child, she also sang the same song. The first child left home at age twelve.
The king decided to take care of the children so she decided to leave but gave an amulet to her second child with the advice, «in time of danger, you open it and see inside."
She left and her second son followed the King's bad example,took the same tyrannical role, and finally replaced him when he died.
When the elder brother Vikrant heard that in this kingdom all were dissatisfied and miserable, he went to the King of Kosul, revealed his true identity and asked the king to help him regain the kingdom.
They did it successfully and King Kosul offered the rulership to Vikrant who refused and left to the forest to practice meditation.
His younger brother Abarko thought, «I am kingdomless and poor. Now it is my bad time and I shall open my mother’s amulet. Inside was a paper with the advice:
1- Don't take any company
2- if impossible, take the company of saints.
He choose the second and became a good sadhaka. After some time, he decided to return. Vikrant also decided to see and both reached. They both stood before King Kosul who offered the kingdom to the elder brother. Both refused,and theKing also refused to take it ,all three feeling detached from power.

Here Baba asks, who is most great here? Baba said he who was bad and became good, Aloka is making most effort and shows greatest progress.

In the course of his pilgrimage through the southern parts of India, Sri Chaitanya Deva came across a certain devotee who was in tears all the while a pundit was reading from the Gita. Now this devotee knew not even a single word of the Gita. On being asked why he shed tears, he replied, " It is indeed true that I do not know a word of the Gita. But all the while it was being read, I could not help seeing with my inner eye the beautiful form of my Lord Sri Krishna seated before Arjuna in a chariot in the field of Kurukshetra, and giving out all those sublime thoughts embodied in the Gita. This it was that filled my eyes with tears of joy and love. "

This man who knew not letters had the highest Knowledge, for he had pure love for God and could realize Him.

How a magical paw caused a greedy man to win a million $ and loose his son
Once a man passionately desired a great deal of money. He was given the gift of a magical monkey's paw which he was told, would grant him three wishes. He immediately wished for a million dollars. Suddenly there was a knock on the door: it was the insurance man, with an insurance payment of one million dollars; for his dead son! The man was heartbroken; he grabbed the monkey's paw and wished for his son back. There was a loud knock on the door. He opened it and there in the doorway was the skeleton of his son! Terrified, he grabbed the paw and screamed, "make it go away!!" The skeleton disappeared and the three wishes were finished. He had received the million dollars but he had lost his son.

The form of action may be changed but the amount of reaction cannot be affected.

In the year 845, Buddhism in China was dealt a severe blow. The emperor at that time, Wu Zong, cited economic reasons for ordering a widespread suppression of Buddhism. He issued an imperial edict to justify his actions. More than 4600 monasteries and more than 40000 temples and shrines throughout the empire were destroyed. More than 260500 monks and nuns were returned to lay life, and 150000 slaves were taken over by the government.

During this suppression of the Buddhist sects, only Zen managed to remain more or less unscathed. Because Zen is not dependent on scriptures, Buddhist statues, and rituals, it could still flourish amid the destruction. Zen monks also did their own manual work to support themselves and were not dependent on society. Such a state of affairs can be said to be due to Baizhang's foresight in making the Zen communities self-reliant, so that during a time of calamity they could still grow steadily.

One day one businessman died and went to the judgment of God, where the account of the good and the bad things done was made. The court looked at the record and found nothing good, so he was sentenced to hell.
« Do you have anything to say for your defense? » he was asked
« Yes , said the businessman,  I remember having given one cent to a poor and old woman who came to me in a cold winter night . »
The accountant looked again in the account where he could find the entry in light pencil.
« God it is true »
« return this cent and send him to hell. » said God.

