Varta 7 - Antarangbodh - The Voice Within

An old woman was walking along, carrying a bundle on her head. Just then, a horseman came riding by. Seeing him, the old woman said, "Sir, please put my bundle on your horse and carry it to the nearby village. Carrying this load while walking is tiring me out. If the weight is lighter, I can walk more comfortably."

The horseman replied, "I will reach that village in very little time, while you, walking slowly, will get there much later. Should I really wait around for that long? That's not possible." So saying, he rode on ahead.

As he rode on, a thought crossed his mind: "Wrapped in her cloth bundle, there might well be valuable things. I could easily make them mine." So he turned back, went to the old woman, and said, "Give me your bundle. I will carry it for you."

"No, thank you," said the old woman. "I won't hand over my bundle. You should go on your own way."

Surprised, the horseman asked, "Just a little while ago, you yourself said you wanted your bundle carried to the village. So why refuse now?"

The old woman replied, "Sir, an inner voice told me that the one who spoke to you was your conscience itself — telling you not to give this deceitful man your bundle. So I will carry the weight of my own bundle myself. There is no need for your help."

Puzzled, the horseman thought, "How did she come to know the deceitful thought I had in my mind?" With a downcast face, he then rode away.

- Balmodini January, 2025

Varta 6 - Bhagwan Sarva Rakshaka - God, the Protector of All

Shridharswami was a spiritual soul. The commentary he had written on the Bhagavad Gita was praised among scholars.

He had a deep wish to take up sannyasa (renunciation). But he was troubled by a worry: "If I become a sannyasi, what will happen to my wife and my young son?"

Then, one day, his wife passed away. "One bond has freed itself on its own," he thought. But the worry of how to raise his young son still remained.

One day, lost in these worries, he sat in his room. Just then, a lizard's egg fell from above and broke. A baby lizard came out of the broken egg. Hungry, it kept opening and closing its mouth again and again. "This baby lizard is about to die," thought Shridharswami.

Just then, a fly happened to come by. Drawn by the smell of the meal nearby, it landed right there — and found itself stuck. Try as it might, it simply could not fly away. At that very moment, the baby lizard slowly stretched out its tiny tongue and ate the fly.

Watching all this unfold, Shridharswami gained a new outlook on life. "The one who provides for and nurtures this entire universe — He is God Himself," he thought. "So who will raise my son? This worry is pointless. God Himself has said, 'My devotee never perishes.' There is no need to worry so much about my son's upbringing."

With this conviction, Shridharswami took the vow of sannyasa. At that very time, a wealthy man happily and joyfully took on the responsibility of raising his young son. And with that, all his worries about his son vanished.

-Balmodini Feb, 2025

Varta 5 - Vinamrata - Humility

Kulashekhara was a devotee of Bhagwan. Every day, he gave discourses at the temple, and many people came to listen to his stories.

In the same village lived a learned man named Nambiyar, who was also a storyteller. But very few people came to hear his discourses. This made Nambiyar jealous of Kulashekhara.

One day, Nambiyar finished his work and came home, only to find his wife wasn't there. "She must have gone to listen to Kulashekhara's discourse," he thought angrily, and stormed off to where Kulashekhara was speaking. Sure enough, his wife was there. Nambiyar scolded Kulashekhara harshly in front of everyone, then took his wife and went home.

Kulashekhara had no idea why Nambiyar had criticized him. Meanwhile, Nambiyar went to bed without even touching the meal his wife had prepared. She, too, went to sleep without eating. Meditating on the Lord, she soon drifted off to sleep. But Nambiyar couldn't sleep at all.

All night, he kept thinking, "I have done wrong." At dawn, he picked up a lamp and set out for Kulashekhara's house. Kulashekhara, too, hadn't slept — he was sitting outside his home. When he saw Nambiyar approaching, he stood up, took his hands, and said, "Please tell me what fault I have committed. I will correct myself."

Nambiyar, seeking forgiveness, replied, "It was thoughtless of me to criticize you in front of everyone. Please forgive my mistake."

Hearing their conversation, Kulashekhara's wife came outside. Seeing the two men in tears, each asking the other for forgiveness, tears began flowing from her eyes as well.

Atma Alankaraniya, Na Shariram

There was once a king who loved parrots. One day, someone brought him a beautiful parrot as a gift. He immediately called his minister and said: "Make a cage worthy of this parrot — the finest one possible."

The minister had an iron cage made. But when the king saw it, he said: "This is fine, but I want something even better. Make another one."

