Laugh your way to Wisdom

Laugh your way to Wisdom This book is an attempt to make available for school-students, the life-transforming message of Sri Ramakrishna, in a most appealing form. These are seemingly funny stories. But hidden in them are ideas that will completely transform our very outlook towards life. We bring you these stories or shall we call these Sugar-coated pills? The procedure for reading these stories is as follows: Start in the early morning. Read one story at a time. Soak in every detail given in the story. Through-out the day, allow your mind to dwell on the ideas presented in that story. Use that particular story for your evening meditation. Go to bed carrying the central idea of the story in your mind. 1. Power of Shraddha: Once upon a time, in a wayside village, there lived a Guru with a decent following. He once arranged for celebrating the Weaning Ceremony for his son. [This is a ceremony which is counted as one of the compulsory ceremonies to be conducted for a Hindu child in its life time. In Sanskrit it is called Annapraashana Ceremony. This marks the weaning of the child from its mothers breast. After this ceremony, the child is fed solid food and mothers milk is discontinued.] Naturally, all his disciples started arranging all the things required for the ceremony. Among his disciples was a poor old widow. She had no source of income apart from a cow that she had reared. She contributed a bowl of fresh cows milk for the ceremony. The Guru however had anticipated that she would manage to supply the entire quantity of milk required for the ceremony. She could however manage to give only one measly bowl of milk! When she devotedly handed that bowl to her Guru, he threw the bowl onto the ground and thundered, What! Only one small bowl! Why dont you drown in the river yonder and die? She had implicit faith in her Gurus words. She indeed came to the river bordering the village and was all set to jump into it. Can the Omnipresent Lord see such Shraddha in the Gurus words and not be moved? The Lord was greatly pleased and gave the poor widow His beatific vision and said, Here. Take this vessel of curds. As soon as it gets empty, it will refill itself. It will never be exhausted. Give it to your Guru. He will be pleased with you. Indeed, when she handed over that bowl to her Guru, he had a mixture of feelings of surprise, shock, and disbelief. He heard in detail, again and again, that ladys incredible story of how the Lord Himself had appeared before her and had gifted her this wonderful bowl of curds. He simply couldnt come to believe her. He asked her, If what you say is indeed true, then, can you show me the person who gave this bowl? The widow was more than happy. Both of them came to the river banks. She pleaded with the Lord, O Lord, my Guru wants to see you. Please come and show yourself. Immediately He appeared, but the Guru was unable to see Him. He uttered in self-disgust, I cant see anyone. I will commit suicide by jumping into the river if I dont see Him now! The poor lady was beside herself with grief. With great longing in her heart, she implored the Lord, If you dont show yourself to my Guru, here and now, I too Page 1 of 11

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will jump with him into this river and give up my life. Then the Guru too was able to behold the beatific Person. Indeed, the power of implicit Shraddha is incomparable. 2. Shraddha-With you I win; without you I fall: This particular story is not only interesting but also highly thought-provoking. Once there was a man who contemplated on crossing the Ocean in order to reach the other shore for some personal reason. He wished to do it, but wishes arent easy to achieve. Crossing the Ocean in those days was very difficult. So he was lost in thought as to how he could achieve this incredible feat. As if by good fortune, Vibhishana, the great devotee of Sri Rama, and the King of Sri Lanka, heard of this mans wish and came forward to help him. Unknown to the man, on a leaf, he wrote the holy name of Sri Rama, tied it to a corner of that mans shirt and said, My good man, you don t have to worry now. Have faith in this leaf that I have tied to the corner of your shirt. You can now walk on water. But, beware! When you are mid-ocean, if you happen to lose faith in this leaf, you will drown the next moment. Saying this, he bid him farewell. And wonder of wonders, the man was indeed able to walk over the oceans waters as easily as he would on solid ground! Gaily, he walked on. Every moment, his surprise increased. The incredibility of the whole affair began to strike his rational mind. And as surprise and incredibility increased, so did his curiosity curiosity about that small leaf. What indeed could Vibhishana have written on it that had conferred on him this superhuman ability? After sometime, the curiosity became unbearable. He couldnt control himself any longer. He forgot Vibhishanas words of warning. He opened the knot and looked at the crumpled leaf. Oh! Only this much! Is it this insignificant word that can achieve this impossible feat?! I cant believe this! He said, and the next moment, he drowned in the dark waters of the raging ocean! The devil of doubt is the enemy of Shraddha. Shraddha is the secret of success of all human endeavours. People dont know this. Nor do they care to know this. And most people, even after knowing this, do not make efforts to know the nature of such a wonderful thing which can confer all success on us. Isnt this a marvel in itself! How do we understand the nature of Shraddha? How are we to bring it into our own personality? The whole problem lies here Shraddha cannot be taught! And it is impossible to give it to another, as one would a sweet scented flower. What do we do in such a case? Identify people around you who are endowed with Shraddha. Observe their behaviour, attitude and actions. By constant observation, you will slowly absorb the underlying quality of Shraddha that manifests as behaviour, attitude and actions. This is the only way. There is none other. Moreover, there are the wonderful teachings of Incarnations and saints. Use them and get their benefit.