The great Indian intellectual, Ram Mohan Roy, had sought the Truth in thousands of scriptures which he had even traveled as far as Tibet to read. But he was always unfulfilled, always search ing. One day as he was walking down a country road, a common peasant passed him and said in a friendly voice, "where are you going?" and handed him a leaf. The peasant's use of the familiar "you" form irritated Ram Mohan and he walked home with the leaf still in his hand, thinking about the insolence of the man. When he arrived home he glanced at the leaf he had been carrying unconsciously and saw written on it a mantra. His Guru had come in the form of that simple peasant whom he had resented so, to initiate him with his own special mantra. With great sincerity Ram Mohan practiced sadhana with that mantra and after some time he attained realization of the Truth.

this is the true story of a naked Saddhu in Benares. The chief of police ordered his arrest and he was put in jail. The next day the guards saw Him outside the cell meditating. When he was brought to the court room he said that every thing was equal for him and that's why he didn't bother wearing clothes. The cunning chief of police then brought a dish of raw beef and said: then you can also eat my food. The Saddhu said yes, but only if you first eat my food, and he defecated in the court and ate a piece of it and with his hand offered some shit to the chief of police, who surrendered in front of the greatness of the Saddhu and immediately ordered his release. after he left the court someone smelled the excrement and found a Rasagulla smell!

The great saint Ramakrsna had had many teachers and through their instructions and his serious practice he was able to merge his mind in Saguna Brahma, Savikalpa Samadhi. In this state the form of Kali, the Divine Mother, would appear before him, and he would be lost in Her. Then one day the Master Totapuri appeared and he became Ramakrsna's guru. "Dive deep into your Atman," he would say, "and realize your oneness with Brahma." But Ramakrsna could not cross from Saguna to Nirguna Brahma, the last and greatest stage of the journey, for the form of the Blissful Mother kept appearing and stood in his way. He told Totapuri he could not achieve that state. "What? But you have to!" Totapuri answered. He took a piece of glass and pressed the point between Ramakrna's eyebrows and told him to concentrate his mind at that point. Again Ramakrsna meditated and when the gracious form of the Divine Mother appeared, he used his discrimination as a sword and severed Her figure in two. His mind at once soared above all relative bondage, lost in Nirvikalpa Samadhi. For three days he remained in that sublime state of total merger, until finally by singing "Hari Om", Totapuri brought him down to the physical plane again.

A small fish asked a big fish: "I often hear others talking about the sea. But what is the sea?"
-All around you is the sea.
- Why can't I see it?
- You live, move and have your being in the sea. The sea is within as well as outside you. The sea gave you life and at death you return to the source. The sea surrounds you as your own being.

A sannyasin dwelt by the side of a temple. There was the house of a harlot in front. Seeing the constant concourse of men in the prostitute's house, the sannyasin one day called her and censured her, saying: " You are a great sinner. You sin day and night. Oh, how miserable will be your lot hereafter. " The poor prostitute became extremely sorry for her misdeeds, and with genuine inward repentance she prayed to God beseeching forgiveness. But as prostitution was her profession, she could not easily adopt any other means of earning her livelihood. And so, whenever her flesh sinned, she always reproached herself with greater contrition of heart and prayed to God more and more for forgiveness. The sannyasin saw that his advice had apparently produced no effect upon her, and thought, "Let me see how many persons will visit this woman in the course of her life." And from that day forward, whenever any person entered the house of the prostitute, the sannyasin counted him by putting a pebble aside, and in course of time there arose a big heap of pebbles. One day the sannyasin said to the prostitute, pointing to the heap: "Woman, don't you see this heap? Each pebble in it stands for every commission of the deadly sin you have been indulging in since I advised you last to desist from the evil course. Even now I tell you: Beware of your evil deeds! " The poor wretch began to tremble at the sight of the accumulation of her sins, and she prayed to God shedding tears of utter helplessness, inwardly repeating, "Lord, will Thou not free me from the miserable life that I am leading? " The prayer was heard, and on that very day the angel of death passed by her house, and she ceased to exist in this world. By the strange will of God, the sannyasin also died on the same day. The messengers of Vishnu came down from Heaven and carried the spirit-body of the contrite prostitute to the heavenly regions. while the messengers of Yama bound the spirit of the sannyasin and carried him down to the nether world. The sannyasin, seeing the good luck of the prostitute, cried aloud: " is this the subtle justice of God? I passed all my life in asceticism and poverty and I am carried to hell, while that prostitute, whose life was a whole record of sin, is going to Heaven!" Hearing this, the messengers of Vishnu said: " The decrees of God are always just; as you think so you reap. You passed your life in external show and vanity, trying to get honour and fame; and God has given you this. Your heart never sincerely yearned after Him. This prostitute earnestly prayed to God day and night, though her body sinned all the while. Look at the treatment which your body and her body are receiving from those below. As you never sinned with your body, they have decorated it with flowers and garlands, and are carrying it with music in a procession to consign it to the sacred river. But this prostitute's body, which had sinned is being torn to pieces at this moment by vultures and jackals. Nevertheless, she was pure in heart and is therefore going to the regions of the pure. You heart was always absorbed in contemplating her sins and thus became impure. You are therefore going to the regions of the impure. You were the real prostitute, and not she."

