Bhagawad Githa Tales for Children

Introduction

Raja Thatha was relaxing in his pet chair after his usual afternoon nap.
Suddenly he felt as if somebody is trying to talk to him. He opened his
eyes and in front of him were his granddaughters Maithree and Yamini
and his grand son Rohan. Yamini being the youngest sat on his lap and
Rohan being more serious took his seat on the nearby sofa. Maithree
asked on their behalf. “Thatha, you were telling us the other day about
religious books of other religions. You also told us that our religion too
has lot of books. We three want you to make us understand the book
which you think represents our religion.” Raja Thatha loudly laughed,
“My dear Kutties, it is not time yet for that. You all have to grow up and
learn a lot for understanding our religion.” Maithree was vociferous,
“But Thatha, only the other day you were telling us that only the one
who does not know what he tells, tells like this. Does this mean you do
not know about our religion?” Thatha replied, “In a sense it is true
Maithree. But I would tell stories to you to teach what I know of the
greatest religious book of the Hindus-The Gita.” Yamini and Rohan
started jumping and yelling “story, story” Thatha started telling the
story

Why was Gita told?

King Pandu the younger brother of King Drutharashtra was ruling over
Hasthinapur. While King Pandu had five sons, King Drutharashtra had
one hundred sons and a daughter.

Unfortunately King Pandu died early. Because of this all the 106 children
were brought up together. Maithree asked, “Thatha, it means they need
not go to school and school would come to them.” Raja Thatha replied,
“That is true Maithree and that is what happened. These children were
taught by a great teacher called Drona and also by another teacher
called Krupa. Time passed. The sons of Drutharashtra always quarreled
with the sons of Pandu. They all grew big .They all got married and had
children.” Rohan replied, “Thatha, then one school would not be
sufficient.”

Thatha replied, “That is true Rohan. But what happened was the eldest
son of Drutharashtra, whose name was Duryodhana, wanted to become
the king after Drutharashtra. But he was much younger than the sons of
Pandu. So by deceiving them, he drove them away. Our God who was
born as Lord Krishna decided to help the sons of Pandu. He went and
requested Duryodhana to give at least five houses for Pandavas instead
of a big country. The children chorused, “That is not fair Thatha. How
can they be satisfied by five houses? If he did not give even that, he
must be a very bad man.” But Duryodhana refused. So the Pandavas
decided to go for a war with Duryodhana, The grandfather of Pandavas
and Duryodhana as well as their teachers decided to fight for
Duryodhana. This is because he was their king, On the day of the war
both armies came face to face. God Krishna who was driving the chariot
of Arjuna took the chariot in the middle of the armies. Suddenly Arjuna
realized that he had to kill his grand father, teachers and cousins to win
the war. This made him very sad. So he told God Krishna, that he will
not fight. He told him that if he had to kill all of them, their children will
not have father and they will suffer. “ Maithree jumped up, raised her
hand and told, “I agree with Arjuna.” Rohan and Yamini also nodded
their heads.

Then Krishna advised Arjuna that what he is thinking is wrong. Bad

people whoever they are should be killed. If this is not done they would
trouble more people. But Arjuna was not convinced. Maithree told,
“Thatha I think I understand. The other day some body told me that our
neighbor aunty was troubled by a robber. Suppose you simply keep
quiet, these robbers will start troubling all of us.” Thatha said “Amen.”
And concluded What Lord Krishna told and did to convince Arjuna is
called the “Song of the God” .This is the meaning of its name
“Bhagawad Gita”. This is possibly our greatest religious book. I would
try to tell you what the book tells in the form of stories.

A modern Arjuna

Raja Thatha told, “In a town of Indore there lived two brothers called
Pandu and Ramesh. Both of them suffered lot disabilities. Though Pandu
looked after the properties for some time, he died. He had a son called
Arjuna. Arjuna was an extremely good boy. He lived in the house of
Ramesh, even after the death of his father. After Pandu’s death, the
family was looked after by Ramesh. Ramesh had several sons and
daughter. The eldest of his son was Kamu. Kamu was a bad boy.”
Maithree told, “Thatha I am able to understand this better because I am
not used to Gods, war etc.”

