As you sow, so you shall reap!

cropped_kali

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Article Written by  London swaminathan

Date: 14th September 2015

Post No: 2158

Time uploaded in London :–20-05

(Thanks  for the pictures) 

 

Hindus believe in Karma theory. They know the deeds of one individual will follow the individual in his/her next birth. What a person has done in former birth, will come upon him again. There is a saying in Tamil that “He who sows millet, reaps millet, he who sows deeds (good or bad) will reap accordingly”. Hindus also believe that Brahma, the creator, has already written in one’s head what is going to happen. It cannot be changed.

“That which does not exist will not come into existence, and that which exists will not be annihilated” – is another saying. They have several stories in their folklore and scriptures. Here is a story to show that inherited fate will not expire.

There was a priest in a Kali (goddess) temple. He used to swindle money allocated to make Prasad (Food Offering) for the goddess. Even the Prasad he made for public distribution, was not distributed it to the public. Because of his overeating, he fell sick. Then he prayed to Goddess that he would sacrifice two goats to the goddess if he was cured. His illness was cured in a weeks’ time. Then he sacrificed two animals just to satisfy his hunger.

In the meantime, there was severe drought in the kingdom. So the king and the minister decided to visit the Kali temple. As soon as the priest saw the king and minister coming, he thought that they were coming to punish him for all his bad acts. So he hid himself behind the goddess Kali’s statue.

The king and the minister prayed loudly, “Oh Merciful Mother! The country is suffering from acute drought for a long time. You must save the country and the people by showering timely rain”. Then the goddess replied that she needs a human sacrifice to set things right. Immediately the king told the minister that it was the solemn duty of a king to protect his people. So let me sacrifice myself. But the minister objected to his proposal and said there are several ministers to help the king. But there is only one king so let me die for the sake of the country.

They argued like this for a long time. At last they decided to ask goddess about her choice. Before they opened their mouth, Goddess said loudly, “When I said human sacrifice I did not mean you people. Please sacrifice the priest who is hiding behind me”. Both of them got the priest and took their sword to finish him off. He also said his last prayer, “Oh, Mother! I have been serving you for half a century. And yet you wanted my blood! Why? Why?”

two-goats

Goddess said smilingly, “Dear priest! You became sick because of your over eating. And yet you found an excuse to eat more and sacrificed two innocent animals. As you sow, so shall you reap.”

The king and the minister cut off the head of the priest. Goddess appeared before them and asked what they wanted now. They told her to remove the drought by regular rain and revival of the dead priest. She did both according to their request. The priest behaved from that day. There was copious rain fall which made everyone happy.

This is a folk tale.

Tamil Story:As you sow, so shall you reap

tamil veeran

Post No 739 Dated 9th December 2013

Brahmin and the Princess

There was a Brahmin teacher who was teaching a princess in a kingdom. The princess was beautiful. The Brahmin teacher was planning to marry her by hook or crook. He was waiting for the right time to execute his evil plans.

As the years passed, one day she came of age. The king consulted the Brahmin teacher about auspicious time for the girl’s puberty ceremony. Scheming Brahmin told the king that her time of puberty was very bad and so it was not good for the king to keep her in the palace. If she is banished it would benefit both the king and the princess. He advised the king to put her in a basket and float her in the river so that she would find a safe place depending upon her luck. The king who believed the Brahmin completely did what he was told to do.

floating-box

The Brahmin went far way down stream and waited for the basket on the banks of the river. In the meantime a king from a neighbouring country came to the forest on the banks of the river for hunting. It was his lucky day that he caught a tiger quickly. He wanted to take it to his palace. As he felt very thirsty he went to the river to drink some water. When he saw a floating basket, he caught it and opened it with caution. To his surprise he found a beautiful girl, our princess! He wanted to marry her. She told him the full story.

The king wanted to revenge upon the man who did wrong to her. So he put the roaring tiger inside the basket and floated it in the river. At a distance, the Brahmin was eagerly waiting for the basket. When he saw it, he took it to a lonely place and opened it. The tiger sprang upon him and tore him to pieces.
This is a story from the Tamil work Viveka Chintamani. It is a book of verses with moral themes by an anonymous author. The moral of this story is ‘As you sow, so shall you reap’.

princess

Translated by London Swaminathan

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