Once Lakshmi and Narayana were seated in Vaikunta, when Narayana suddenly stood up. Lakshmi had been stroking his feet.
She said, «  Lord, where are you going?»
Narayana answered: «  one of My devotees is in great danger. I must save him. » With these words He went out, but came back immediately.
Lakshmi said:  « Lord, why have You returned so soon? »
Narayana smiled and said: «  The devotee was going along the road overwhelmed with love for Me. Some washermen were drying clothes on the grass and the devotee walked over the clothes. At this the washermen chased him and were going to beat him with their sticks. So I ran out to protect him. »
«  But why have You come back? » asked Lakshmi.
Narayana laughed and said, « I saw the devotee himself picking up a brick to throw at them. So I came back. »

One day, Shiva and his wife Parvatii were travelling in the mountainous area of Kaelash. He told his wife, "this path is too rough for you to walk, why don’t you ride the ox?"

She followed her husband suggestion, and started riding the ox. But soon after, they passed two strangers sitting on the roadside, and Parvatii overheard them talking to each other. "Look at that selfish wife enjoying on the ox, while her husband is walking!"

Upon hearing this talk, she immediately requested Shiva to ride the ox, and that She should walk. Shiva agreed to that, but soon after they passed another couple of strangers who commented: " this husband must really be of a bad kind, forcing his wife to walk like a slave while he is comfortably on the ox!"

Distressed by this comment, Parvatii told Shiva that they both should be riding the ox together. And they started doing just so, but again some strangers commented: "What a shameful pair! Don’t they have any human feelings for this poor beast? Look at how it is struggling under the weight while they are both sitting on its back!"

Parvatii going through more and more internal clash, asked her husband pitifully: "Let’s both of us walk by the side of the ox"

But this combination did not work out either, because after walking for a few kilometers in this fashion, they again got criticized by some passer-by whose low voiced comment was overheard by Parvatii. "Look at that foolishness. These people have a nice ox and they are not even using it!"

Parvatii frustration suddenly turning into realization smiled to Shiva. "Now I understand Your lesson, My Lord! Whatever I do, there will always be some people criticizing me. So I should first think deeply about what is right and do it without second thought for the criticism that will certainly arise."

Many people, in admonishing others and pointing out their errors, very likely are themselves fallible.

It was the year 559. A layman paid a visit to Huike.
He said: « I probably committed some kind of wrong doing in a previous existence, and that is why I am now stricken with leprosy. I beg you, master, to wipe away my sins. »
The master said: « bring your sins to me and I will wipe them away for you. »
The disciple walked away , and after a while, came back to the master. «  I have looked for my sins but I cannot find them. »
The master then told: « In that case, I have thoroughly wiped away your sins. You should live in accordance with Buddha, dharma and Samgha. »

In ancient India there lived a man who was passionately in love with his beautiful wife. All his thoughts were constantly absorbed in her; he had no other desire than to be with her every waking moment. One night he tried to enter her room to visit her when he found the door unexpectedly locked. He knocked, but there was no answer. Thinking her to be asleep, he ran outside the house and leapt up the wall to her window, grabbing a climbing vine for support. Driven by his desire to be with her, he burst through the window.

