There was a devotee who felt that Seetha was his sister and Raama his brother-in-law; he loved Raama as Krishna loved Arjun! He came to know that Seetha had gone into the forest following Raama in exile; he imagined the distress she must be suffering, for want of sandals in the thorninfested jungle paths and of a cot in the snake-infested depths of the forests.
So, he went about in the jungle, with a pair of sandals and a cot, calling out, "Sister! Seetha!" long after his throat had turned hoarse. This happened a few decades ago. He took the Raamaayana as a contemporary event.
Raama appeared before him and consoled him. He fell before Him and prayed that He should accept the sandals and cot from him and use them, pleading that Seetha cannot walk on the hard thorny ground, or rather, that he would not be happy until she used them. "My dear brother-in-law," he addressed Raama fondly. Raama accepted them and asked him to leave happily.
Offerings that are made with no defilement of egoism are gladly accepted by the Lord. If you feel proud or conceited, even the most fragrant flowers placed at the Feet of the Lord will be rejected by Him as unbearably stinking.
(From the Divine Discourses of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)
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