It is reported that one Hassid, a rabbi, Baal Shem, was visited by a woman. She was about seventy, her husband was eighty, and now, by and by, was becoming a virtuous man. His whole life he had been a sinner so she had come to give her thanks that he had finally converted her…
The Hindu heaven has certain trees, which they call kalpavriksha, wish-fulfillment trees. You don’t have to order a cup of tea or a woman or a car; you don’t have to order anybody; you don’t have to call any bearer or give a call to some agency. You just sit under the wish-fulfilling tree —…
Satyakam asked his mother, Jabala, “Mother, I want to live the life of a student of supreme knowledge. What is my family name? Who is my father?” “My son,” replied the mother, “I don’t know. In my youth when I went about a great deal as a maidservant I conceived you. I do not know…
There is a beautiful story in Hindu annals about a great saint, Valmiki. He was a robber, a murderer. He has written the story of Rama, one of the most beautiful epics in the world. He became converted. His conversion happened in such a way that it is almost unbelievable. He was a great sinner,…
Some spiritual stories make their point by being solemn. Others slip the truth in through laughter. This one does the latter. On the surface, it is a playful tale about husbands, wives, and a king’s determination to prove his point. Underneath, though, it is really about something far more serious… the way love easily gets…
I have heard a story. Thousands of years ago, a town with temples of gods got submerged in the sea. The bells of those drowned temples are still ringing. It is possible that the stroke of water makes them ring. Or, they keep ringing on account of the fish running here and there striking them….
There is a Hindu story in India… The oldest book on the life of Rama is written by Balmik. Balmik was a robber, thief, murderer — everything that you can conceive of he had done. That was his only profession. Uneducated but a tremendously powerful man, just on the highway he would be waiting for…
I have heard about a hunter who got lost in the jungle. For three days he could not find anybody to ask for the way out, and he was becoming more and more panicky — three days of no food and three days of constant fear of wild animals. For three days he was not…
Shankara went around the country arguing. He came to a place called Mandala — I have been to Mandala many times. It is just a two-hour drive from Jabalpur, situated in a very beautiful place. Narmada, one of the holy rivers of the Hindus, falls in one thousand streams. The mountain is such that the…
Shambu Babu, my newly appointed tutor, coughed when he entered the room, fixed his tie, tried to stand upright and said, “Listen, boy, I have heard many stories about you, so I want to tell you from the very beginning that I am not a coward.” He looked here and there in case somebody might…