The next day the minister brought a silver cage. The king looked at it and said: "This too is nice, but I still want something more beautiful. Keep trying."

This time the minister crafted a cage decorated with precious gems. It took five days to make. But even after seeing it, the king said: "Stop worrying about the cost — just make me something truly stunning."

So the minister made a magnificent golden cage, studded with jewels. This one took ten days to complete.

When the king finally saw it, he was very pleased. He and the minister took the cage home, where the parrot was placed inside. But when they arrived — the parrot was already dead in its old iron cage.

The parrot had died waiting — perhaps from grief, perhaps from the long neglect while everyone fussed over the cage.

For fifteen days, no one had paid attention to the parrot's food or water. In all the excitement of building the perfect cage, they had forgotten the living creature inside.

This is human nature too.

We spend so much time and money beautifying the outer body — but we rarely stop to look within, at the soul that actually lives inside us. Because of this, true humanity fades, inner awareness is lost, and suffering only grows.

The soul cannot be caged. Only the body can. Don't forget which one is truly alive.

The Lesson

Balamodini June 2024

A wise man once announced to the world: "I have rare and precious knowledge. Anyone who learns it from me will find happiness in this life and the next — and it costs four thousand gold coins."

Word reached the king. He invited the wise man to his court, welcomed him warmly, placed four thousand gold coins before him, and said: "Please, share this knowledge with me."

The wise man smiled and said: "I have four simple rules. Listen carefully."

1. Be content with whatever your master gives you. If you truly cannot be, then find another master.

2. Never do anything that goes against dharma or that God has not approved. If you are forced into such a situation, leave that place entirely.

3. Never commit a sin — even when no one is watching.

4. Be grateful to God for everything you enjoy in this world. And if something was given to you but you never used it — give nothing back, and don't take credit for it either.

The king sat quietly, lost in thought.

The wise man then said: "If you truly live by these four rules, all your suffering will fade away. Now — take this gold and give it to the poor. I only asked for payment to test you. After all, what is wealth really worth? And what would I even do with it?"

With that, he left.

The Four RulesThe King's Lesson

Balmodini August 2024

No Place for Status and Pride in a Temple

No Place for Status and Pride in a Temple

— Nārāyaṇasvāmī

A wealthy man came to Pramukh Swami and bowed respectfully. After some pleasantries, Pramukh Swami asked, "When do you come to Akṣardhām?"

"I came twice, but no one gave me any special attention. My pride was hurt, so I stopped coming."

Pramukh Swami smiled and said, "That's alright. No one is at fault."

The man felt a little better. Then Swami asked, "Where do you live?"

"In Delhi."

"I hear the President of India is visiting your area the day after tomorrow. Did you know?"

"How wonderful! I will definitely go with flowers to see him."

"But what if he doesn't accept your flowers — would you feel insulted?"

"Not at all. Many people will be there. I'm going just for his darshan. Whether he takes the flowers or not doesn't matter. Showing respect is my duty."

Swami gently said, "When you go to see a great leader, you don't expect special treatment — you just go with humility. The same should be true when visiting God's temple. Feeling hurt because no one honored you or gave you a special seat — is that the right attitude for going to a temple?"

The man felt ashamed. He apologized, left, and from that day began visiting the temple regularly.

-Balmodini July 2024

ईश्वरदर्शनम् - Ishwardarshanam

Once a great sage was sitting. One day, a certain young man approached him and asked — "O noble one! Is it possible to see God directly?"

"Why not? It is certainly possible. But let me ask you one question first — can you see your own body?" asked the sage.

"Sir! I am indeed fully capable of seeing my own body," said the young man.

"Then look at your entire body once, completely."

Having looked at his body, the young man said — "I have seen my body."

"Did you see all the limbs?"
"Yes. Everything was seen."
"Did you see your own back?"

"Sir! The back cannot be seen."

"Very well then — can all the limbs of the front be seen?"
"Yes," said the young man.
"The chief feature in the front is the face. Can you see your own face?"

"Sir! I am not able to see my own face."

Then the sage said — "My child! If you wish to see all the limbs of the body — front and back — a mirror must be placed before you. In the same way, to have the vision of God, who is of the nature of pure knowledge, both God's grace and the Guru's grace are necessary. Only through the Guru's grace can God's grace be attained."

Hearing this, the young man, recognizing his own shortcoming, offered a full prostration to the sage.

- Balmodini July 2024