Once, near the peaceful village of Vrndavana, the transcendental place where Krsna manifested His pastimes on earth, there lived a scholarly brahmana (priest) and servant of Krsna. Opposite his home, there lived a prostitute.
As a daily observance, the brahmana would sit in his doorway and recite the Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, then cook offering for the Deities in the Temple, his cooking abilities were famous throughout the land. Meanwhile, across the street, the prostitute would tend to her business.
As the years passed, the brahmana grew ever more disturbed by the prostitute.
‘Just see how lowly and disgusting she is how can such a low life ever leave her disgraceful body near the beautiful land of Vrndavana.’ He would proudly and arrogantly think to himself, then continued with his recitation while cooking various preparations.
It so happened that both the brahmana and the prostitute died at the same time. To the brahmana’s surprise, the Vishnuduttas (the Lord of Vaikuntha’s messengers) came to deliver the prostitute while the Yamadutas (the Lord of Death’s messengers) came for him.
‘What is this’? he protested to the Yamadutas.
‘There must be some mistake!’
The Yamadutas replied,
‘My dear brahmana, there is no mistake. While you were busy meditating on the lowly activities of the prostitute, she listened to you recite the Gita and prayed that she could one day elevate herself to your position.
In this way the prostitute achieved liberation while you only degraded yourself to take birth on a planet of prostitutes.’
Labels: stories
Once upon a time Narada visited Krishna. The latter stood outside His palace and invited his guest to dine with him, whereupon Narada thanked him and went to bathe in a nearby river, telling Krishna he would be back in 5 minutes.
The rishi dived into the river, but to his surprise he was immediately changed into a woman. Amazed, he touched his long hair, his breasts and his body. He still remembered that he was Narada, the great wise man, but the longer he remained in the water, the fainter this memory grew. He became Naradi, the young woman. When a young man walked along the bank of the river, she took his hand and he led her to his home, where she bore him innumerable children. Gradually, her beauty vanished. The children cried and clamored. All the troubles of life enveloped her. She became ill and old, and in this condition she cried to God. At that moment she became Narada again, and the Lord stood at the entrance of his palace. "Narada, the 5 minutes have passed. Our meal is ready!"
Narada had dived into the waters of Maya, of which Krishna is master.
Source: Journey to Unknown India, Walther Eidlitz, Page 58
According to the author, this tale is very popular in India, and a moving picture has even been made of the story, and it has run a long time at a great many cinemas throughout the country. In any case, it adequately displays the Power of Maya.
Labels: stories