Thatha continued, “Arjuna, Kamu and his brothers studied in one good
school at Indore Arjuna was bright and all his teachers praised him.
Kamu did not like this and complained about this to his father Ramesh.
But Ramesh did not bother .Kamu got very angry because of this. He
along with other bad boys used to trouble Arjuna very much. Krishna
was the son of the brother of Arjuna’s mother. He felt sad that his
cousin Arjuna was being troubled by Kamu. He told Arjuna that he
should complain to the police about his cousins. He agreed provided
Krishna accompanied him to the police station. But just before entering
the police station, Arjuna saw that the police were beating some
thieves. He told Krishna that he is prepared to suffer but will not
complain to the police because they would best his cousin. Krishna told
Arjuna that he was being silly. Unless he complains Kamu would always
be troubling him. Kamu was a bad boy. He was not only troubling Arjuna
but also others. But Arjuna was very firm. He was prepared to suffer.”
Rohan told, “Thatha, I feel sad for Arjuna. I think it is right.”

Maithree told, “Thatha, I too feel sad for Arjuna. I do not agree with
Rohan. I feel that Arjuna should have gone to the police. Cannot Krishna
complain, Thatha?” Thatha replied, “Yes, Krishna could complain. But he
thought that it was right for Arjuna to do it.”

To do is your job

In Ayodhya there lived a great man called Sri Sharman. He had three
sons-Vishnu Ram, Shiva Ram and Ganesa Ram. The family was poor but
they were all learned. Their father became very old and unable to work.
The children chimed, “Thatha why should people work. We do not work
and you do nothing except telling us stories.” Thatha replied, “Children
you are working, because you all are studying. Ofcourse like Sri
Sharman, I have become old and not working.” Thatha continued, So Sri
Sharman called all his children and told them, “I have become old and
sick. Because of this I am not able to work any more, it is now your job
to earn money “. The brothers agreed with their father and went in
search of a job. Maithree asked Thatha, “Will, job play hide and seek
Thatha, Why should one go in search of it.”

Thatha replied, “my little one, it will be available in a place and you have
to go there .like your going in search of the zoo, going to school.”
Maithree seem to understand and Thatha continued.
They first went to a rich man of the village called Saukar Ram. He had
several shops and various places of work. He was supposed to be very
wise. When the brothers went to him, he told them. “I can give one of
you a job. The job involves extremely hard work. Some times when you
do the job, you may have to work and get nothing in the end. .” Rohan
told, “Thatha that is cheating, suppose I am not promised a sweet daily,
I would not take the bitter medicine that mummy gives. Suppose she
promises, I gulp the bitter medicine and then do not get the sweet, it
would not be fair.” Thatha told, “Rohan yes, suppose Mummy goes to
her kitchen and finds that the sweet is over, how can she give it to you?
“ Yamini chimed, “Thatha dear, I do not want mummy to tell a lie to
me.”

Smilingly Thatha continued the story. Ganesh Ram told him, “I came
here only because my father wanted me to go. I enjoy doing nothing.
This job is not for me because I have to work hard.” Maithree shouted,
“Is it not an excuse for being lazy? I wish that Ganesh Ram suffers a lot
by not getting any food.” Thatha acted as if he has not heard what she
said and continued.

Saukar Ram told him, “My dear boy, what you are telling is wrong. All
these years your father was working day and night and feeding you. If
you do not work, how will you get money? Who will feed you?” Rohan
said, “Thatha he is right, is he not””

Thatha said,” Yes” and continued. Ganesh Ram was not bothered and he
decided to sleep in the shade of the tree. Yamini told. Thatha shall I also
go and sleep under a tree. Thatha smiled and continued. Shiva Ram told
him, “I am prepared to work hard but I should be assured that I should
always be able to achieve some results.” Saukar Ram told him, “This is
not possible. By doing work, you always get some thing. But no own can
assure you that what you get should always be good and Think again,
your father is waiting for his food.” Maithree told Thatha, “I am able to
understand little Thatha. I always do my exam well. But some times I do
not get the mark I want. Suppose I do not write the exam, I will fail.”
Thatha nodded his head and continued. Shiva Ram replied, “Suppose I
work and get nothing in return, how can I feed my father. So I prefer
not to work.” Saukar Ram told him,”By not working also you are not
going to get anything.”