She was shocked. "How did you get up here ?" she cried, "the wall is so high!"
"I climbed up the vine, " he answered.
"What vine?" she said. "There is no vine alongside this house!" And she looked out the window and saw that the vine he thought he had climbed was a huge snake that had slithered up the side of the house. She looked at him in amazement and said, "If you had desired God as much as you desire me, you would surely have realized the Truth by now."

Her words suddenly awakened something deep in his mind. He looked at her, and from that moment the desire for Self-knowledge, kindled in his heart. He started performing sadhana and practiced diligently. He became one of the greatest spiritualists and poets of ancient India, the saint Surdas. Later he blinded his own eyes, because he realized that the charming temptations of the external world were distracting him from his true goal, and he wanted to see only the Effulgent Truth within.

Sankaracharya had a certain disciple, who served him long without receiving any teaching. One day, hearing footsteps behind him he asked:
" Who is there?"
and was answered by this disciple: " It is I."
Then said the Master: " If this "I" is so dear to thee, either stretch it to the infinite or renounce it altogether. "

Once , one Tantric master told his disciple, « take this pot and fill it with water, but don't go near any lake or river. »
The disciple thought to himself as hard as he could, and then he wandered around a while before returning with an empty pot.
The guru looked up at him and said, « There is only one way to fill this pot- with your tears. When you love your deity so much that you cannot bear to be without Him, that you cannot exist unless you have a glimpse of Him, that you are ready to kill yourself unless He shows himself to you, and when you cry continuously until the pot is full, then only are you fit to do Tantric sadhana, not until then. »

Yudhisthira, the oldest of the Pandava brothers in the Mahabharata, was on the long and difficult long and difficult journey toward liberation, toward "heaven". Along the way as he and his brothers and their wife Draupadi ascended the steep mountain, a little dog joined them, and followed at his heels even after all his brothers and Draupadi, on by one, became exhausted and fell by the side of the path. Yudhisthira walked on alone, with only the little dog as his companion. When he reached the gated of "heaven", the gatekeeper said,
"there is no place for dogs in heaven, leave him here."
Yudhisthira answered: "Then there is no place for me either. He was my loyal companion in my hours of solitude; without him I could never be happy in heaven. I have never failed to help those who sought my sanctuary or mercy. I will not now forsake my dharma for the sake of my personal happiness."
At this moment the gates of heaven opened and the dog was suddenly transformed into the radiant god Dharma himself, the God of righteousness! And Yudhisthira, passing still another test, was admitted into heaven.

There was once a king of thieves, who during his whole life earned his livelihood by stealing, and was never caught. When he was about to die, he called his son to his bedside and told him:
"My son, here is the best advice that I can give you. First, never go to a temple or a mosque, and never remain in the company of a Saint. Second, if you are ever caught stealing, never confess, even though ;you are severely beaten."
After this, the king of thieves died.
Thereafter, the son went out stealing every night. One night, when he had broken into a house, the people woke up and he had no alternative but to run away. He was closely followed, and had noticed that a police guard was standing nearby. The police told the people that the young man could not get very far, as they would catch him. The thief wondered what he could do, when he suddenly found that a temple was nearby. He heard hymns of worship being sung and to save his life, he had to go in.
Remembering the advice rendered to him by his dying father, he put his fingers in his ears. Even so he had heard this much said:
"Gods and goddesses cast no shadows."
"Whether I know this or not, it has no significance to me, " he thought.
Meanwhile, the police came and caught him, took him to the chief magistrate, and tried to make him confess his guilt: but he would not. Orders were then given that so long as he would not confess, the should not be released.
The police then hired a woman who promised that she could make him confess his guilt if he was at all guilty. As a role, thieves are great believers in gods and goddesses. So one night this woman disguised herself as a goddess, had two artificial arms added, and in each one held a light. As had been previously arranged with the police she went into the jail and, as she entered, the door of the young thief's room opened automatically. After she entered, she told him:
"I have come to save you - if you committed the theft, please confess it before me."
The thief was just on the point of speaking the truth, when he suddenly noticed that the disguised goddess cast a shadow. Then he remembered what he had heard in the temple during the brief period that he was there that true gods and goddesses cast no shadows. He immediately told the disguised woman:
"I am not at all guilty, and am unnecessarily harassed."
The nest morning the woman reported to the chief magistrate that the man was not guilty and that it was futile to keep him in jail. He was accordingly released.
Now, when the thief returned to his house, he began to think that by spending barely a couple of minutes in a temple, he had learned sufficient to release him from jail. Probably, he thought, no difficulties would face him in the future if he went regularly to the temple. consequently, he started to go to the temple every day.
As he became devoted, he gradually left his evil ways, met and became a disciple of a Satguru, and in course of time himself became a Saint.

