Once the hermit Kalava, uttering the Mantras was just about to offer to the Sun God the water held in his palms. At that moment, a Gandharva by name Chitrasena, passing through the sky spat out the betel he was chewing not noticing the hermit worshipping below. It exactly fell into the water in the palms of the hermit. Kalava looked up and saw the Gandharva. He got terribly angry. Kalava, refrained from cursing the Gandharva since he would lose spiritual power thereby and decided to go to Sri Krishna and inform Him of the misdeed so that He may punish him. Then he went to Dwaraka and complained to Sri Krishna. He immediately gave word to the hermit Kalava that he would kill the Gandharva before sunset next day.

Meanwhile Narada went to Chitrasena and informed him of Sri Krishna's resolve to kill him before sunset next day. Narada advised him to approach and plead with Yama, Indra, Brahma and Shiva to save him. All of them decline to help. Narada again came to him. Narada told Chitrasena," Don't fear. I shall show you a better way to save yourself. Go tonight to the banks of Yamuna and weep loudly. A woman coming there will enquire the cause of your wailing. Don't let out the reason for your grief till she promises to protect you". He agreed. Meanwhile Narada approached Subhadra, the sister of Sri Krishna and the wife of Arjuna and told her," Oh Subhadra! If you want all your desires to be fulfilled and acquire great merit, bathe tonight in the Yamuna river and go to the rescue of anyone found on the river bank in distress". She agreed.

Subhadra went to river Yamuna that night along with her friends and took her bath. When she was about to return, she heard someone wailing. Subhadra went near the person who was weeping and enquired him of the cause of his distress. The person who was no other than Chitrasena, after extracting a promise from her that she would protect him, narrated to her all that happened. Subhadra told him, " Don't worry. My husband Arjuna will surely protect you".

Subhadra informed Arjuna regarding her promise to Chitrasena who agrees to fight even his dear friend Sri Krishna in order to save the life of Chitrasena.

The next day a terrific battle took place between Sri Krishna and Arjuna. Both fought untiringly. Finally Sri Krishna took up his invincible discus and Arjuna his mighty Pasupata Astra for the final showdown. At that moment, Lord Shiva appeared before them and said," O Sri Krishna, Arjuna is your devotee. So would it be fair for you create a situation in which you devotee is not able to keep up the word?". Sri Krishna accepted of Lord Shiva and stopped fighting. On hearing this the hermit Kalava became very angry and exclaimed," both of you have sided with that Gandharva who insulted me. Now I will curse him to ashes. But when the hermit took water in his hands to sprinkle on the ground to pronounce the curse, Subhadra intervenes and utters," if it be true that I have never touched even with my mind any man, other than my husband, let this water not fall on the earth." The water did not fall from the hermit's hands. How his curse bear fruit? The hermit went away dispirited.

What can anyone do before the power of a chaste woman?

Once upon a time Madurai was ruled by a great king. He was known as King with the golden hand. There is an interesting story about the golden hand.

One night when he was on his rounds in disguise, he overheard a conversation between husband and wife. The husband was leaving for far off cities to earn money and the wife was worried about her safety. The husband consoled her saying that the King protects his subjects so well and she should not fear.

The next day the brahmin Kiranthai went on a tour. The King kept a vigil outside his house every night in disguise.

Some days passed thus. Kiranthai returned home but the king did not know this. The king suddenly saw someone at the house and felt that in the absence of the brahmin someone had entered the house. To know the truth he knocked at the door of the house loudly. He then overheard the brahmin ask his wife very suspiciously, "What is this? Someone is knocking the door at this hour. Were you keeping some company while I was away?"

Hearing these words the King realized his grave mistake. He decided that he should knock all the houses in the vicinity to remove Kiranthai's suspicion.

However this knocking woke up the neighbourhood. They decided to complain to the king about the presence of the thief.

Very next day they assembled in the court and complained to the king that a new thief has sneaked into the city and he even had the audacity to knock the house doors.

Hearing this complaint the King asked the minister, "Minister, what punishment do you think should be meted out to the thief if he is found?"

The minister replied, "A severe deterrent punishment my Lord. His arm should be cut off.

Suddenly, the King pulled out his sword and cut off his own right hand.

He explained the whole story to the assembly.

The doctors later fitted a gold hand for the king. He was praised for his sense of righteousness and he came to be known as the King with Golden Hand.