Shiva Ram replied, “I do not bother. At least now I have the satisfaction
of doing nothing and getting nothing.” He also joined his brother and
started sleeping in the tree shade. Vishnu Ram told Saukar Ram, “I have
been hearing your conversation, “I clearly understand that by doing
nothing you may not get anything. I also understand that by doing
something, I may not get what I want. Then I will not loose hope and I
will again do the work. I will continue this till I get something to feed
my father.” Saukar Ram was happy and told Vishnu Ram, “What you are
telling is the truth. This truth was told by Lord Krishna to Arjuna in the
second chapter of Gita. Not working is sin and when you work, you can
only be master of what you do. You can never dictate what you want to
get. It is like sowing a mango seed. Unless you sow the seed the tree
would not grow. But while sowing you are not sure how many mango
fruits you will harvest. ” Maithree shouted, “The moral of the story is,
“Do your work always. You are the master of what you do and not the
master of what you get.”

Pray to God but do your duty

Maithree asked Thatha, Tomorrow is my examination, Thatha, I am

studying well. My friend, Anjali does not study but always is seen as
playing. I asked her, how she is going to pass the examination. She
told. “I have gone to the temple and prayed to God. Since I have
prayed well, I need not study. Is it true thatha?” Raja Thatha replied,
“Actually I wanted to tell about this before.

There was an orthodox priest called Sarvagna in the city of New Delhi.
He was seen always chanting the name of God. He had a grand son
called Vijay. Vijay was a lazy boy. Even when examinations are their in
school, he did not want to study. So he went to his grandpa and asked
him, Grandpa, You are a great devotee of god. Can you not help me
pass this examination without studying?” His grandpa replied, “That is
very easy. I will write the thousand names of God in a slate using
honey. Then I will wash the slate with holy water. If you drink the
water, you will not only pass the examination but get very high marks.”
Vijay agreed to do that. His grandpa wrote the 1000 names of God and
made him drink the water. Next day was the examination day. His
mother scolded him for not studying. Vijay told his mother “I have
drunk a full glass of holy water given by Grandpa. I am sure; I would
pass in my examination even without writing the examination.”
Maithree asked, “How come thatha? Is it possible? If he does not write
the examination, how many marks will he get?”

Thatha replied, “Maithree, without writing examination, he would not

pass. Yes, God will help you, if you pray to hi. But you should also obey
him by doing the duty that God has given to you. In fact Vijay failed. “

Goldy told, Moral of the story is simple, “You have to pray God and also
do your duty given by him.”
 Sthitha Pragna

“Hey Thatha , we are not able to understand the title of this story. Is it
the name of a character. Anyway it looks too meaningless for all of us. “,
told Maithree to her Thatha.

Thatha replied, “Little darlings, please wait. That word is one of the
great themes of chapter 2 of Gita. In simple terms it means,”He who has
a stable mind,”

Rohan asked, “Thatha does it mean me .Because when I search for

French fries, I do not like any other thing except French fries.” Thatha
replied “It is not that simple Rohan Kutta What you are is “Single
mindedness” but”Sthitha Pragna is something different. I shall try to
explain it by a story.”

There was a sage called Kapila. People believed that he knew everything
in the world. In the village he was living there were two brothers called
Shyam and Ram. Both were very much different in their approach of
things. They decided to learn Gita. Maithree told, “Thatha they should
not have tried but come to you for learning Gita.”

Thatha smiled and continued. They tried reading it. It was really tough.
So they approached Saint Kapila. And told him,” Great sage, we started
learning Gita today. But we have just reached chapter 2. There is
something in it called Sthitha pragna. Can you please help us to
understand what it means?” Sage Kapila said to them. I would take you
for a pleasure trip and at the end please say whether you have
understood what Sthitha Pragna is. Then first he took them to
Himalayas. Both Ram and Shyam started shivering. Sage Kapila then
showed them several people living in Himalayas. Not only they were not
shivering but they seemed to enjoy the cold climate. From them Kapila
requested two sages Mamuni and Ananda to accompany them. Yamini
who was hearing the story told, Thatha now, there are five of them.”

