An ant clutched half a grain of rice in its jaws and was running along the first enclosure to the Mandir in Prasanthi Nilayam.
"I want to offer it to the Lord," she has proudly exclaimed before starting the adventure. "Are you sure He will accept?"
Her astonished friend had questioned, "Why Not? A rice grain, a leaf - God accepts everything that is offered with a sincere heart. Do you not know even that much, how silly."
And off she went strutting in the pleasant morning sun. Half way along the wall, she confronted a senior ant.
"What brought you here, sweetheart?" The older ant was more than interested in the early guest.
"Oh! Sai Ram. Today is my birthday, so I brought this unnecessarily."
"Give it to me, I'll offer it on your behalf."
"No, please," was the astonished reply. "It is my birthday."
"No, you cannot, you do not know the procedure. Swami likes people to be disciplined," said the senior ant.
In the tussle, the new black one was thrown into a crevice. The older ant bit off a part of the rice ad disappeared.
Moaning and limping, the younger ant picked up her share. It looked so miserably small and dirty. She could have cried out but there was no time for personal sorrows. Six inches more and she was almost strangled by a scurrying foot that stalked towards Darshan.
Now dirty and tired, she dragged her body forward, hiding under the sand or a slit between two slabs of stones. She no longer cared for her appearance or her offering. The only desire was to have a glimpse of he Lord, maybe just a flutter of His robe.
The wall between her and the door seemed unending and the entrance was still a long, long way off.
"Oh, Lord of Creations," she looked ahead and sighed, "Oh, Lord of Creations, how many more tests to reach you?"
Story by Dr.Zeba Bashiruddin
SS July 1996
No comments:
Post a Comment