Akhandjyoti-Englishmay Jun03
Akhandjyoti-Englishmay Jun03
Akhandjyoti-Englishmay Jun03
Whatever the Khalifa would get during the day, he used to distribute all among the
helpless children, the needy people, and the saints and fakir. This was his principle of life.
Retaining something in self-possession was a sin in his eyes. He was such a devoted
believer in God that he would never care for tomorrow. He would sleep empty handed; the
dawn of the next day would again bring him lots of wealth and resources in the form of
taxes, gifts, donations etc, from the visitors. Once he fell ill. His wife distributed the alms on
his behalf. She kept five Dinars (Arabian currency) with her to meet the emergent needs
in view of the Khalifa’s ill health. What would they do without a penny if there were any
urgency at mid night…..? It was this concern that prompted her to break the Khalifa’s
principle that day.
It is said that the Khalifa could not sleep that night… ; He was feeling unusually
restless. Later in the night, he told his wife that it was an unprecedented experience and
that he had never felt so uneasy; his mind is perplexed and bemused. “Have we committed
any mistake? Has any thing gone wrong today? I always used to get blissful sleep. But,
today…? It is not because of any bodily ailment. My restlessness appears to be like that of
most rich men engrossed in possessing more and more. They keep turning sides on the
bed and hardly get any good sleep. The barefoot chap like me never had to worry about
any thing in the night”. Suddenly a doubt fleshed across his mind. He asked his wife ––
“Have we committed some sin? Have you retained something in stock somewhere today”?
Poor wife! With tears in her eyes she uttered the truth and showed him the five gold coins,
which she had kept for his treatment in case of an emergency. Khalifa was shocked to
hear it and screamed – “What have you done? It is a breach of faith. This act of yours will
blot all my credibility. With what face I will face my God?” It was past midnight….; Moments
later, there was a knock at the door. His wife saw a beggar there. Khalifa said – “Look! If a
taker can come at mid night, why can’t a giver…? So why do you worry?” His wife happily
donated the five gold coins to the beggar in front of the Khalifa. Now they both felt relieved!
It is said that the Khalifa slept in ultimate peace that very night. It is truly rare to find such
great saints, such great examples of absolute faith in the grace of God….
After the discourse, disciple Vartantu raised a doubt before his teacher, Acharya
Sumedha. This is usually the doubt of most us who are not conversant with the basis of
the Gurukul system of teaching. He asked – “Respected Acharyashri, intellectual sharpness
is supposed to be the basis of knowledge acquisition. But, why are then self-restraint
and self-discipline given so much importance in our school?” Achary Sumedha told the
student that he could get the answer at the right time.
Several months passed, One day, while Acharya Sumedha took his disciples for
an excursion tour, they all halted near the beautiful banks of The Ganga in a forest. It was
sunset time and they were all engrossed in watching the golden reflections in the majestic
flow of the Holy River. Suddenly the Acharya asked – “Dear children, do you know where
from the Ganga begins its journey and where it ends?” His most brilliant disciple Vartantu
replied instantly – “It originates from Gomukha in the Himalayas and merges in the Bay
of Bengal at Gangasagar”. The Acharya again raised a question – “Could it traverse such
a long distance without being bounded by the two banks?” “Not at all! Then its waters
would be spread haphazardly and disastrously flood over large areas of its basin creating
a havoc. None of its enormous benefits would then be available to anyone” – replied
Vartantu. “Good” said the Acharya and further continued – “Dear Vartantu, your own
reply answers your question asked the other day. The potentials and talents latent within
you all (the students) would also get frittered away without the bounds of self-discipline
and self- restraint. Your bodies and minds will be drained of the vibrancy, vigor and
talents latent within you without the transmuting process of s³dhan³
s³dhan³. In that case you
won’t be able to achieve anything worthwhile in this precious life. Strict discipline is,
therefore, a must for the accession of knowledge and its manifestation in a glorious life.
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