Monday, June 1, 2015

SHORT STORY: THE POWER IN GOD’S NAME

Copyright@kamleshsujata1

By kamlesh Tripathi


Once upon a time there happened to be a novice pupil of a learned Guru. And, as told by the Guru he always chanted the name of God as his mantra. One day, a question came to his mind when he went up to his Guru and asked, ‘Gurudev why do I need to chant the name of God every now and then? as by doing so I am neither helping God, nor myself.’

    Guru smiled at the simplicity of his pupil. He wanted the pupil to learn something on his own. He said, ‘If you want to know the power in name of God, go close to that white bird perched on the tree near your house and ask him this question.”

    Pupil in compliance of Guru’s orders went close to the bird and uttered the name of God, but was shocked to see the bird died the moment it heard God’s name. Scared and shocked the pupil ran to his Guru and narrated the entire episode to him. Guru heard what the pupil had to say. He expressed sorrow, uttered some soothing words and said, ‘Don’t worry; now you go to all those animals that stay in animal stable near your house. There you have a cow that has just now given birth to a calf just now. You ask this question to the calf.’

    This time the pupil was not very enthusiastic in going there but still just to obey his Guru he reluctantly went to the calf and asked the question and he was shell-shocked as the calf too upon hearing God’s name died immediately.

    Devastated, he ran to his Guru again and said, ‘recitation of God’s name has made me a murderer of two, what should I do now? Guru expressed grief again followed by some kind words, ‘I regret both the times you were disappointed, but one last time you please go to the nearby kingdom and to the King’s palace there and ask his new born baby Rajkumar this question.’

    Once again the novice pupil felt dejected. But just to keep up to his Guru’s orders he headed towards the kingdom, extremely scared, and gingerly went up to the king after reaching there. He mentioned his Guru’s name and desired to see the new born baby Rajkumar. Since the King knew the Guru and respected him he allowed the pupil to see the Rajkumar. The novice slowly went up to the baby and whispered God’s name in his ear. And soon a mishap occurred as the baby died. The king got extremely upset and ordered his infantry to put the novice to death. Nervous, the novice started talking to himself, ‘O my God, I didn’t know your name was so harmful for others. I was better off without your name.’

    And, while he was murmuring all this, a piercing-celestial ray of light came out of the boy’s body and formed into a divine shape, and gestured pranam to the novice pupil and said, ‘I am grateful to you and your Guru. I was serving a curse that I will have three births on earth, and I that will suffer profusely. But your Guru to protect me sent you for my help. When I was a bird you got me mukti (salvation), when I was a calf then also you liberated me, and when I was born in human form then too you got me mukti by uttering the name of God. There is immense power in God’s name which you can’t see. And, after saying all this, the divine form vanished. The king released the pupil and gave him lots of presents. The pupil went running to his Guru. He was spellbound. Guru smiled and admiringly said, ‘now you know the real power in God’s name. Name of God can do such miracles, that we can’t even think of but the job is extremely precise and highly devotional.


The story is from our Upanishads. 

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