Thatha replied,” yes darling”, all of them from there went to Vijayavada
which was a hot place. Ram and Shyam started feeling the heat and
started complaining. Mamuni who came with them also started
complaining. But sage Ananda was as happy as he was in Himalayas.
Then Sage Kapila told Ram and Shyam. “See children. Both Mamuni and
Ananda were sages like me. Both of them were happy in Himalayas. But
in Vijayavada, which is a hot place Mamuni is feeling miserable. But
Sage Ananda who was happy there is happy here also. Possibly Sage
Ananda has a stable mind and is a Sthitha Pragna. Let us further test
them. Let us all go to a Cinema. The children jumped with joy. They
liked to watch Cinema. Sage Kapila took them first to a picture of Charlie
Chaplin. The children rolled in fun. Mamuni also seem to enjoy a lot. But
Ananda who was with them was as calm as before. Sage Kapila asked
Ananda, “Sage why are you not laughing like others? Do you not like
Charlie Chaplin?” Sage Ananda replied, “I like him, but I am not elated
by it. Even if you take me to another picture where there is lot of
sorrow, I will not cry. “ Then Kapila told Ram and Shyam, “See Ananda
is a Sthitha Pragna. He is deeply within himself. He does not react to
what is outside him.”

Ram and Shyam seem to understand slightly and decided to continue

reading Gita.

Maithree gave the moral of this story as follows, “To achieve greatness ,
do not get worried by anything.”

What is the right thing to do?

Thatha was deep asleep and dreaming and laughing in his sleep. His
darling grand children were by his side. They wanted to hear a new s
from Thatha. Maithree asked Rohan , “Hey brother, shall I wake up
thatha?” Rohan replied, “I am not sure whether it is right thing to do
because he is sleeping? He also seems to be happy.”

Rohan replied, “ He should tell the truth. Because Mummy has told me
that one should always tell the truth. If he tells a lie, God will punish
him.” Maithree shouted, “Rohan that is not fair. If he tells the truth, the
poor king would be killed. God will then punish the sage for killing the
king.” Goldy replied, “He should neither tell a lie nor the truth . Then the
thief would go away.”

Maithree shouted, “ That is also a form of lie. By not telling anything,

the sage is not telling the truth.”

Thatha replied, “ The Gita feels that , in this case , the sage should not
tell the truth. Because by doing so he would be getting the king killed.
Also the thief may not get food immediately but would get food later.
This is similar to the problem of Arjuna. By not fighting in the war,
Arjuna would help lots of bad people but he would be causing problem
for the Pandavas. But by fighting , he would help lots and lots of
people.” Maithree concluded, “Thatha the moral of the story is that by
doing your duty, you should not harm the just people.”
 What is death?

Thatha was little more serious than usual. But the little darlings around
him were not. To them Thatha told. “Today I am going to talk to you
about death.” Maithree shot back, “Thatha if it is going to be sad, I do
not want to hear about it.”

Thatha replied, “I cannot avoid talking about it, because this is one of
the important aspects of every religion I would try to make it not sad.”
Thatha continued, “There was young girl called Shantha. Shantha was a
very serious girl. Though her parents asked her to be happy and not
serious she did not obey them. All through the day, she used to take
several colours of putty (clay or play dough) and was making dolls.”
Yamani shouted, “Thatha I also do that,” and Rohan nodded his head, “I
too was doing that earlier.”

Thatha simply smiled and continued, “ After some time Shantha became
an expert in making dolls with Putty. On a week end, she made very
pretty toys of a princess, lion, Ravana and Ganesha. Her mother also
liked these toys very much. Before going to school, Shantha requested
her mother to take care of these pretty toys. But that Day a plumber
came to repair taps in their house. Without seeing the toys, he stepped
on them. All of the again became putty . When Shantha came back from
school, she started crying. Her mother consoled her as follows.
”Shantha, stop crying, they were only toys made by you. Nothing has
happened to them,. They have only become putty again. You who have
made them can again make them. Or you can make other toys with the
same putty. Suppose you do not like to make toys. Your sister Lathika or
her friend Malu can make toys with them. A toy becoming putty and the
putty becoming toy is only a very natural thing.” Shantha realized what
her mother was seeing was correct and stopped crying.

