Sri Krishna and Arjuna once were guests of a widow. The widow had no children, nobody. She was all alone. But she had a cow. This cow was her only means of support. She used to sell milk, and by selling milk she used to maintain her life.
She was a great devotee of Sri Krishna. When Sri Krishna and Arjuna went to visit her in disguise,
incognito, she was so happy to see these two divine guests. She fed them with whatever she had in her
house. Sri Krishna was extremely pleased with her surrendering attitude and her devotion. On their way
back, Arjuna said to Krishna,You were so pleased with her. Why didnt you grant her a boon? Why didnt you tell her that she would be prosperous soon, now that you are pleased with her?
I have already granted her the boon that her cow must die tomorrow.
What? Her only means of support? She has only the cow, and nothing else. Without the cow how can she live on earth?
Krishna answered, You dont understand me. She always thinks of the cow. The cow has to be fed, has to
milked, has to be bathed and so forth. I want her only to think of me, and when the cow is gone, she will
think of me all the time, twenty-four hours. Then soon the time will be right for me to take her away from
this world, and after a few years I will give her a better and more fulfilling incarnation. When she has
nobody on earth, not even the cow, she will try and spend all her time, day and night, in devoting herself
to me. Otherwise, this way she will linger on earth and constantly think of the cow and not of me.
Reflection
Sometimes when we are in utter difficulty, the Grace of God acts in a very peculiar way. We feel that God
becomes more cruel when we are in difficulties and sufferings.But very few people realise our problems
and sufferings are actually a blessing in disguise in developing more detachment from the world and
attaching ourselves more towards a spiritual life and God.
Until your heart has been broken to the things of this materialistic world, you can't open your heart into
the higher world.This does not mean that you have to purposely try to get your heart broken or seek trials
after trials and disasters,so that you can grow stronger from them. No. The world is very good at
creating just the right challenges for you.
Yet, isn't it amazing how even the most intensely difficult things in your life somehow fall just right
within the threshold of what you can bear or less painful than you had imagined? You may sometimes think your troubles are unbearable, but most likely, you come to a time when things get better. Everyone goes through these ups and downs of life, although the outward details and intensities change from person to person.
Learn to see troubles with a positive eye. It can be said that you choose your challenges, or that God
chooses them carefully for you so that your mind and limited self-concepts are shaken just enough — but not too much — and with rests in between.
Thanks to Siddharth Prabhu for sharing this story and moral reflection.
harishye tad-dhanam sanaih
tato 'dhanam tyajanty asya
svajana duhkha-duhkhitam
sri-bhagavan uvaca -- the Personality of Godhead said; yasya -- whom; aham -- I; anugrihnami -- favor; harishye -- I will take away; tat -- his; dhanam -- wealth; sanaih -- gradually; tatah -- then; adhanam -- poor; tyajanti -- abandon; asya -- his; sva-janah -- relatives and friends; duhkha-duhkhitam -- who suffers one distress after another.
The Personality of Godhead said: If I especially favor someone, I gradually deprive him of his wealth. Then the relatives and friends of such a poverty-stricken man abandon him. In this way he suffers one distress after another.
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