'Like' us on Facebook

Follow us:

Posted on: July 04, 2019

ACTING ON A GOOD THOUGHT

Long ago there lived a man who was known as Rayana Bhaskara in Andhra Pradesh. He was a minister to a king. He was shrewd and intelligent, and gave good counsel to the king whenever needed. By nature he was very kind and charitable. He could never say ‘no’ to anyone who came to him for help. He gave away charities with both hands without thinking of the next day.

Rayana Bhaskara became famous and at the same time poorer. At last he died leaving very little property behind. His son too died at a young age leaving a wife and son behind. This son's wife, the young widow, somehow maintained her son by working for others and yet was very particular that he should be properly educated. Thus she sent the boy to the school in the village. The teacher in the school knew the greatness of the grandfather and was very sympathetic to the boy and taught him with great love.

One day a visitor came to the school from a far-off place. He was a renowned poet who was honoured richly by Rayana Bhaskara many years earlier. So when the poet came to the native place of his erstwhile benefactor, he could not but mention the fact to the teacher and praise the grand old man.

The teacher was very happy to hear this and mentioned to the poet, “Sir, this boy is the grandson of Rayana Bhaskara.” When the poet saw the boy who very much resembled his grandfather, he was beyond himself with emotion. Shedding tears of joy he immediately burst into poetry and went on singing the glories of the grandfather in the class.

Giving Away Gold in a Trice

The boy felt very proud that he was the grandson of a great man who was still remembered by his beneficiaries. Full of pride and with great joy, he immediately took out a golden bracelet from his wrist and presented it to the poet who was stunned at his munificence. He knew that the same blood which flowed in the grandfather flowed in the grandson too. He praised the boy gratefully and left.

The teacher and the boy's classmates were also taken by surprise. They were full of admiration for the boy who was so charitable though he was poor. All were happy and praised him for his generosity but he was greatly perturbed.

In a sudden impulse he had given away the golden bracelet. What would his mother say? He knew that they were in difficult circumstances financially. Would she not be angry about his impulsive act?

Troubled by these thoughts the boy kept away from home as long as possible and slowly reached home after dusk. He hid his left hand under his shirt so that his mother would not notice the absence of the bracelet on the wrist. As she was busy with her work she did not notice anything amiss until dinner time.

As the boy sat to take his food, she served the meal. He started eating but he was careful not to bring out the left hand even to drink water. He kept the hand under his shirt all the while. Seeing this, the mother asked, “What happened to your hand? Why are you hiding it?”

She bent down and pulled out his left hand. Then the whole story came out. In halting and hesitating tones the frightened boy explained how he gave away the bracelet to the poet. As the mother listened to the narration, her face became crimson with anger. She accosted him, “You silly fool! What did you do?”

The boy burst into tears and begged, “Mother, please don't get angry with me. I gave it away on a sudden impulse without thinking. Tomorrow morning I shall go to the poet and request him to give back the bracelet to me.”

On hearing this, the mother was much troubled and cried out, “Oh son! What are you saying? Do you think that I am angry with you for giving away the bracelet? Not at all! Your impulse was very good.”

The son was puzzled and asked, “Then why did you shout at me?”

The Glory of Mothers of Yore

The mother looked into his eyes and said, “My dear, your grandfather was a very great man and never did things in half. Having been born as his grandson, how can you be so narrow-minded as to give only one bracelet and keep the other one for yourself? You ought to have given away both the bracelets to the poet so that he could have worn the pair together.”

The boy jumped in joy and exclaimed, “Is that so, Mother? Nobody told me that I should give away the two together. Otherwise I would not have been so mean as to keep one. Anyway, not much harm is done. The poet is still in our town. Tomorrow I shall find out where he stays. I will go and give him the other one also.”

The mother smiled and said, “No son, we should not postpone good deeds till the next day. Who knows what is going to happen tomorrow? We may die or he may die. Or the mind being so fickle, we may change our mind by tomorrow. So the best thing to do is to find out now itself and give the bracelet to the poet tonight.”

Inspired and encouraged by the mother, the boy immediately went to his teacher's house, found out where the poet was staying and went to meet him. The poet was surprised to see him at that late hour. But when he understood why the boy came he was overwhelmed with joy.

He was filled with admiration for the boy and his mother. “How can they be so generous in their poverty too!” he wondered.
Having done the correct thing the boy returned home with a light heart and his mother welcomed him with a glowing smile.

Once during a conversation with students in the portico, Prof Anil Kumar had an interesting interaction with Bhagawan.

Prof Anil Kumar: Swami, students are very happy that Swami has distributed clothes once more. It is like a bonus!

Swami: What I am giving now is extra. God always gives in abundance even for the little good things that man does. When the Kauravas humiliated Draupadi, she chanted Lord Krishna's name and was saved by Him. Draupadi used only a bit of her sari to help Krishna when He was wounded earlier. This small act of Draupadi was the cause for Krishna safeguarding her honour later in the Kaurava court.

Prof Anil Kumar: Swami, You distributed the clothes as soon as they arrived.

Swami: Yes. You must always do good things immediately. Otherwise, your mind may change and you may decide something else. But while doing any bad thing you must think many times.

Therefore let us never postpone the execution of a good thought. Let us never miss the opportunity to benefit from the power of that pure idea. Let us fill the world with the glorious ramifications of our virtuous deeds.

Illustrations: Mr Sriram Santhanam

Thank you and loving Sai Ram,
Team Radio Sai

What are your impressions about this article? Please share your feedback by writing to h2h@radiosai.org or listener@radiosai.org . Do not forget to mention your name and country please.