Maithree was little thoughtful. She said, “What you want us to

understand from this story thatha?”

Thatha replied, “We are all dolls made out of putty by God. One day this
doll will again become putty. And the putty will again become doll.”
When the doll becomes putty, we say that somebody has died. But with
the same putty God will make another doll. Then we will say that
somebody is born. Like Shantha who cried when the doll became a
putty, should we cry when god , when God decides to make another doll
with the putty?” Rohan replied, “I agree with you thatha. I had a doll.
The doll broke. I cried .But Daddy bought me another doll. Dolls will
come and go.” Maithree summed up, “Moral of the story is, “Changes
happen at all times. We should not be sad or happy about it.”
 Heaven and Salvation

Maithree one day asked her Thatha, “What is heaven thatha. Does not
Gita tell anything about it?” Thatha replied, “Little darling .Definitely.
Gita tells us a lot about heaven .I shall tell you a story about it.”

He started a new story, “Subba Shastry was a very intelligent man.”

Goldy jumped up, “Are you Subba shastry , Thatha.”

Thatha smilingly nodded his head. He had 10 sons,” Rohan started

shouting, “Thatha , How can they all take food in the dining table
Thatha.”

Thatha told, “Rohan , they can do it one after another. These children all
grew up. Ramu who was the eldest was very intelligent. He passed in all
examinations and became rich. But though he was rich, he always
wanted to know about that God who made him learn, pass in exam,
work and earn money. He spent all his money on poor people. But his
nine brothers were not like him. They also grew up. Four of them were
good .They all earned some money. Each of them gave all the money
they earned to a very rich hotel. They got whatever they wanted.
Yummy food, lot of cinemas, pizza, macaroni and so on. The last five
were bad,. Whatever money they earned, they spent daily. After some
time all of them became old and were not able to work. Ramu who was
good and who had a helped by lot of people was looked after by every
one whom he has helped. He was always happy, The four good brothers
who had earned lot of money had to vacate the hotels and were again
forced to work. The bad five did not have food as no body gave them any
work and they suffered.” Maithree and Rohan were thoughtful, “Thatha
we did not understand”, they told.

Thatha then replied, “People like Ramu who has helped all will be taken
care of them and will not suffer. This is salvation. His four good brothers
were in heaven like hotels. But once the money was over, they had to
come out. The bad ones, though , they also earned money, would suffer
, starve and be always sad. This is hell.”

The children were silent and at last Maithree asked, “What is the moral
of the story thatha?” Thatha replied, “He who lives for others would
never suffer, he who is devoted and prays(works) for his happiness will
be happy. But after some time, he will spend all that he has earned and
be forced to work again. The bad will suffer.”
 God would come to you

Raja Thatha told, “In the city of Patna there lived a Brahmin called
Susharman, He was extremely good man who was a great devotee of
God. Most of the time he thought of God and did all his duties properly.”
Rohan asked ”What are those duties Thatha?”

Thatha replied, “When you grow up you marry and have a wife. You
would have children and also you would have old parents. All these
people are not capable of working. So it is the duty of people like
Susharman to earn money and look after his old parents, wife and
children.” Yamini who was hearing all this shouted, “Mummy is not like
that . She goes to the office and earns money.”

Thatha replied, “Yes Yamini to take care of children and parents some
time more money is needed and then Mummy also has to go to work.
But let us continue with the story.”

Thatha continued, “Because of this Susharman rarely went to temple

and rarely got time to do pooja. Susharman had a rich neighbour,
Durapan. Durapan daily went to temple and always performed pooja at
his house. Since he had lot of money, he made other people work for
him. He always told Susharman. “You see , I am doing pooja and you
are not and so God will come to me only.” Maithree interfered, “Is it true
Thatha.”

