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Story 4: Yes, No, Very Good

     A villager picked up a little English by overhearing others speak in that language. He memorized the words he heard most often: "Yes", "No" and "Very good." Though he did not understand the meaning of these words, he liked to use them in his speech because it made him appear erudite. People gave him respect as soon as they heard him uttering English words.

     A murder was committed in the village. During the police investigation, the villagers were questioned one by one. When our dabbler in English was brought before the chief of criminal investigation, he thought he would impress him by demonstrating the few English words he knew. The detective was an imposing man and saw little need to waste time on niceties with country yokels, so he asked (in Bengali), "Did you commit this murder?"

     "Yes", replied the villager proudly.

     "Did you have help in this crime from anyone else?" the detective asked again.

     "No", came the prompt reply.

     "You are under arrest. Handcuff him and take him to jail."

     As the police closed in around him, the villager excitedly protested: "Very good! Very good!"

     This story illustrates the foolishness of persons who pretend, without qualification, to be authorities in bhakti and who parrot stock phrases from the scriptures about which they have no factual realization. Despite their self-satisfied babbling of pious platitudes, they suffer imprisonment in the merciless clutches of illusion.

Story 5: Honey and the Foolish Bumblebee

     Once a silly bumblebee flew up to a clear glass jar of honey. "Wonderful!" he exclaimed to himself. "All that honey- now I shall enjoy it." Again and again the bee licked the glass, but tasted not a drop of honey. But so much was he in the illusion of being the enjoyer that he finally alighted upon the top of the jar and proclaimed to the other bees buzzing around, "This honey is incomparably delicious!"

     Similarly, materialistic persons sometimes try to become the enjoyers of Krsna-bhakti. They chant and dance with great vigor and recite the poems of Candidas and Vidyapati with showy emotions. But the true taste of pure devotion remains unknown to them. They remain captivated by lust for physical gratification.

     Another explanation of this example is that it shows the foolishness of the enemies of Vaisnavism. Ravana, the enemy of Rama, tried to capture Sita, but all he got was an illusiory shadow of Sita. There was a brahmana named Kalapahadh who converted to Islam; he was a famous breaker of temples and destroyer of Deities. Just as the bee thought that by tasting the glass he had tasted the honey, so this person thought that by breaking the Deity he had broken the God of the Hindus. But this can be compared to the tearing up of a map of India--only a fool thinks, "Now India is finished!"

Story 6: Seeing the Sun at Night

     A wealthy landlord was known for his fanciful whims; thus he was surrounded by sycophants who stood ready (in hopes of reward) to help him fulfill even the most silly and unrealistic wish.

     One evening the landlord gazed at the new moon sky and wondered aloud, "Is there a way to see the sun on a dark night like tonight?"

     One of his "loyal" flatterers spoke up instantly. "When you our lord desires, it must be fulfilled. Certainly the world will will resound all the more with your glories when this visionary undertaking is accomplished. I shall return in a moment with the means by which your desire may be fulfilled." He scampered off and returned a few minutes later with a huge oil lantern. Lighting it with a flourish, he held it up high.

     "Please have a look into the sky now, my lord. Can you now see the sun with the aid of this bright flame?"

     Two crafty fellows among the landlord's good-for-nothing associates saw their chance. "Ah, put down that lamp, you fool," they cried. "You mock our lord's intelligence. That lantern is too weak to reveal the sun on such a night as this. But we have access to a powerful searchlight mounted on a truck. Give us time, oh lord, and we shall return with it and satisfy your sublime desire." Getting the landowner's nod, they rushed off.

     Some time later they returned in a flatbed truck that had a big searchlight and generator mounted on the back. Revving up the generator motor, they flashed a powerful beam of light into the dark firmament above and played it about. "Just tell us, master, when you catch a glimpse of the sun and we shall focus this light upon it", they called to the landlord.

     Then a new voice spoke, one of a real well-wisher of the landlord. "All the artificial light in the whole world will not help you see the sun, my friend. It is by the power of the sunshine alone than the sun becomes visible. Don't waste your time in these useless attempts."

     And the same is true of the attempt to understand the Supreme Lord. If that attempt is by some artificial power, it will come to no use at all. God reveals Himself to us by His own power which manifests through Guru and Vaisnava.

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