There was a shoe mender called Tongston. He had a wife and a small child. One day suddenly his wife died. He felt very sad. But he started loving his child and bringing him up. When the boy was seven years old, he too died of snakebite.

Tongston lost all his interest in life. He used to sit in his house and watch through the window. He could only see the feet of the people walking. He could recognize all the shoes he had mended.

One day, a monk came and asked him to stitch his boots. Tongston replied that he had given up his job. The monk heard his whole story and said, “You want to live for your own happiness.” Tongston asked him “What else should I live for?” The monk said, “You should live for Nirvana.” “How should I live for Nirvana?” Tongston asked.

The monk said, “Give up craving for desire, personal gratification and selfish living. By this you will get Nirvana”

Tongston got interested. He asked for more teaching. The monk went on teaching.

Tongston was also mending shoes for the King. The King saw his new life and asked him about this transformation in him.

Tongton narrated everything. The king asked him to bring the monk. The monk came and the King was very much impressed.

One day the king asked he monk, “what is happiness and how can it be obtained?”

The monk replied, “There is no absolute happiness. All happiness is temporary followed by suffering. Indeed dukha is inherent in our lives. It is due to our craving for individual satisfaction that we fall in to dukha.”

The king asked how to get over it? The monk replied, “By noble 8 fold path. They are right view, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right recollection and right meditation.

The king asked, “What is suffering?” The monk replied, “Birth, ageing, disease, death and every desire unfulfilled”

“How to avoid suffering?” the King asked. “It is by stopping the thirst,” replied the monk. “Can I also see Buddha?” the king asked.

“Why not? Sit alone, with expectation – He will surely come.

The next day the King sat in the room all alone looking at the window. Till noon, no one came. It was winter cold. An old man came with a spade to clear the snow. He had not enough cloth. He started talking to him for a while and gave him ac up of tea.

Then came an old lady with a child. The King gave her food and some milk to the child.

In the night he had a dream in which he saw Buddha. Buddha told him, I live in the form of these sufferings. Serving them is serving Me.

There is no way to push him here and there, you cannot manipulate him; he remains there, utterly himself, so centred is he, so rooted is he, in his being. When one has known the fourth, turiya, then there is no distraction then one can live anywhere.

Once it happened in the days of Buddha that a beautiful prostitute fell in deep love with a Buddhist monk who had gone to beg. The woman had seen many beautiful people – she was one of the most famous prostitutes of those days – even kings used to queue at her door, and she fell in love with a monk, with a bikku, a beggar.

Sannyasins have a beauty that only Sannyasins can have; that a beauty when one walks by himself that grace – the grace of the centred one – dignity, the elegance. Just visualize the monk walking. And Buddhist monks their whole teaching consists of one thing; Be alert; be watchful. Not even a single breath has to pass your nostrils without your being aware of it.

So, absolutely watchful, meditative, he must have passed by the woman. She had seen many beautiful people, but never a man who walked by himself like this – and in the market-place, and in the whole noise, so silently as if the market did not exist. She immediately fell in love with the man. She touched his feet and asked him to come to her home and stay for this rainy season, for four months. Buddhist monks stop moving for four months. Buddhist monks stop moving for four months in the rainy season. The rains were just about to come, and the clouds were gathering, and it was time for them to stay and find shelter for four months.

So she invites him: “You come to my home. Be my guest for four months.” The monk said, “I will have to ask the Master. Tomorrow I will come and reply. If he allows it, I will come.”

There were other monks begging in the town – they saw the whole thing; they became very jealous. When the young man came back to Buddha, he stood in the assembly and made the request “ A woman, a prostitute” – Amrapalli was her name – “has asked me to stay with her for the coming rainy season. I will do whatever you say.” Many heard it – they all stood up and said, “This is wrong. Even to have allowed that woman to touch your feet was wrong. Because Buddha has said, “Don’t touch a woman don’t allow a woman to touch you.” You have broken that rule, and now this is something, that you are asking to stay with the woman for four months!”

Buddha said, “I told you not to touch a woman, not to be touched by a woman because you are not centred. For this man that rule is no more applicable. I can see that he walks alone by himself – I have been watching him – he is no more part of the crowd. You are still part of the crowd. When you go to the market, you go to the, market; he simply passes by there as if he had never gone.” And to the bhikku Buddha said, “Yes, you are allowed.”

Now, this was too much; never had it been done before, there was no precedent. All were angry, and for four months thousands of gossips went around exaggerating what was happening there. Everybody was interested, and many rumours were coming that the monk was no more a monk, that he had fallen.

