MY FRIEND TELLS ME STORIES

                               

It was a special morning, but I almost forgot this dream as daylight dawned.

With the day’s work behind me, as I sat down to relax .. it suddenly came back to me. 

That’s when I picked up the phone & called my friend Shankardada.

“You appeared in my dream early this morning. I dreamt that I was pressing your feet for some reason...and you were telling me something I have no recollection of right now. So, I thought I would check on you, as it’s been a real long time since we spoke”. 

“Ha ha ha… is that so” came the laughter from the other side.

“I am well, anyway, how are you my friend?” he asked still with a bit of astonished humour in his voice…
” and the dream part where you are pressing my feet ...i have no idea what it was all about...anyway...”

After catching up on how things were with both of us, we landed up on a common point about how after almost four decades of professional work we were at a point where we wanted to do something more fulfilling that would make a difference to someone.
We discussed working for NGOs, volunteering for social cause and so on….
 “...you know Ashim, while wanting to contribute & volunteer with our time & skills for the greater good, we must also be aware that, “even for giving, we need to be deserving” ..”

I was a bit perplexed and interrupted him…
 ” Hey, hold on, what do you mean by that? Please expand it for me...”

Then he went on to tell me, how after his father’s passing away, he and his brother decided to donate something in their father’s memory to several NGOs and social organizations,

“ ..but they all never got back with a reply....and here we were, sending them messages saying “we want to donate”… but somehow they never even replied”
“ You know Ashim, at this point I have to tell you two stories that will “expand it for you”..“ 

So saying Shankardada narrated me the following...

You see, there was this very generous and pious man who always went out on a particular day of the week to a temple near him and handed out some money to the ones lined-up outside asking for alms.
It was his little religious practice in a way...

On this particular occasion, finding himself too busy and overwhelmed with work, requested his son to do the alms giving on his behalf.
After a while, assuming the task was accomplished, he happened to ask the young boy if he had done as instructed. To which the youngster gave some excuse about being called by friends and so on, but assured the father that the task would be completed soon….

Unfortunately, this went on for consecutive weeks, each time the father couldn’t go & the youngster had a different excuse….
Eventually and surprisingly, it was the son who interjected (must have been a very patient father!!) … 

“Dad, how does it matter so much, anyway you are the one giving ...surely this could wait, couldn’t it? You don’t have to take me to task over this, among other things! Surely..”

To which the father smiled and replied.

“Sonny boy, yes, I am indeed concerned that the task wasn’t accomplished. But of even greater concern to me is the doubt that, is it simply because you are a procrastinator and thus not completing the task OR is it because you don’t “deserve to be a giver”.

While procrastination is even acceptable under this circumstance, over a father’s concern that his son should turn out to be “underserving of the privilege of giving”….do you follow?”

I am sure it wasn’t just that “Sonny boy” who was dumbstruck…so was I,
listening to this story. (but it doesn’t end here)

Shankardada’ s narrative continued...
” and in this context I must tell you this other story of the Jhulelal Dharamshala – from Jabalpur, have I told you this before...?”
“No...not that I recollect...” I said reflectively...” but please tell me”.

So, we have this dharamshala (kind of rest house for spiritual seekers) which was founded by a very well to do & religious gentleman in Jabalpur, in memory of his family’s roots from Sindh (now in Pakistan) and in service of needy travellers & immigrants.

After building the dharamshala, which was adjoining a place of worship, this wealthy founder who had built it, had also made a rule:

You could enter the langar for your free meal only after participating in a bhajan/prayer for at least ten minutes. And this rule had to be strictly followed. The person in charge of the langar kitchen was instructed that food was to be served only to the ones who first sang the bhajan/prayers, no exceptions.
And this was meticulously followed.

It so happened, one day when the founder was at the dharamshala, a man came in and sat down at the langar without praying to the deity. The founder asked this man to first pass thru the prayer room and only then sit down for the free meal.
The man said he was hungry & that he would pray later.
The founder insisted the rule be adhered to, for it was only a matter of a few minutes of prayer before being served the meal. But the man refused to comply.

This did not go well with the short-tempered founder who made the man get up & leave the place.

As often happens, no sooner than the man was out, a sense of regret descended on the founder.
“Surely he must have been too hungry else why would someone not say a small thanksgiving prayer before being served a piping hot meal? oh let me go and get him back”.

So saying the founder went to the street outside…

Once outside, what does he see!

The same man sitting on the streetside with a box of sweets from the Jabalpur’s most famous mithai shop ..looking equally bewildered.

“Even I don’t know what happened” he said, “you threw me out, so I came here. And no sooner did I step out onto the sidewalk …a car came by ..and a lady sitting in the back seat handed this box of sweets to me and said, “stay happy”...and before I could thank her, the car drove away.”

Shankardada, and his stories have the remarkable ability to leave you stunned.
And here were three of us bewildered…two from the story…and one me!

"AND My learning for which I had to press the narrator’s feet?" I asked...

“Even For Giving, One Needs to Be Deserving
 &
The One Who Deserves, Shall Always Get” said Shankardada with a broad smile.

---x---

 Ps. Needless to say, the rules at the langar have been changed. There is no longer a precondition for being served that piping hot meal…Shankardada tells me.

Written As Remembered, with no claims of authenticity. Read if you like, believe if you have faith.