Akbar Birbal Stories are one of my all time favourite reads - full of wit and wisdom. I happened to read a bunch of them during my recent journey.Its amazing to see how Birbal handles different situations and people (including the King :-)) so skillfully and gets away with it. Posting one of the stories here. Read on...
Akbar came to the throne when he was only thirteen years old. In the years that followed, he built on of the greatest empires of his time. He lived in unimaginable splendour. He was surrounded by courtiers who agreed with every word he said, who flattered him and treated him as if he were a god. Perhaps it was not surprising that Emperor Akbar was sometimes arrogant and behaved as if the whole world belonged to him. One day, Birbal decided to make the great emperor stop and think about life.
That evening as the emperor was going towards his palace, he noticed a sadhu lying in the centre of his garden. He could not believe his eyes. A strange sadhu, in ragged clothes, right in the middle of the palace garden? The guards would have to be punished for this, thought the emperor furiously as he walked over to the sadhu and prodded him with the tip of his embroidered slipper. "Here, fellow!" he cried. "What are you doing here? Get up and go away at once!"
The sadhu opened his eyes. Then he sat up slowly. "Huzoor," he said in a sleepy voice. "Is this your garden, then?"
"Yes!" cried the Emperor. "This garden those rose bushes, the fountain beyond that, the courtyard, the palace, this fort, this empire, it all belongs to me!"
Slowly the sadhu stood up. "And the river, Huzoor? And the city of Agra? And Hindustan?"
"Yes, yes, it's all mine", said the emperor. "now get out!"
"Ah", said the sadhu. "And before you, Huzoor. Who did the garden and fort and city belong to then?"
"My father, of course", said the emperor. In spite of his irritation. he was beginning to get interested in the sadhu's questions. he loved philosophical discussions and he could tell, from his manner of speaking, that the sadhu was a learned man.
"And who was here before him?" the sadhu asked quietly.
"His father, my father's father, as you know."
"Ah", said the sadhu. So this garden, those rose bushes, the palace and the fort all this has only belonged to you for your lifetime. Before that they belonged to your father, am I right? And after yours time they will belong to your son, and then to his son?
"Yes", said the Emperor Akbar in wonder.
"So each one stays here for a time and then goes on his ways?"
"Yes."
"Like a dharmashala?" the sadhu asked. "No one owns a dharmashala. Or the shade of a tree on the side of a road. We stop and rest for a while and then go on. And someone has always been there before us and someone will always come after we have gone. Is that not so?"
"It is", Emperor Akbar quietly.
"So your garden, your palace, your fort, your empire... these are only places you will stay in for a time, for the span of your lifetime. When you die, they will no longer belong to you. You will go, leaving them in the possession of someone else, just as your father did and his father before him."
Emperor Akbar nodded. "The whole world is a dharmashala", he said slowly, thinking very hard. "In which we mortals rest awhile. That's what you are telling me, isn't it? Nothing on this earth can ever belong to a single person, because each person is only passing through the earth and must die one day?"
The sadhu nodded solemnly. Then, bowing to the ground, he removed his white beard and saffron turban and his voice changed. "Jahanpanah, forgive me!" he said, in his normal voice. "It was my way of asking you to think about..."
"Birbal, oh, Birbal!" the emperor exclaimed. "You are wiser than any philosopher. Come, come at once to the royal chamber and let us discuss this further. Even emperors are but wayfarers on the path of life, it is clear!"
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Lucky Me!
This is a small incident which happened, when I went for the Pancha Maha Bhoota Kshetra trip with Guruji. We were travelling in the bus and the bus had mic for announcements, bhajans. However the mic was not cordless so we had to go to the first row of the bus (almost near the driver seat) to make an announcement or to sing a bhajan. That day morning I went to share what Guruji spoke in Telugu at Kalahasti.
I finished translating and was coming back to my seat, when the driver put a real suddent break. In no time I was flat on my back in between the two columns of the bus. It was a hard fall. But to my surprise and to the surprise of the fellow passengers I got up like a spring. Really. No bruises, nothing happened. It was as though I got up from a flower bed. I felt grateful. And I thought, ofcousre I am with Guruji -this is so obvious - He caught me from falling.
But today after almost two weeks of returning from the trip - I was watching a TV show and came across a guest on the show, who injured his spinal cord during a sport and is paralysed to a great degree. Ofcourse he is helping many now and is an insipration and hope for lot of children.
Then once again this incident came up in my mind and felt grateful at the thought of how I was saved, And how I have been taken care every minute from so many situations, events and people - some known and mostly unknown.
When ever one 'feels' lucky truly from the heart, it is quite fulfilling. This is one of those moments. Lucky me! :-)
I finished translating and was coming back to my seat, when the driver put a real suddent break. In no time I was flat on my back in between the two columns of the bus. It was a hard fall. But to my surprise and to the surprise of the fellow passengers I got up like a spring. Really. No bruises, nothing happened. It was as though I got up from a flower bed. I felt grateful. And I thought, ofcousre I am with Guruji -this is so obvious - He caught me from falling.
But today after almost two weeks of returning from the trip - I was watching a TV show and came across a guest on the show, who injured his spinal cord during a sport and is paralysed to a great degree. Ofcourse he is helping many now and is an insipration and hope for lot of children.
Then once again this incident came up in my mind and felt grateful at the thought of how I was saved, And how I have been taken care every minute from so many situations, events and people - some known and mostly unknown.
When ever one 'feels' lucky truly from the heart, it is quite fulfilling. This is one of those moments. Lucky me! :-)
Friday, August 14, 2009
3 Piece Suit
We were waiting at the Thiruvannamalai resort where Guruji was staying. It was early in the morning. Guruji came out from his cottage - as fresh as a flower. He was adjusting his Angavasthra and remarked with a smile ..." Ha I am wearing a three piece suit. Brahma, Vishnu, Maheshwara - 3 piece :-)"
Saturday, January 31, 2009
A Violinist in the Metro
This is a story from 2007 that is featured in NPR and Washington Post. But I read it just today when I received it in an email. So thought, why not post it? Hope you enjoy reading it if you haven't read it before (like me:-))
Story Begins...
A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousand of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.
A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk..
A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.
The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children.. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.
In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?
One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?
To read the fascinating details of how the Washington Post experiment go to http://tinyurl.com/32a32w. It is an eye opener.
Story Begins...
A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousand of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.
A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk..
A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.
The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children.. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.
In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?
One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?
To read the fascinating details of how the Washington Post experiment go to http://tinyurl.com/32a32w. It is an eye opener.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)