The Following Article was Published in the Fall of 1997 in "Aromatic Thymes" magazine

Transformational Stories During Times of Change
by Krishna Madappa

The Creator is perfect and possesses perfect power.
Whence is created perfect nature?
The perfect universe derives life from the perfect Creator.
Let us comprehend this perfect power that bestows life on all beings.
Atharva Veda 10.8.29

Stories are the foundation of civilization. They have nourished man throughout history - as far back as the Aborigines of Australia. In India, stories were interwoven into the daily fabric of life molding one's Being. They were imparted by one's parents and passed down from generation to generation. There were also sages (wise men) who taught in Gurukulas (centers of learning) who shared India's rich heritage of narratives. As a result, these stories and their lessons permeated into every little village.

One of these wise men was Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa who shared his divine insight during the Nineteenth Century. His stories are universal in content and embrace all humanity. Mahatma Gandhi said of Sri Ramakrishna, "His, is a life of pure religion in practice. His life enables us to see God face to face." In Sri Ramakrishna, we see what Bertrand Russell demands of modern man - the flowering of knowledge into wisdom, without which "increase of knowledge will be increase of sorrow."
We shall have the divine pleasure to share a few of his story teachings in this issue. Most of these stories were imparted to me by my mother, after we had had our frankincense bath. (This may be why they are fresh in the field of the mind!) When I share these stories with my children, it's after their footbath at night. In their bath are usually combinations of oils, usually frankincense, myrrh, sandalwood, cardamom, marjoram and jasmine (grandiflora or sambac) to name a few.

Transformational Stories During Times of Change
by Krishna Madappa


Story 1:
The Ascetic and His Loincloth

In a forest near a village lived a sage and his disciple. Most of their time was spent in prayer, meditation and the recitation of the Vedas. One morning, after their prayers, the sage said to his disciple," My son, I am going on a pilgrimage and will be gone awhile. Remember what you have been taught and above all lead a simple life." The disciple invoked the blessings of his Guru and acknowledged his advice. The sage departed.

One morning, as usual, the disciple washed his loin cloth in the river after he was finished bathing. When he was done, he hung the cloth on the limb of a tree in front of the hut to dry. He put his spare loin cloth on and went into the village to seek alms. (In India, we consider giving alms to those seeking spiritual enlightenment as a sacred act.) Upon his return, he was surprised to find his freshly cleaned his loincloth in tatters, shredded by rats.

The following day he was given a new loincloth from those in the village where he sought alms. Thus, he resumed his practice and as usual, after his bath, he washed his loincloth. This time he decided to hang the cloth on the thatched roof of his hut. Yet, upon his return from his meditation, he found his loincloth in tatters once again! Enough! Obtaining a cat became of foremost importance. A cat was soon acquired and that cat had a jolly good time chasing all the rats.
After a time, the disciple grew quite attached to the cat and wanted the very best for it. He decided to get a cow, so the cat would never be in want for milk. So, he purchased a cow. But in a short time the cow's needs started to grow and its demand for food increased. To accommodate the needs of the cow, the disciple decided to cultivate the land around the hut and he soon had a prolific crop of rice. Well, now he needed some way to store the grain and the hay and so he hired workers to build some storage barns. One thing led to another and before long, the disciple found himself in the company of landlords. He had many cats, many cows, fields of grain, storage barns and eventually, a nice brick house, a wife, children... etc., etc., etc.

Quite awhile later the sage returned from his pilgrimage and found the face of his hermitage transformed. Instead of a hut, there was a large brick house with opulent gardens, stables, barns and irrigated rice paddy fields. The sage feared for his disciple convinced that some rich person had driven his poor disciple away, confiscated the hermitage and built a large estate in its place. At that moment a worker came out of the house and the sage asked, "Where is my his humble disciple?" The disciple saw his Guru outside, ran out and prostrated himself at his feet. The sage asked "My son, what is all this? I left you leading the simple life of an ascetic. I returned to find you surrounded by wealth and possessions. How did this happen?" The disciple answers, "OM Gurudev, it all began with a simple loin-cloth. I needed to protect it from the rats. I needed a cat and then there was no end to my needs. FORGIVE me, Gurudev!!!"