Thatha raised his voice and told, “Little ones be patient and hear what I
have to say. In Patna there was an earth quake. Lot of people suffered .
Just before the earth quake was about to begin, some stranger came to
Susharman’s house and called him to come outside the house. He told to
call all his family outside the house quickly. Susharman did that. As soon
as all his family members came out, the earth started trembling and all
the houses in the street were destroyed. Durapan who was sitting in his
house suffered a lot. Most of his family was injured. He himself lost his
leg., after the quake the entire town assembled in a ground. All people
found that Susharman has not suffered at all. He told them, “I believe
God came to my house and called me.” People agreed with him.
Maithree raised up her hand and told, “Thatha the moral of the story is
“Doing your duty is the greatest worship.”

Desire and anger

Thatha was very tired that day but his little darlings never left him at
peace. They went near him and shouted , “Story, story” Thatha started,
“There is a place called Koramangala in Bangalore. Lot of rich people
live there. All the children in Koramangala went to very good schools.
The teachers in those schools taught them everything .Vikram and Arjun
were two intelligent boys living in nearby houses. Both of them were
studying in 5th standard of a very famous school. Both of them normally
scored good marks. Always Vikram scored slightly less than Arjun,
Vikram’s mother got very angry with him and always shouted at him.
“You do not have desire to come first and that is why Arjun is always
coming first.” Vikram felt that his mother was right. He developed lot of
desire to come first. He was always jealous of Arjun. He always asked
Arjun what he was studying, after that he would study the same
subjects. When he does not understand he will get angry. When he
became angry he became confused. Since he was confused he got still
lower marks. “

Vikram’s teacher told him, “How come Vikram, you are scoring less
marks?” This made Vikram angrier and slowly the intelligent Vikram
became a very poor student.”

Thatha then asked “Maithree what is the moral of the story. Maithree
replied “Thatha it is very clear. You should not have too much desire”

One's own duty is the best

Thatha told, “Once upon a time there was a Brahmin called Vishnu.
Vishnu learnt a little about doing meditation from one of his friends. He
then went to the forest and started practicing Austerities using
whatever he has learnt. One day when he was doing meditation a crow
disturbed him a lot. He opened his eyes and stared at the crow. The
crow was burnt to ashes. Vishnu then became very proud and decided
within himself, that he has become an expert in Thapas.” Maithree
asked , “Was he too proud , Thatha?””

Thatha continued, “Yes darling. He then went to a near by village and

went to a big house. Then he shouted, “A great sage has come, please
give me food.” A lady replied back from inside, “Wait, I would come as
soon as I complete my job.”

After an hour she came out and gave him some food. By this time
Vishnu was very angry. He stared at that lady.”

Then lady asked “Do you think you can burn me like the crow?”

Vishnu was surprised and asked her, “What do you mean?” She replied
“ I have a sick husband and a child .I was looking after them. Any other
duty is only after my duty is attended to. You are still learning religion.
If you want to know more about it, go to the village butcher.” Maithree
told”Butcher means, he who cuts animals. Thatha , what will he know
about religion?”

Thatha replied, “ That was the thought Vishnu also . But he went to the
butcher’s house. The butcher saw him and told, “So you have come to
learn religion from me. Please wait. I have work to do.” The butcher
then went inside his hut and gave bath to his very old parents. He fed
them food and put them to sleep. This took several hours. Vishnu
became very impatient but still he waited. When the butcher came he
told Vishnu.” What my religion tells me is first to do my duties. One of
my important duties is to take care of my parents. The lady’s duty was
to take care of her husband and children. Instead of you, even if the
king or God comes, we both would not have come out. Because our
duty is more important than anything. This is what our God Krishna has
told in Gita” Maithree and Rohan chorused, “Our duty first and then
only everything else.”

