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Прочитано: 65% |
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Прочитано: 65% |
A wretched beggar stood outside the entrance to a temple, supporting his emaciated body by embracing a pillar.
A gentleman approached the temple after having bathed in the Ganges. Seeing the ragged fellow clinging to the pillar outside, the gentleman felt compassionate and purchased some popcorn. He brought it to the poor man and offered it to him. Without relaxing his embrace from the pillar, the beggar opened his palms to receive the popcorn. The gentleman poured the popcorn into his palms, and because of the beggar's awkward stance, most of the popcorn fell from his fingers to the ground. But even though the beggar could retain a few kernels in his grip, he was unwilling to let go of the pillar to bring his hands to his face to eat.
And so the astonished gentleman left the beggar as he struggled vainly to bend his head around the pillar to his hands so that he could eat the popcorn.
The beggar represents the atheist who embraces the pillar of materialism very tightly. Thus even when the benediction of God comes to them, they are in too awkward a position to receive it.
Each morning the brahmanas gathered on the bank of the holy Ganges and offered their prescribed prayers to the Lord. Each of them brought with him a copper vessel for offering water.
Unfortunately, because these copper vessels were indistinguishable from noe another, they were always getting mixed up between brahmanas. So one old brahmana got into the habit of placing a lump of clay from the riverbank in his own vessel before taking bath. That way, when he returned, he'd be able to distinguish his offering cup from the rest.
But the other brahmanas thought that the placing of a clay ball in one's cup before taking bath must be an esoteric ritual. So not wanting to appear ignorant of the fine points of brahmincal observances, they all started placing clay balls in their cups before going for bath. Thus when the old brahmana came from the river, he again found it hard to locate his own copper vessel.
"Fie on these imitators!" he groaned as he examined the different vessels, trying to pick out his own. "Without understanding the reason for anything, they just follow blindly. despite their big learning and priestly positions in society, they have no common sense."
In today's world the practice of religion is quite often like this. Most people follow sectarian customs blindly without even thinking to ask why. For instance, it has become a custom in India to address the poor as Daridra-Narayana (poor Narayana), although this term is unheard of in the scriptural tradition, and is indeed an absurdity. Still, it is blindly accepted by many, many people as religious to worship a poor man in the street as being God.
This story, which is found in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (about foolish persons who thought they saw Krsna dancing on the heads of the Kaliya serpent at night), illustrates a similar point as the previous story; but it is meant to specifically illustrate the blind acceptance of so-called incarnations who have no scriptural authority behing them and yet are accepted by masses of fools as being God.
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