Mansur was sentenced to be hanged in Haghdada for saying, "I am the Thruth (God)" that is , claiming that he was at one with the the Lord.
Being rebuked for this and told to say instead, "He is the Truth, " Mansur replied:
" Yes, He is all, but you say He is lost. Mansur is lost; the drop has disappeared, but the ocean remains as it was."
It was decided that he should be stoned before he was taken to the gallows. The Saint was therefore dragged out into the public square of Baghdad, and everyone who so wished, threw stones at him. Bansur suffered all of this in silence.
Then his friend, Shibli, who was also a saint, in order to show compassion, and at the same time to test Mansur, threw a flower. When it struck, Mansur winced and cried aloud in pain.
"Mansur, my friend!" cried Shibli, "Why did you suffer pain, when it was only a flower that I threw?"
"Those who are throwing stones are completely ignorant, and know not what they are doing," Mansur replied. "But you, dear Shibli, knew better; and that was why your flower caused me pain."
The executioner then ordered that Mansur's hands should be cut off. This was done, and Mansur said:
"That is well done. I had no need for those hands, for I have hand that can grasp the fringe of the abode of the Supreme Being."
His feet were next cut off, and the Saint said:
"Neither did I need those feet; for I have feet that can take me straight-away to the Divine Court."
The executioner's assistants then put out Mansur's eyes, and he said:

"That is no great matter, since I have eyes that are able to see the Lord at all times."
It was next ordered that his tongue be cut out; but at this Mansur drew back and asked them to kindly wait for a few moments. he then bowed to the Lord and said:
"O Beloved, it is you alone who have enabled me to pass these tests. You have been like a potter who strikes the surface of a pot with one hand, while using the other to support the side of the pot from within. The very same have you done for me. O my Beloved Lord, I have no words with which to express my gratitude."
When this prayer was finished, Mansur called to the executioner:
"I am ready now," he said, "to have my tongue cut out."

After Huineng, 6th patriarch of Zen, left Mount Huangmei, he was pursued by a monk named Huiming who caught up with him.
«- I did not come for the robe, but only for the dharma. Kindly instruct me.
- first banish your mundane cares and cut off your thoughts, then I will instruct you.
- yes.
- Don't think of good and don't think of evil. At this very moment what is your original face?
- Er... Please reveal to me the meaning of this secret saying.
- If you can look within, the meaning is right in your heart.
- Thanks to your pointing out. I feel like a drinker of water who alone knows whether it is cold or warm. Everything is clear to me now. »