Mind control

Thatha started a new story,” Once all the five Pandavas and one
hundred Kouravas were given a test by their teacher Drona. He tied a
doll of a bird on the tree top. He then called Duryodhana and wanted
him to cut the neck of the doll bird using an arrow. Once he got
prepared for that Drona asked him “What do you see?” Duryodhana
replied, I see a very big green tree with lot of branches and on the top I
see a bird doll”

Drona told him, “You would not be able to cut the neck of the bird.”
Maithree felt bad and remarked, “How can he say like that Thatha. He
should allow him to shoot the arrow and then decide.” Thatha only
laughed and did not reply her and continued, “ One by one all the
Kouravas were called . All of them replied in a similar fashion. Then
among the Pandavas Drona called Arjuna and asked him “What do you
see Arjuna?” Arjuna replied, “I see only the neck of the doll bird and
nothing else.”

Drona explained, “Only with such a type of concentration one can

achieve results. “ Thatha continued, “Similar concentration is needed
when you search for God and is called Dhyana. A simple prayer with
your mind thinking of the pink dress or blue car, Will not take you near
God. When you think of him, you have to think of him and nothing else.
This is difficult but by constant practice this can be achieved.” Maithree
who has become one to tell moral of the story shouted, “The moral of
the story is , when you are searching for something, you should not
think of any other thing , except that.”

The power of faith

It was in the afternoon, Thatha had woken up from his sleep. Maithree
and Rohan were checking whether he was still asleep. Thatha tightly
closed his eyes. But the children understood that he was playing tricks.
So they started shouting “Story, story”. Their mothers who were in the
kitchen came out and scolded them. You should not trouble Thatha like
this. Then Maithree told her Mummy, “Amma, Thatha is only pretending
that he is sleeping. Bring a glass of Coffee and he would wake up..”
Smilingly Maithree’s mother went inside and appeared with a cup of
coffee. Thatha immediately woke up and started drinking the coffee.
Maithree shouted, Amma , the moral of this story is , “do not believe
Thatha when he is sleeping.” Thatha finished his coffee and started
telling a new story to teach Gita.

“Bhola was a very ignorant villager, but he was very good. Somebody
told him that there was a great Gurudev Shankara in Benares and he can
show him God. Poor Bhola wanted to see God. So he went to Benares
and went to the house of Gurudev Shankara. Bhola fell at the feet of
Gurudev and requested him, “Sir, Please show me God.” Gurudev
Shankar immediately understood that Bhola was an innocent person and
he can be made to work like a servant in his house. So he told Bhola,
“That is right son, to see God is very difficult. You go and please do all
the work in my house. Slowly you will be able to see God.”. Rohan was
curious, “Thatha , can we see God if we do work at home? Why is it that
my mummy who does all the work, not able to see God?”

Thatha replied, “little Rohan, work is worship. Definitely your Mummy

would be able to see God , later. But Gurudev Shankara was a bad man.
He wanted Bhola to work in his house without paying him anything.
Months and years went on. Bhola did all the work sincerely. Before
sleeping he will go to Gurudev and ask, “Sir, will I be able to see God
today.” Daily Gurudev will tell him, “Do your job. Later I will tell you a
Mantra, if you keep on repeating the mantra, you would see God.”

One day Gurudev was angry and so when Bhola asked him, “Shall I see
God today?” he shouted at him , “Get Out you Buffalo.” Bhola who was
innocent person asked him, “Sir , is this the Manthra.?”. Gurudev who
was in a bad mood laughed at him and nodded his head. Next day Bhola
went to the forest and started chanting, “Get out Buffalo”. He went on
chanting day and night for a complete year. The Gods were confused.
They were satisfied that some God should go before Bhola. But which
God? They all went to Lord Vishnu and asked him, “Which God should go
before Bhola?” Lord Vishnu replied, “Ofcourse , Yama , because he is the
only God with a Buffalo.” Maithree started Jumping, “I have seen Yama
in a cinema. He does not look nice and in fact Goldy started to cry on
seeing him.”

Thatha continued, “Ofcourse Yama, is fat , black and fierce. But since no
other God had a buffalo, he decided to go. But as soon as he went before
Bhola, He called him, “Bhola, we are happy with your prayers. What do
you want?” Bhola could not believe his eyes. He fell at the feet of Yama
and told him, “Sir, All that I wanted was to see you. I do not want
anything. I will now run to my teacher Gurudev and ask him, whether he
wants anything.” Yama agreed. Bhola ran to the house of Gurudev .He
was sleeping at that time. Bhola woke him up and asked him , “Sir , I
chanted the Mantra that you told me and now the God has come before
me. Sir, do you want anything?”

