Baba's Storytime - The Power of Faith

In yet another discourse in Brindavan in April 1997, Swami emphasised the power of faith that is total.  It is not erudition that counts.  What matters is the sincerity of the devotee and his firm faith that God will respond to his entreaty.  Swami related by way of illustration the story of an unlettered cowherd.

 

One day, while grazing his cattle on the bank of a river, the cowherd saw a pandit doing what appeared to him as a breathing exercise while uttering some words.  Driven by curiosity, he approached the pandit and asked him what he was doing and for what purpose.  The latter said: "I am doing pranayama to control my breath.  I am chanting the Gayatri mantra.  I am doing this in the hope that God will be pleased and appear before me some day."  The cowherd asked: "Can I also do this?"  The pandit smiled and said: "Why not?"

The cowherd started doing the same exercise everyday.  Though he had not been taught the nuances of practising pranayama, he attempted it in his own crude way.  He struggled with control of the breath.  He chanted the mantra without knowing the words correctly.  His intense faith in the pandit's words kept him going.

A long time elapsed but he did not lose heart.  One day, Lord Narayana appeared before him.  The cowherd did not know who He was and asked Him.  Lord Narayana said: "I am God.  I am before you in answer to your prayerful exercises."  The cowherd said: "I do not know you.  I will go and get my guru to come here and identify you."  Les Narayana should go away in his absence, the cowherd bound Him to a tree with a rope and set out to bring the pandit.  

The pandit hesitated to accompany the cowherd, but yielded to his pleading.  When he came with the cowherd, he could not see anyone there in the form of God or man.  The cowherd who could see Narayana, cried out: "Unless you show your form to him and he confirms that you are God, how shall I believe you?"

For a fleeting moment, Lord Narayana revealed His form to the pandit.  Dazzled by the effulgent vision of the Lord, the pandit fell at the feet of the cowherd and said: "You have taught me the truth.  You are really my guru."

(Sanathana Sarathi - June 1997)