Once the great Hindi poet-saint Tulsidas, during his period as a wandering sadhu, came to a certain town, where a lady offered him food. After eating, Tulsidas told the lady, "please ask for anything and I will do it for you. «She laughed in his face and said, "Maharaj, plenty of saints have come and none of them have been able to give me what I want."
« But I am Tulsidas,» he said, a little offended, "and I will give you what you desire; just speak it."
The woman sighed over his stupidity and said, "I want a son."
Tulsidas went into meditation and after a few minutes came back to earthly consciousness and said, "Ma, I'm afraid that a son is not in your destiny."
The woman smiled and said, "That is what I told you in the first place, but you wouldn't listen to me. However, you are always welcome for food." Tulsidas went on his way.
After some time a Tantrica came to the town, and upon learning about the lady who was unable to have a child he decided to do something about it. One day he walked down the street in front of the lady's ;house, shouting, "who will feed me? I am offering a child for every roti I am fed! One roti, one child! Ten rotis, ten children!" When the lady heard this she invited the Agthora inside and told him, "But Maharaj, it’s not in my destiny to have children." The Tantrica replied, "I piss on destiny!" She fed him eight rotis, and in eight years she delivered eight handsome sons.
After twelve years Tulsidas again visited the town. As he walked down the same street he saw the eight boys and was immediately enamored by their beauty and intelligence. They called their mother, and she invited him inside and told him, "Do you remember that you said I had no sons in my destiny?" When Tulsidas head that the Tantrica had given them to her, he went into meditation to ask Rama about it. He said, "Raghuvira, when you would not allow me to give this lady sons, how could that filthy evil-smelling Tantrica do it?"
Rama smiled at him and said, "Tulsi, that Tantrica is something different from you. He has gone beyond the limits of being a saint and living in Sattva." Then Rama decided to teach Tulsidas a good lesson with the help of the Tantrica, and suddenly He started to shout, "Oh, I have a terrific pain in the heart. Please, Tulsi, get me a heart from someone so that I an get some relief."
Tulsidas got scared: If something were to happen to Lord Rama what would be his fate as Rama's chief devotee? So he ran out into the street shouting, "A heart! Lord Rama needs a heart! Who will give his heart for Rama?"
The Tantrica who was relaxing under a tree, heard him and said, "Tulsidas, come here." When Tulsidas came the Tantrica said, "now I know how much love you have for Lord Rama. If you really loved him, you would have given your own heart instantaneously when He asked. Here, if Lord Rama wants a heart, let Him take mine, " and so saying he ripped open his chest with his fingers, tore out his heart, and handed it to Tulsidas.
When Tulsidas went back into meditation to offer the heart to Rama, Rama smiled at him and said, "Now do you see how a real lover behaves with his Beloved"? And Tulsidas had to keep quiet and acknowledge the Tantrica's greatness.

Once upon a time conceit entered into the heart of Narada, and he thought there was no greater devotee than himself. Reading his heart, the Lord said: "Narada, go to such and such a place. A great devotee of mine is living there. Cultivate his acquaintance; for he is truly devoted to My." Narada went there and found an agriculturist who rose early in the morning, pronounced the name of Hari (God) only once, and taking his plough, went out and tilled the ground all day long. At night he went to bed after pronouncing the name of Hari once more. Narada said to himself: "how can this rustic be a lover of God? I see him busily engaged in worldly duties, and he has no signs of a pious man about him. " Then Narada went back to the Lord and spoke what he thought of his new acquaintance. Thereupon the Lord said: " Narada, take this cup of oil and go round this city and come back with it. But take care that you do not spill even a single drop of it. " Narada did as he was told, and on his return the Lord asked him, " Well, Narada, how many times did you remember Me in the course of your walk round the city? " "Not once, my Lord, " said Narada, " and how could I, when I had to watch this cup brimming over with oil? " The Lord then said: " This one cup of oil did so divert your attention that even you did forget Me altogether. But look at that rustic, who, though carrying the heavy burden of a family, still remembers Me twice every day."

The Guru is only one, but Upa-gurus (secondary gurus) may by many. He is an Upa-guru from whom anything whatsoever is learned. It is mentioned in the Bhagavata that the great Avadhuta (a great yogi) had twenty-four such Upa-Gurus.