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There is however a last option. Get wracked by doubt. Go on doubting, doubting & doubting. Consequently, go on suffering, suffering and suffering. Slowly, and very painfully, you will learn to have Shraddha! 3. Shraddha is the true Miracle: There was once a milkmaid in a village. She supplied milk to everyone in the village. She also supplied to a priest who lived on the other side of a river. Every day, she would reach his house on time. One day, however, her routine broke down and she was late in delivering milk to the priest. When she reached his house, the priest thundered, Why are you late today? The poor milkmaid explained meekly that she had indeed left her home at the right time, but that the boatman had delayed and hence she was late. The priest said with dripping sarcasm, Ha! The boatman delayed you, did he? People take the Lords name and cross the ocean of transmigration. And you cant cross a small river! Ha! The milkmaid was thrilled on hearing this. The priest had revealed to her a wonderful alternative to waiting upon the whims of the lazy boatman! She had found a new method of crossing the river. She wouldnt have to depend on the boatman at all, from now on. She started crossing the river by repeating the name of the Lord, and was thus on time, from then onwards. One day the priest noticed that she never missed her routine and asked her, I find that you are not late these days. How come? The milkmaid replied, Holy Sir, I dont wait for the boatman anymore. You taught me a wonderful method. I chant the name of the Lord and walk across the waters. The priest scoffed with burning scepticism and said, Wah! Isnt that nice? Walk over water, do you? Well then, show me how you do it. He couldnt believe it at all. Both of them reached the river. As she had explained before, she started walking across the river with ease, as if it were solid ground. The priest followed her, and was very soon in deep trouble. In fact he was knee-deep in water, holding his dhoti in his hand! The milkmaid saw this and said, Holy Sir, how is that possible? You chant His name from your mouth and yet hold your dhoti in your hand! Your whole mind isnt on Him whose name you chant. Without full faith in his Name, you will not be able to walk across water; you will drown! The priest didnt have faith in the very mantra he had imparted to the milkmaid! Hence he was about to drown. While simple Shraddha had made the milkmaid walk across water easily. Shraddha in God; Shraddha in the Gurus words; Shraddha in the mantra; and not only that; as Swami Vivekananda says, Shraddha in ones own inner Self these are the secrets of success in spiritual life.

