Dr.Commander Selvam

This was a
beautiful act, was it not? But alas it proved to be the spiritual downfall of
Bharata. He now became very fond of his deer child. He looked after it with
paternal care, fed it soft green grass and juicy fruits till it grew up, to be
a beautiful deer. Now it so happened that, instead of turning more and more
towards God, his mind turned more and more towards his deer. In the evening
when he should have been, meditating upon the Lord, he would anxiously be
waiting for the deer to come back from its rompings in the forest. He would sit
at the door of his hermitage, in deep concern, and wonder, “O why has my little
one has not come home yet? Is it in trouble? Has a tiger attacked it and eaten
it up?”
Once, a
robber chief wanted to offer a sacrifice to the goddess Bhadrakali, as he
wanted to be blessed with a son. But it, so happened that the victim whom they
had got because it was a human sacrifice untied himself and ran away. The Band
of robbers looked high and low for him but all in vain. After much searching,
they came across the insane looking Bharata sitting under a tree, watching and
keeping guard over a field. They caught him and took him to their chief, who
was pleased to see such a strong looking man as a victim for the sacrifice. The
robbers then bathed Bharata in fragrant waters, gave him new clothes. They
adorned him with gold ornaments, sandalwood paste, flower garlands, and fed him
a good meal. Then they took him and tied
him to a post. The fires were lit and as the mantras were being chanted, the
chieftain drew out his sword and raised it to cut off Bharata’s head. Bhadrakali,
the goddess, could bear this no longer. In her fury she emerged out of her
statue and snatched away the weapon from the hand of the chief. Then, still
trembling with rage, she chopped off his head as well as the heads of all his
kinsmen. Then she set Bharata free. Bharata, whose mind was so absorbed in God
that he did not even know that he had just been saved from a terrible death,.
One day, it
so happened that the palanquin of king Rahugana was passing by. One of the
bearers of the palanquin suddenly fainted and Bharata, who was sitting quietly,
under a tree, was forced to take his place. He took the poll of the palanquin
and placed, it on his shoulder but his step was unsteady. For his heart was
full of mercy, and he walked slowly, lest he should tread upon an ant or a
beetle. Now, it must have been terribly uncomfortable to be carried in a
jolting palanquin. King Rahugana looked out and saw that his new bearer,
although strong and sturdy, was constantly hopping and jerking. So he called
out and said, “Fool, put down the pole and rest a while if you are tired though
you look to me as strong as two oxen put together”.
“One
cannot attain this knowledge by studying the Vedas, nor by penance, nor by
performing good deeds, but by being in the company of the pure and the holy. The
world is like a thick, dark forest where men have lost their way. In this
jungle there are robbers and bandits, who rob them of their most valuable
possessions. The robbers and bandits are none other than the sense objects and
their experiences which rob the man of his, true heritage his own divine
nature. Hungry and thirsty man looks around for something that will satisfy
him. He sees a mirage and runs towards it. But alas! How cans he, quench his
thirst, at the waters of a mirage? So, round and round the forest, he goes with
hungry and thirsty.
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