(a) One day as the Avadhuta was walking across a meadow, he saw a bridal procession coming toward him with loud beating of drums and great pomp. Hard by he saw a hunter deeply absorbed in aiming at his game and perfectly inattentive to the noise and pomp of the procession, casting not even a passing look at it. The Avadhuta, saluting the hunter, said, " Sir, thou art my Guru. When I sit in meditation let my mind be concentrated upon the object of meditation, as yours was on your game.

(b) An angler was fishing in a pond. The Avadhuta approaching him asked, " Brother which way leads to such and such a place?" The float of the rod at that time was indicating that the fish was nibbling at the bait; so the man did not give any reply but was all attention to his fishing rod. Having first hooked the fish, he turned round and said, " What is it you have been saying, sir?" The Avadhuta saluted him and said, " Sir, thou art my Guru. When I sit in contemplation of the Deity of my choice (Ista), let me follow thy example and before finishing my devotions let me not attend to anything else. "

(c) A kite with a fish in its beak was followed by a host of crows and other kites, which were pecking at it and trying to snatch the fish away. In whatever direction it went, its tormentors followed it cawing, till at last they made it let go the fish in vexation. Another kite instantly caught the fish and was in its turn followed by the whole lot. The first kite was left unmolested and sat calmly on the branch of a tree. Seeing this quiet and tranquil state of the bird the Avadhuta, saluting him, said, " thou art my Guru, for thou hast taught me that peace of mind is possible in this world, only when one has given up one's adjuncts (upadhis); otherwise there is danger at every step."

(d) A heron was slowly walking on a marsh to catch a fish. Behind, there was a fowler aiming an arrow at the heron, but the bird was totally unmindful of this fact. The Avadhuta saluting the heron, said, "When I sit in meditation, let me follow thy example and never turn back to see who is behind me."

(e) The Avadhuta found another Guru in a bee. The bee had been storing up honey with long and great labor. A man came from somewhere, broke the hive and drank up the honey. The bee was not destined to enjoy the fruit of its long labor. On seeing this, the Avadhuta saluted the bee saying, " Lord! Thou art my Guru; from Thee I learn what is the sure fate of accumulated riches."

Once a notorious robber came upon a great saint in the forest and demanded his possessions. "Why do you steal?" the saint asked with a loving smile. The robber answered that he himself did not want to steal but he had to do so to support his wife and family. "Why do you perform this evil for them; they will not share your bad karma," the saint said. The robber refused to believe this and ran home and asked his father, mother, wife, and children if they would share his pain, the reactions to his evil deeds. "Of course not, it is none of our business how you get the money to feed us! We wont share your evil!" they answered. Then why I am doing all this?" he thought to himself and returned to the forest to the saint. He begged the saint to give him a true mantra; instead he gave him the word Mara Mara, death, death to meditate on. Because of the crude state of his mind, he couldn’t give him a true mantra; The saint went on a journey and when he returned, years later he found the robber meditating under a tree just where he had left him. He had been chanting his mantra with such ceaseless concentration that ants had built an hills over his body; but he was unaware of them. by constant repetition, the word Mara, mara had become Rama Rama, one of the names of God; and the once robber had become a realized soul. He took the name Valmiki and became one of the greatest poets of ancient India, the author of the great epic, Ramayana.

A disciple who had firm faith in the infinite power of his Guru walked over the river by simply uttering his name. Seeing this, the Guru thought, "Well, is there such a power in my mere name? Then how great and powerful must I be!" The next day the Guru also tried to walk over the river uttering 'I', 'I', 'I', but no sooner did he step into the water than he sank down and was soon drowned; for the poor man did not know how to swim even.

Faith can achieve miracles while vanity or egotism brings about the destruction of man.

One day, in the ocean, one small wave said:
" I feel distressed. Other waves are so big whereas I am so small. Other waves are so powerful whereas I am puny..."
Another wave answered:
-"It is because you have not seen clearly your original nature that you have sorrow.
- Am I not a wave? Then what am I?
- The wave is only a temporary form of your nature. In actuality, you are water.
- Water?
- Once you perceive clearly that your actual nature is water, you will no longer be obsessed with the form of the wave and thus, you will no longer be in sorrow.
- I understand now. I am you, you are also me. We are both one.

