Spirituality-Open doors
>> Thursday, August 19, 2010
There was this poor Brahmin who had kept an idol of God Shiva in the front room of his house. He himself lived in the back room. The front room always remained open because a few people from the vicinity visited the room anytime of the day or night convenient to them to pay obeisance to Shiva and put some coins as token of their faith. This was the only income the Brahmin had and so could not afford to close the front door, scared that some devotees might turn back. Whenever he wanted some privacy, he closed the door connecting the first and the second room.
Once a poor woman in trouble visited this make-shift temple and wowed that if her troubles were over, she would put a hundred Rupee note near the idol. As luck would have it, her troubles were over soon. She put the promised amount near the idol and started to visit the temple regularly. Word of Shiva’s blessings spread and some people who earlier visited the place as a matter of convenience, started to visit the temple with new faith. Where earlier there were stray visitors with stray offerings, now people flocked the temple, stood in queue to have darshan of Shiva and offerings increased manifold along with fruits, milk, coconuts, clothes and the like. Now the Brahmin declared himself priest of the temple, performed puja twice a day and decorated the room befitting the importance of the place. Where earlier the front door remained open 24 hours for stray visitors, now it was opened in the mornings and evenings for a few hours. The priest declared that there should be some discipline and the temple would not be opened for anyone, however important a person be, before and after the scheduled time. His God also needed rest. The priest’s own importance also increased and people touched his feet wherever he went.
The king also heard about this new temple and its importance and asked his minister to find out what they had heard about the magical powers of the temple was true. The minister was a wise man. One day, he went to the temple at an unscheduled time and requested the Brahmin to open the temple. The Brahmin refused saying that the God was in rest. The minister then introduced himself and said that the king himself wanted to visit the temple and seek God Shiva’s and the priest’s blessings because he had heard so much about it. Being a king he could not come at regular hours because of security reasons and also because his visit would put his subject to inconvenience.
The Brahmin was in seventh heaven and said: “King or pauper, rules are the same for everyone in this temple. If the king wants to come, he will have to come with others and stand in queue. I cannot disturb God during his resting time. Moreover, all are same in the eyes of God.”
“Very well,” said the minister. “I came because the king himself wanted to donate Rs. one lakh to the temple and a gold crown for the idol.”
All the doors opened instantly and would remain open till the king arrived, which he never did.
Once a poor woman in trouble visited this make-shift temple and wowed that if her troubles were over, she would put a hundred Rupee note near the idol. As luck would have it, her troubles were over soon. She put the promised amount near the idol and started to visit the temple regularly. Word of Shiva’s blessings spread and some people who earlier visited the place as a matter of convenience, started to visit the temple with new faith. Where earlier there were stray visitors with stray offerings, now people flocked the temple, stood in queue to have darshan of Shiva and offerings increased manifold along with fruits, milk, coconuts, clothes and the like. Now the Brahmin declared himself priest of the temple, performed puja twice a day and decorated the room befitting the importance of the place. Where earlier the front door remained open 24 hours for stray visitors, now it was opened in the mornings and evenings for a few hours. The priest declared that there should be some discipline and the temple would not be opened for anyone, however important a person be, before and after the scheduled time. His God also needed rest. The priest’s own importance also increased and people touched his feet wherever he went.
The king also heard about this new temple and its importance and asked his minister to find out what they had heard about the magical powers of the temple was true. The minister was a wise man. One day, he went to the temple at an unscheduled time and requested the Brahmin to open the temple. The Brahmin refused saying that the God was in rest. The minister then introduced himself and said that the king himself wanted to visit the temple and seek God Shiva’s and the priest’s blessings because he had heard so much about it. Being a king he could not come at regular hours because of security reasons and also because his visit would put his subject to inconvenience.
The Brahmin was in seventh heaven and said: “King or pauper, rules are the same for everyone in this temple. If the king wants to come, he will have to come with others and stand in queue. I cannot disturb God during his resting time. Moreover, all are same in the eyes of God.”
“Very well,” said the minister. “I came because the king himself wanted to donate Rs. one lakh to the temple and a gold crown for the idol.”
All the doors opened instantly and would remain open till the king arrived, which he never did.
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