Once there was a person called Hari, who was lost in a jungle. Hari was kidnapped by some miscreants and dropped at the entrance of a jungle when a police jeep started chasing them.
Hari was very thirsty and hungry and started to walk on a narrow passageway taking him towards a small water stream. Once he reached the water stream, he bent down to drink some water. As we was getting up, he saw a tiger jump before him.
Hari was very scared. He went numb with fear. Feeling himself helpless, he prayed to lord Vishnu for help. Lord Vishnu was resting in Vaikuntha with Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune, by his side. Listening to his prayer, Lord Vishnu stood from his chair and after a few moments he sat down.
Seeing all this Goddess Laxmi asked. “Lord, you stood up for helping your disciple but than why you sat down ?” Lord replied, “When Hari cried out my name, he was full of devotion. But than some doubt crept in Hari's mind. Hari was thinking what if I did not come. So he has also picked up a stone to tackle the tiger. His mind is now taking support from his thought of fighting the Tiger with the stone. Hari himself does not know that he does not trust me completely. You see, Hari is full of confusion like most humans. They like to believe in my existence but are never sure. In times of crisis, they call out for help but most of them do not have the faith. So they suffer more. Goddess Lakshmi than said, " Lord, does it mean he should not have picked the stone?" Lord Vishnu replied, "No, I am not saying that he should not have picked the stone. He should fight, with all his might. He should do his part. But, he should have complete faith in me. I help those who trust me completely. Since he had a doubt, I sat down and let him do as per his thought”.
END OF PART 1
There was a sparrow called Ninku who lived on a tree. Once she saw some construction workers come in the forest and start cutting her tree. The sparrow realized that she will have to move to some where else as she could see that the entire forest will be cut down soon. She decided to move across the lake where some of her friends lived. She had laid an egg two days back. She decided she could not wait for the egg to hatch. She had to move quickly.
Next morning, the sparrow started flying across the lake holding her egg in the beak. As she was flying, the egg slipped and fell into the lake. The sparrow, was filled with sorrow at what just happened. Anxious to retrieve her egg, she repeatedly dipped herself in the lake, sucked some water through her beak, came to the shore, released the water and fanned her wings.
The sage Narada who was passing that way saw this action of the sparrow, enquired, and came to know the reason.
‘You stupid sparrow! Is this something you can accomplish?’ said Narada.
The sparrow replied, ‘I don’t care whether it is possible or not. I will persevere tenaciously, I will keep trying to get me egg back. Beyond that it is in God’s hands!’
Narada, delighted with her faith, went to Garuda and told him everything. Than he said, ‘A creature belonging to your bird tribe is exerting herself with so much faith. Is it proper for you to keep quiet? Can you not help?’
After hearing this story, Garuda flew quickly to the sparrow. As soon as he flapped his wings there, all the waters of the lake separated into two, leaving the egg of the sparrow visible. The sparrow immediately picked it up in her beak and flew away.
END OF PART 2
LEARNINGS
1. The central idea of story telling to present an intangible idea/lesson in a tangible form. We have all grown up with our parents/elders/ spiritual men trying to teach us important life lessons by narrating a real/fictional story with some deep message. The idea of the story is not is not debate the technicalities/plot but to stay focused on the message. In some stories, the message is very nuanced. This story is one such case. There is very subtle difference in the action of Hari and Ninku during the times of emergency. The difference between their mental states is one of partial faith in Hari's case and complete faith in Ninku's case. However, the way the human mind works, even Hari might not be fully aware of it. It might be a blindspot for it.
2. The central idea of the story is that when we are relying on God, it should be one pointed thought and there should not be any distraction/ lack of faith in it. Some people feel confused that several religious schools/ old stories/customs ask them to just rely on God and stop doing their own hard work. However, that is not the message of these stories. We should never stop working. The message portrayed by this story is one-pointed faith without doubt. When in trouble, we should keep our effort going on one hand and faith on other. How these two are done simultaneously is explained in the second story.
2. The second story is about unflinching faith in God. It is also about simultaneous hard work and faith. The sparrow is undaunted by the enormity of the task at hand and is doing her work repeatedly with perseverance. She has left the outcome to the GOD but has not stopped working. The GOD comes to her rescue through the sage Narada and the garuda. So the story shows how hard work is necessary even while having complete faith. Also, the bird never doubts if divine help will arrive. She is doing her part leaving the rest to GOD!
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