This is the story of Vilwamangal in the Bhaktamala. He used to visit a prostitute. One night he was very late in going to her house. He had been detained at home by the Sraddha ceremony of his father and mother. In his hands he was carrying the food offered in the ceremony, to feed his mistress. His whole soul was so set upon the woman that he was not at all conscious of his movements. He did not even knew how he was walking. There was a Yogi seated on the path, meditating on God with his eyes closed. Vilwamangal stepped on him. The yogi became angry, and cried out; " What? Are you blind? I have been thinking of God and you step on my body!" "I beg your pardon " said Vilwamangal, "but may I ask you something? I have been unconscious, thinking of a prostitute, and you are conscious of the outer world though thinking of God. What kind of meditation is that?" In the end Vilwmangal renounced the world and went away in order to worship God. He said to the prostitute:' You are my Guru. You have taught me how one should yearn for God." He addressed the prostitute as his mother and gave her up.

A disciple asked his teacher, " Sir, please tell me how I can see God. " "Come with me, " said the guru, " and I shall show you. " He took the disciple to a lake, and both of them got into the water. Suddenly the teacher pressed the disciple's head into the water. After a few moments he released him and the disciple raised his head and stood up. The guru asked him, " How did you feel? " The disciple said, :Oh! I thought I should die; I was panting for breath. " The teacher said, " When you feel like that for God, then you will know you haven't long to wait for His vision."

A sadhu under the instruction of his Guru built for himself a small shed, thatched with leaves at a distance from the haunts of men. He began his devotional exercises in this hut. Now, every morning after ablution he would hang his wet cloth and the kaupina (loin-cloth) on a tree close to the hut, to dry them. One day on his return from the neighboring village, which he would visit to beg for his daily food, he found that the rats had cut holes in his kaupina. So the next day he was obliged to go to the village for a fresh one. A few days later, the sadhu spread his loin-cloth on the roof of his hut to dry it and then went to the village to beg as usual. On his return he found that the rats had torn it into shreds. He felt much annoyed and thought within himself, "Where shall I go again to beg for a rag? Whom shall I ask for one?" All the same he saw the villagers the next day and represented to them the mischief done by the rats. Having heard all he had to say, the villagers said, "Who will keep you supplied with cloth every day? Just do one thing, keep a cat; it will keep away the rats." The sadhu forthwith secured a kitten in the village and carried it to his hut. From that day the rats ceased to trouble him and there was no end to his joy. The sadhu now began to tend the useful little creature with great care and fed it on the milk begged from the village. After some days, a villager said to him: " Sadhuji, you require milk every day; you can supply your want for a few days at most by begging; Who will supply you with milk all the year round? Just do one thing-keep a cow. You can satisfy your own creature comforts by drinking its milk and you can also give some to your cat." In a few days the sadhu procured a milk cow and had no occasion to beg for milk any more. By and by, the sadhu found it necessary to beg for straw for his cow. He had to visit the neighboring villages for the purpose, but the villagers said, " There are lots of uncultivated lands close to your hut; just cultivate the land and you shall not have to beg for straw for your cow." Guided by their advice the sadhu took to tilling the land. Gradually he had to engage some laborers and later on found it necessary to build barns to store the crop in. Thus he became, in course of time, a sort of landlord. And, at last he had to take a wife to look after his big household. He now passed his days just like a busy householder.

After some time, his Guru came to see him. Finding himself surrounded by goods and chattels, the Guru felt puzzled and inquired of a servant, " An ascetic used to live here in a hut; can you tell me where he has removed himself? " The servant did not know what to say in reply. So the Guru ventured to enter into the house, where he met his disciple. the Guru said to him, " My son, what is all this?" The disciple, in great shame fell at the feet of his guru and said, " My Lord, all for a single piece of loin-cloth!"