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Posted on : Mar 18, 2012

The Plan of the Lord

There was a sincere and devoted sweeper in a well-known temple. Every time he saw thousands of devotees coming to see the Lord, he thought that the Lord is standing all the time and giving darshan; He must be feeling very tired.

So one day, very innocently, he asked the Lord whether he could take the place of the Lord for a day so that He can have some relief and rest. The deity replied, "I do not mind taking a break. I will transform you like Myself, but you must do one thing. You must just stand here like Me, smile at everyone and only give benedictions. Do not interfere with anything or say anything. Just have faith that I have a master plan for every situation." The sweeper agreed to this.

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The next day, the man took the position of the deity and a rich man came and prayed to the Lord. He offered a substantial donation and prayed that his business should prosper. While leaving, by mistake, he left his wallet full of money right there. Now, the sweeper in the form of the deity could not call him. So, he decided to control himself and keep quiet.

Just then, a poor man came and he put one coin in the hundi (donation box) and said that was all he could afford. He prayed to the Lord to bless him to continue to be engaged in the Lord's service.

He also said that his family was in dire need of some basic needs but he left it to the good hands of the Lord to give a solution. When he opened his eyes, he saw the wallet left by the rich man. The poor man thanked the Lord for His kindness and very innocently took the purse. Again, the sweeper-turned-God could not say anything and he had to just keep smiling.

At that point, a sailor walked in. He prayed for his safe journey as he was going on a long trip. Just then, the rich man came with the police and said that somebody had stolen his wallet. Seeing the sailor there, he asked the police to arrest him, thinking that he might have taken it. Now, the stand-in-deity wanted to say that the sailor was not the thief. But, he could not say so and he became greatly frustrated.

The sailor looked at the Lord and asked why he, an innocent person, was being punished. The rich man looked at the Lord and thanked Him for finding the culprit. Now the sweeper in the deity form could no longer tolerate the situation. He thought that even if the real Lord had been there, he would have definitely interfered. Hence he started speaking and said that the sailor was not the thief, but it was the poor man who took away the wallet. Hearing this the rich man was very thankful as also the sailor.

In the night, the real Lord came and He asked the sweeper how the day was. Immediately he replied, “I thought it would be easy, but now I know that Your days are not easy, but I did one good thing.”

Then, he explained the whole episode to the Lord. The Lord became very upset on hearing this, whereas the sweeper thought the Lord would appreciate him for the good deed done.

The Lord asked, “Why did you not just stick to the plan? You had no faith in Me. Do you think that I do not understand the hearts of all those who come here? The entire donation that the rich man gave was all stolen money; it is only a fraction of what he really has. Yet, he wants Me to reciprocate unlimitedly.

"The single coin offered by the poor man was the last rupee he was having and he gave it to Me out of faith. The sailor might not have done anything wrong, but if he had gone in the ship that night, he would have died because of bad weather. Instead, if he had been arrested, he would be in the jail and would have been saved from a greater calamity.

"The wallet should go to the poor man, because he will use it in My service. I was going to reduce the rich man's karma also by doing this and at the same time save the sailor. But, you cancelled everything because you thought you know My plan and you made your own plans."

God has plans and justice for everyone....  We just have to be patient! 

The Lord always does the best for every one of us. Most often, in our limited vision, we do not understand this.

Bhagawan once said, “The Master and Sovereign of all the Worlds, past, present and future, has more compassion than all men. He showers grace, weighing the three tenses of time, the three tiers of space, and the three traits of character. He knows best, more than any man; so, the only recourse for man is to believe that everything is His Will and be at peace, and immerse himself in the contemplation of His glory and grace.”

Here's a real incident that illustrates this amply. Mr. Ramabrahmam used to be the caretaker of Bhagawan's ashram in Whitefield, Bangalore. Just a day prior to his son's marriage, Swami asked him to cancel the marriage. Mr. Ramabrahmam had such strong faith in Baba that he implicitly obeyed Him. He went and informed the bride's family of the decision to stop the wedding.

On hearing the news, they were shocked and very angry. They gave vent to their feelings by using stern words. Mr. Ramabrahmam bore all this in silence. The next morning, unfortunately, a snake bit his son and he died. When the bride's family came to know of this, they literally fell at Mr. Ramabrahmam's feet and apologised for their harsh words. It was then that they realized why Baba had prevented the wedding. If Baba had not interferred, the girl would have become a widow on the day of her wedding itself.

Therefore, let us always remember that Bhagawan is our best well-wisher and bow to His supreme will all the time.

 Illustration: Ms. Vidya, Kuwait.

Courstesy: Adapted from 'Sri Sathya Sai Bal Vikas', May 2011.

- Radio Sai Team