Story 2:
The Fisherman Who Pretended To Be A Holy Man

One magnificent moonlit night, a fisherman climbed the wall of a private estate to partake in the bounty of its fish stocked pond. He moved with stealth and upon reaching the banks of the pond observed with keen alertness that there was no activity in the bungalow nearby. All the lights were out. With an air of confidence he envisioned his fishing needs taken care of for the week and cast his net into the pond making a light splash. The master of the house remarked to his wife in a deep stupor, "Did you hear a sound outside?" His wife remarked, "My dear, it sounded like a net falling into the water." In seconds the owner sprang out of his stupor and visualizing his pond devoid of fish yelled, "THIEF! THIEF!" The servants of the house, hearing the master yell, scrambled outside towards the pond.
The fisherman gathered the net as swiftly as he tossed it and scrambled to find a safe hiding place. The workers voices were nearing and the fisherman's desperation knew no bounds. His eyes caught a glimpse of a smoldering fire and got an idea. He immediately gathered ash and rubbed it over his arms, body and face, (These are metaphorical connections to life's transformations in Hindu beliefs) and he quickly sat under the nearest tree in the posture of one in meditation. When the servants arrived at the scene and saw a man in meditation, they asked for forgiveness and continued their search. Finally, they reported back to the owner to tell him that there was only a sanyasin (holy man)in the garden.
The owners face lit up and he asked to be taken to the site of the sanyasin. Upon seeing sanyasin, he was overjoyed and demanded that the holy man not be disturbed. The fisherman's fear turned to joy and then to pride as to how smart he was to outwit the entire household. He sat under the tree till the shades of dawn began to sweep across the night sky.
As he was preparing to leave he saw a small procession of people approaching who had heard of "the holy man". Now he could under no circumstances leave. These people had all come from a neighboring village and with total devotion brought offerings of food, fruit, silver and gold to invoke the blessings of the "Holy Man!!"
At this very moment the fisherman realized that if by assuming the role of a holy man that he received so much respect and good will... how much more respect and good will would he receive if he were to truly be a sanyasin. So the fisherman thief turned in his net and became a true man of God!


Story 3:
The Great Saint

One night, as a great saint lay prostrate on a village road, a thief came upon him. The thief observed a long, gray haired, form lying on the ground and came closer to observe and investigate. In moments, he arrived at the conclusion that this person robbed some house in the neighborhood and ran and ran as fast as he could until, out of sheer exhaustion, he fell flat on his face to the ground. The thief, thinking that the police may arrive at any moment, decided to run away.
A while later a drunken man staggered along and upon observing the saint prostrate on the ground thought of the motionless form, "I wonder who this person is camping here in the middle of the night. Alas you had a sip too many and your legs became watery. At least I can walk and not stumble like you." and he wobbled along his merry way.
Soon a sage comes walking by and observed the calm, serene posture of the great saint in deep meditation lying on the ground. The sage, while massaging the feet of the great saint remarked " Here you lie on a dusty roadside, but your heart is pure and full of love for God. Hari OM!!"
An owl observing these vignettes, remarked, "And so is he, for we see in others, what we are ourselves."


Story 4:
Nature and Life

High on a mountain top, a little spring of water began to issue forth from the ground and started it's journey downward. As she flowed, the land she touched became nourished and lushness of vegetation prevailed. Soon her pathway became vibrant with the colors of flowers and foliage. The diversity of life forms flourished because of the presence of this magnificent stream. Humans, animals, birds, insects... all sung songs of gratitude while the stream continued her journey.
Suddenly gigantic boulders crashed down upon the pathway of the stream. With firm politeness she caresses the newcomers and continued her flow with renewed amplitude over and around the rocks, nurturing and nourishing the pathway. The ground opened and suddenly the stream disappeared until, lo and behold, it emerged at another part of the mountain. Her journey continued caressing and bestowing her lush embrace all along her path Finally, the stream approaches the base of the mountain surrounded by a vast desert, the grand vestiges of billions of years of history, where very few live to tell the tale!!!!
At this moment a voice whispers to the stream "My friend, transform, or you will cease to be.!!!" The stream pays no heed and continues her journey. As she begins to enter the fringes of the desert and she finds that the force of her flow is being impaired. Again, she hears the voice whisper a bit louder, "My friend, TRANSFORM, or you will CEASE TO BE!"
Immediately the stream shot back indignantly, "Why, should I transform? I, who nourished the mountain and provided for the myriad life forms that have flourished in my pathway - the joy and beauty and happiness I gave to all. Me TRANSFORM! NEVER!"
The flow of the stream became less and less until soon it became nothing more than a trickle absorbed by the hot sand like a blotter. Finally in a moment of great anxiety and shear desperation she cried out, "Transform? BUT HOW?"
Then softly the voice said, "Just let go!"
With no other choice, the stream l let go and began transforming immediately. She evaporated into the atmosphere, caught up by the winds and formed into glorious nimbus and cumulus clouds. Electrical charges cracked through the atmosphere releasing her once again in the form of rain over another mountaintop. There she began her journey all over again!
These are just a few in the volumes of stories which cause us to ponder and reflect on the true significance of life hidden in our daily routines.