Thoughts and Reflections by MVR Vidyasagar - HTML preview

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Sinful Thinking

Happiness does not depend on what happens to us but on how we react to what happens to us.
O

nce a saint with great yogic powers was on the bank of a river. His follower was with him. There was a terrible storm and the river was in full spate. A woman, for some reason, desperately wanted to reach the other bank of the river. She appealed to the saint to see that she reached the other side of the river. The saint felt sympathy for her plight and decided to help her in spite of his being a sanyasin and as such had to keep away from women. He made her sit on his shoulders and with his yogic powers crossed the violently rising river. Leaving her safely on the other bank he returned to his follower who was astonished at his act. The latter was deeply upset by the saint’s coming into contact with a woman and even physically carrying her on his shoulders. The saint kept silent and maintained his poise at the inquisitive queries of his follower. The follower’s curiosity grew more intense with the silence of his companion

and he went on with his pestering questions. Finallythesaintsaid,“Icarriedthewomanand that was the end. But you are going on thinking about her. Thus you are carrying her more in your thoughts than I did her on my shoulders. You are sinning more than I did.”

Two things are infinite; the universe and human stupidity

and I’m not sure about the universe. ~ Albert Einstein ~

 

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Once Swami Vivekananda was staying as the guest of the Raja of Khetri. The king arranged a grand party in which a famous professional singer would sing. Swami Vivekananda was invited to attend the party. He declined the invitation saying that as a Sanyasin, he would not attend such parties.

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Somehow, the dancing girl came to know about the Swamiji’s refusal to listen to her music. At the party, she sang dolefully, but in a mellifluous voice, a song composed by the blind bard Surdas which meant: “O Lord, look not upon my evil qualities. Your name O Lord, is the same-sighted. One piece of iron is in the image in the temple, and another in the butcher’s hand, but when they touch the philosopher’sstone,bothaliketurnintogold.SoLord,look not upon my evil qualities.”

The plaintive but soulful song reached Swami Vivekananda’s ears. He was deeply touched by the music as well as the message of the song. He realized that God dwells in everyone and in everything; no one should be looked down upon or rejected, for the same Self dwells in all beings. Swamiji talked to her in all reverence and affection and addressed her as “Mother”.

Once a young man who had renounced all worldly possessions and bondages was performing Tapas on the bank of a river. Right opposite his cottage on the

other side of the river, there lived a damsel. They always looked at each other. The young man always entertained thoughts about the beautiful woman in his mind. Being enamoured by the woman, he set aside his spiritual

practices, but performed the rituals rigorously. In her turn, the damsel always thought that the young man was blessed for she assumed that he led a saintly life.

After death, the damsel went to Heaven, while the young man landed in hell – can you guess why? When a stone is hurled into a pond, it creates ripples. The question is: How long do the ripples last?

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