When Dharmaraj reached
at last the gates of heaven, there was only a dog with him. Bhima,
Arjuna and the others had fallen by the wayside. He was told,
"You can come in, but the dog is not allowed to enter."
Dharmaraj answered, "If my dog cannot enter, neither will
I." One who performs devoted service, even if it is only a dog,
is superior to those who are always thinking of themselves. The dog
proved its superiority even to Bhima and Arjuna.
Even a worm that moves
towards God is greater than the greatest of men who have not turned
towards Him. In the temple there are images of the tortoise and the
bull, and everyone bows before the bull; why? Because it is not an
ordinary bull; it stays before the Lord. Even if it is dull, we
cannot forget that it is the Lord's bull. It is greater than the
wisest of men. Even a dull creature, if it thinks of the Lord, earns
the reverence of universe.
12. I was once
traveling in a train. It was passing over a bridge across the
Jamuna. A passenger sitting next to me flung, with great enthusiasm,
a coin into the river. There was a rationalist in the compartment
who observed, "The country is poverty-stricken, and on top of
that, there are people who throw coins out of carriage
windows." "You have not understood why he does it," I
said. |