Gurudev laughed at him and replied, “You fool, you do not know
anything. How can God come before you? If you think the person who
has come before you is God, ask him, to make my house in to a tank and
also ask him to take away half of my beard.” Bhola ran to Yama and
asked him the boons as told by his Gurudev. Yama knew that Bhola was
innocent and told him. It will be like that. I also bless you to become a
very intelligent mean who is liked by all Gods.” As soon as Yama told
this, half the beard of Gurudev Vanished and instead of his house he
was swimming in a tank.

Bhola became very intelligent and wrote lot of poems,. Now Rohan tell
me what is the moral of this story? Rohan told, “You should do
everything in this world with complete faith. This is true to praying god
also.” Maithree agreed. Thatha added, “This is also one of the methods
of attaining God. Meditate but with full faith and forgetting everything.”

Meditation is difficult

Maithree was at Thatha’s bed side when he woke up. She asked him,
“Yesterday thatha, you told us that just by meditating with faith we can
attain God. This seems to be the easiest method for me.” Rohan joined
in the discussion, “ I agree with Maithree Akka.”

Thatha replied, “I will tell you the story of Narada and then you can
decide how easy it is to meditate. Sage Narada was the son of God
Brahma. He was always chanting without stopping the name of Lord
Vishnu. Naturally he thought that he was the greatest devotee of Vishnu
and became very proud because of that. One day he met Lord Vishnu
and asked him, “God, who is your greatest devotee.” God Vishnu
replied, “Ofcourse I have several devotees but the greatest among them
is Krishna the wood cutter.” Narada was taken aback and asked Lord
Vishnu, “ I have never heard of this Krishna , the wood cutter. I would
like to see him .”

Lord Vishnu told sage Narada, “ Go to the city of Madurai and go to the
locality of poor people. There you would see Krishna , the wood cutter.”

Sage Narada immediately went to Madurai and located the house of

Krishna the wood cutter. Krishna was a very poor man. He had ten
children.. Early morning as soon as he woke up, he said, “I salute Lord
Vishnu.” Then he went to cut wood. In the evening he sold the wood in
the market. With that money, he would buy food for his children. After
all of them ate food and before sleeping, Krishna would again say, “I
salute Lord Vishnu.” Sage Narada observed him for a few more days.
Except for two times a day Krishna never even thought of Lord Vishnu.
He rushed to Lord Vishnu and told him, “God , were you playing tricks
with me. I am chanting your name all the 24 hours. Krishna the wood
cutter, remembers your name only twice a day. Still you consider him a
great devotee?” Goldy, who normally is silent became very angry.

She shouted, “ I support Narada. How can Krishna be greater than

Narada?”. Thatha preferred to continue.” Then God Vishnu gave a glass
full of oil to Sage Narada. You take this oil , wherever you go. If a drop
of it falls on the ground, you will become a monkey. Come and meet me
after ten days,” Sage Narada took the glass full of oil and wandered
everywhere. He was very careful. After ten days he again met Lord
Vishnu. Lord Vishnu asked him, “Great sage, I am glad that you have
come back. In these ten days, how many times you saluted me?” Sage
Narada angrily shouted, “Ofcourse not even once .Throughout I was
seeing that not a drop of oil falls from this glass. How can I think or
even salute you?” Lord Vishnu replied, “Sage , poor Krishna in spite of
much more difficult work than you, always remembered me twice a day.
That is why he is a greater devotee than you.” Rohan seem to
understand, “When I am studying my lessons in the school, I never
remember you Thatha.”

Maithree also agreed, “That is true thatha. Yesterday when I went picnic
with my friends, I did not remember about you at all.” Goldy added,
“Yesterday , mummy gave me a full packet of Kurkure. Till I finished, I
did not remember you Thatha.” Maithree concluded, Moral of the story is
“Meditation is not easy.”