AUM SHANTHI

Third shortcut to Sivaloga

Points to Ponder - 003

         The name of the place is Kathragama, Sri Lanka. Under a boa tree, a great saint seated in meditation for years. One day he heard the crying sound of many (oppari - in Tamil) from the south side of the village. For him this was very simple news. He immediately realized that, those who are trotting on their way to the inevitable 'death' are lamenting over another one body - the corpse, that has already reached that point. Pausing his Tapas (rigorous meditation) for a moment, the sage investigated the dead man's history. He was a simple farmer; Middle aged guy; lived with his wife and three kids according to Hindu Dharma; Died of leukemia.  By his ability of the third eye the saint got the vision that the spirit of the farmer was in heaven. He was astonished and thought that there might have been an error due to a glitch or virus in the computer of Sithraputhar's - the deity in charge of admission to heaven.

        So he seriously contemplated on the supreme lord Siva, who appeared after his 108th call. The saint politely expressed his doubt, "Oh Lord, I have been practicing the Tapas (meditation) for the last seven births, putting my whole heart, mind and soul on you and you alone. Still my Karma has not yet been resolved, so that my spirit can be liberated to reach your loga. How come this farmer who did not do any Tapas in this birth or any previous reincarnations, reached heaven straight away?" "What else did he do?" asked the Lord.

The saint replied "Of course, he performed his duties as a householder very well. In addition, in the mornings he used to say Siva, Siva while applying the holy ash on his forehead and rushed to work on his farm. Being tired in the evening, he will do the same thing also before falling into deep sleep."

         Lord says, "My dear son, I will explain that later, first I want to test your strength of meditation. Here is a pot filled with water to the brim.  Can you take this around the field, where the farmer was working, without spilling even a drop?" The saint gladly undertook the penance. With full concentration holding the pot steady, step by step, carefully circumambulated around the field as ordered by the Lord, and finally handing the pot back to the Lord.

         Lord says "You have done the Job dutifully and achieved the result. Now tell me, during this whole process how many times did you think of me or your Tapas."  The Saint replied, "Oh Lord, Your command needed all my attention, so I couldn't think of anything else."  Lord says, "Farmer too was serving me, by doing whatever he was doing in the Dharmic path - the Hindu faith."  With this Tharisanam of the Lord, the Saint was enlightened and attained Samadhi - Self realization.  Tharisanam, in Tamil = Dharshan, in Sanskrit, means receiving the grace and blessings of the venerated being, such as Satguru, Deity or God.

Some words to remember:

Dharma,  Thapas,  Karma,  Reincarnation,  circumambulate, Tharisanam,  Dharshan,  Satguru.