After 4 months the monk came back followed by Amrapalli. Buddha looked at the monk, looked at Amrapalli, and said, “Woman have you something to say to me?” She said, “I have come to be initiated by you. I tried to distract your disciple, I failed; this is my first defeat. I have always succeeded with men. This is the first man whom I could not distract - not even an inch. A great desire has arisen in me too – how can I attain this centring. And the more he has been with me these days, the more I have seen how far away he is from the world. He lived with me, I danced before him, I sang before him, I played on musical instruments before him – I tried to allure him in every way – but he remained silent. He always remained himself. Not for a single moment have I seen any cloud in his mind or any desire in his eyes. I tried to convert him, but he has converted me – me not saying a single word. He has not brought me here; I have come on my own. I have known for the first time what dignity is; I would like to learn the art.”

She became a disciple of Buddha. She became a nun.

He always walks by himself…

Remember, it does not mean that he remains lonely; it only means that he remains alone. If you want to be lonely you have to move away from the world, but if you want to be alone there is no need to go anywhere, you can be alone here. Aloneness needs awareness. Loneliness is an outer thing – you simply have to move away from people. But moving away from people you remain the same – your mind has not changed; and your mind is the problem, not the people. Sitting in a Himalayan cave you will think of you wife, of your children, of all those friends you have left behind, because the mind cannot be left here, it will go with you – it is you.

Don’t try to change the circumstances of your life, try to change the psychology. Do not try to change the outer situation. Use the outer situation and change the inner state. The false religion consists of changing the situation: “If a woman creates a desire in you, escape from the woman.” This is changing the situation; this is not much of a change – you are befooling yourself and befooling the world. The real religion consists of changing the state of mind: “If a woman attracts you, then look into your desires, then watch those desires. Somewhere there you have not known anything better than sex. Somewhere there you have not known anything higher than sex. Somewhere there you have not known anything ecstatic. Because you have not known anything higher, you are attracted towards the lower. Search for the higher. Once you have known higher reaches of your energy, sex starts withering of its own accord.” That is real religion.

Once an inquisitive devotee asked a realized saint, “Bhagavan, what is the form of God? Where does he live and where can I find him?”

The saint said, “God is everywhere and is all pervading. He is blissful, omniscient and immortal and He is your own self”. The devotee asked, “If it is so, why do I not perceive and have an experience of Him?” The saint replied, “As the God is all pervading, He is within your own mind as well but your mind is not in Him. Your mind is engrossed in the world.”

The saint in many ways tried to make him understand the existence of God but the devotee could not comprehend and realize God. The saint then told him, “Go to Haridwar, there in Ganga, there is a fish of a strange colour and it can speak in the voice of human beings. The fish will give you an appropriate answer to your question”.

The inquisitive devotee bowed to the saint, touched his feet and started on his way to Haridwar. There he sat down in a corner and began to wait for the arrival of the strange fish. Whenever he saw any fish he repeated his question and asked where God lived and how could he see Him?

After sometime the strange fish came and asked the devotee “where from have you come?” The devotee replied, “A saint asked me to see you and I want to know where does God live and how can I see Him?” The fish said to him, “I am thirsty for the last seven days. So tell me where I can get water from.”

On listening to the words of the fish, the devotee laughed and said, “Oh foolish one, water is above you, below you, it is on your right, on your left and there is water on all you sides”.

When the devotee spoke like this, the fish became serious and said, “Oh, you innocent devotee. You are also foolish like me. God whom you are searching is above you, below you, on your right, on your left, and in brief he is on all your sides.

The devotee was a bit satisfied and said, “If so, why am I unable to see the blissful God and why am I so miserable?” The fish said, “The same is my question. If water is on all my sides why is my thirst not quenched?

The devotee knew the construction of the body of the fish and knew that so long as the fish swam straight with its face upward, no water can enter its mouth. To quench its thirst the fish has to swim upside down. If the construction of the body of the fish is not been like this, water can enter its body freely and it will die. So the devotee advised the fish to take a turn upside down to quench its thirst.

The fish then said to the devotee, “As we have to take a turn to quench our thirst, you should also take a turn to see God. Turn away from the desires to see God. In other words, when you turn the flow of the thoughts of your mind from the world to the blissful omniscient God, then all your sorrows will come to an end. The devotee did accordingly and realized his real Self.