What Prayer Means to Me - Pt. 2

From a young age, I became a regular Bal Vikas student in the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation in Africa.  Our Bal Vikas Gurus taught us to always pray "Lokaa Samasthaa Sukhino Bhawanthu" which means "May everyone in the whole world be happy and at peace."  This is the most selfless prayer we can offer to God for the wellbeing of the whole world.

It gives peace and also courage.  Once a bull was running very fast.  People ran fearing its horns, except for a little girl who said, "To flee like cowards is not the way to tackle a situation.  The beast should be brought under control."

"Who has the courage to touch him?" asked a tall man.

The little girl said, "I will."

With the name of God on her lips, she caught hold of the bull's horns and stopped him.  Responding to her fearless, loving touch, the bull turned meek.

Years later, that little girl, Lakshmi Bai, became famous as the legendary queen of Jhansi for her heroic resistance to British Rule in India.

(By Swapna Raghu, author of "Pearl off Divinity & Tryst with Divinity" - Spiritual Impressions July-August 2001)