SHORT STORIES
(CHINNA KATHALU)
Quoted from Divine Discourses.
1. Vinayaka - The Leader of all
On one occasion, a competition was arranged among the gods for selecting the leader of the ganas (troops of demigods who are attendants of Siva). Participants had to go round the world quick and come back to the feet of Lord S'iva. The gods started off on their own vehicles; the elder son of S'iva also enthusiastically entered the competition.
He had an elephantine head; his vehicle was a mouse! Therefore, his progress was severely handicapped: He had not proceeded far, when Narada appeared before him and asked him, "Whither are you bound?" The son was very much annoyed; he fell into a rage. For, what happened was a bad omen, doubly unpropitious for those going on a journey. It is in auspicious if the first person you come across when you are on a journey is a lone brahmin. Though the foremost among the brahmins (he was the son of Brahmâ Himself), Narada was a bad omen! Again it is a bad omen if you are going somewhere and someone asked, "Whither are you bound?" Narada put him that very question!
Nevertheless, Narada was able to assuage his anger. He drew forth from S'iva's son the cause of his predicament and his desire to win. Narada consoled him, exhorted him not to yield to despair, and advised him thus: "Râma -the name- is the seed from which the gigantic tree called the universe has emanated. So, write the name on the ground, go round it once, and hurry back to S'iva, claiming the prize." He did so and returned to his father. When asked how he returned so soon, he related the story of Narada and his advice. S'iva appreciated the validity of Nârada's counsel; the prize was awarded to the son, who was acclaimed as Ganapati. (Master of the Ganas) and Vinayaka (leader of all).
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2. Guru's grace brings eternal glory
Sankara, the great acharya, had four chief pupils: Throtaka, Hastamalaka, Sureswara and Padmapada. Of these, Padmapada was intent only on service to the guru; he could not pay attention to the lessons. The others used to sneer at him for his backwardness in studies. But his deep reverence for the guru made up for it. One day, he washed the clothes of his guru and dried them on a rock in the middle of the river; but, even as he was folding them, the river rose fast in a swirling flood; and he had scarce a foot-hold on the top of the rock. It was getting late; the guru would need the washed clothes soon; so Padmapada resolved to walk across, over the raging waters. He knew that the blessing of his guru would rescue him. It did. Wherever his foot was planted, a sturdy lotus bloomed and bore him on its petals. That is why he came to be called, lotus-footed Padmapada! The grace of the guru enabled him to master all knowledge and shine as a brilliant exponent of the ancient wisdom.
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3. Lighting the lamp of wisdom
Once a sadhaka, who had great ambition to know something about the divine, wanted his eye of wisdom to be opened. He entered a cave where a guru was residing. While entering the cave he saw a small light. As he moved forward even that little light got extinguished. In darkness one feels frightened, and in fear, we think of God very intensively. Thus he uttered loudly the word 'Namah S'ivaya' and on hearing this, the saint asked him who he was. He said that he had come to seek his grace. The great saint, who was sustaining himself in the cave only by breathing the air around him, had the competence to know the mind of his visitor. He said that he will answer his question later but asked him first to go and light the lamp, which had been extinguished. The visitor took a matchbox and tried to light the lamp but did not succeed. He told the guru that he had finished all the matchsticks and yet he had not succeeded in lighting the lamp.