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4. Enthusiasm brings real joy: Success, victory, achievement dont happen just like that. Effort is required. That too, not just ordinary, half-hearted, mechanical effort; powerful, conscious effort fuelled by supreme enthusiasm is needed. Sri Ramakrishna uses a very interesting story to convey this great secret. Once famine struck the village. There was no rain and all the crops had shrivelled up and were about to fail. The farmers were all in deep trouble. They were thinking furiously as to how they could protect their crops. There was a river near the edge of the village and water had to be brought from there to their fields. But how much water could be brought in pots? What was needed was to dig a canal from the river to their fields. So they started digging. Each started digging. One particular farmer, a very firm-minded fellow, resolved sternly, I wont drop the spade from my hand until the canal had been dug and my field gets a steady supply of water! He started digging in right earnest from early morning. He went on digging. The sun came up over head. He went right on digging and didnt stop. His wife at home thought that it was getting late for his bath and why he hadnt come yet. So she sent some oil with their daughter. The small girl came to the farmer and said, Father, mother has prepared lunch at home. Here. Take this oil; rub it on your body. Its time for your bath. Take bath and let us go home for lunch. You can start working again later. But the farmer didnt want his daughters sweet words. He thundered, Get lost right now. My work isnt over yet! The poor girl was mortified and ran home in fear. The sun dipped towards the west. It was nearing evening. But the farmer continued digging unflaggingly. No idea of food, bath and rest crossed his mind. Singlemindedly he went on digging. Now his wife herself came to take him home. She found him bathed in sweat and all sun-burned, and yet working hard. Overcome with great sympathy, she said, Look here, dear. You havent yet taken your daily bath. Lunch has become cold and is getting stale. Why do you always have to be so stubborn? At least once in a while listen to me, will you? Remaining work, you can do tomorrow. Or, take your bath, have your lunch, rest a while and then continue working till dusk. The farmers eyes became blood shot with anger. He rebuked her very sharply. Chasing her with lifted spade in hand, he roared, Dont you have any sense at all, woman? There has been no rain. All the crops are drying up. If we have no harvest, you all will have to eat this mud! I have resolved that I wont take bath or have food until I see water entering our field! Do you hear me? Seeing his terrible, animated form, she ran home for dear life. By twilight, he succeeded in completely digging the canal. Then he sat nearby. Water gushed into his parched field making the sweetest music to his ears. He stared with wide-open eyes. He went on seeing. Even as water was brimming in the canal, his mind swam in peace, contentment and bliss. Can his state of mental satiation be even remotely described? He slowly went home and called out to his wife, Now, dear. Bring me oil for my bath. Prepare a good smoke for me.

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It is the custom in rural Bengali homes for the gents to apply oil on their entire person daily before taking bath. After bathing, they have a sumptuous meal. Then they very leisurely smoke a local pipe called Hookah. The farmer had his food & smoked and went to sleep. And what a sleep it was. He snored with such vigour that the roof would have got blown away! Now, nearby was another farmer in the same predicament. He too had begun digging a canal to his field. Before noon, his wife came and said coyly, Look here, dear. Its getting late. Enough is enough. Come home now. Overworking is not good. Do you hear me? This farmer, unlike the first one, didnt need any coaxing. He didnt scold her. Instead he said, How can I ever object to what you say? Have I ever done so? Come, lets go. Consequently, he could never get water to his field. Did you see? Back-breaking work fills your stomach. Lazy fellows have to starve and go about naked. Even as we sing praises of industriousness and hard-work, some may raise an objection. They may say, But, in our country, dont we see how people go about not working at all, having stomach-fills, loafing around in glee? And their number seems to be increasing. But we counter, What sort of life is that? Parasitic existence. On the one hand you have brilliant lives, filled with industry, fuelled with common sense, intense faith in themselves, brimming with self-confidence and oozing out courage and fearlessness! And on the other hand, you have the parasitic vegetables, with no selfesteem, just fattening their bellies, wasting their lives away! Dont you feel the hell & heaven difference between the two?!

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5. Practical sense: There was a lush green meadow on the outskirts of a village. The cowherd-boys of that village used to bring their cows for grazing to that meadow. It so happened that a poisonous cobra too lived in that meadow. Snakes are very territorial. Everyone was very careful regarding this poisonous snake, since many had lost their lives due to its fatal bite. One day a monk was going that way. The cowherd-boys ran up to him and warned him, Swamiji, please dont go that way. There is a terrible snake that lives somewhere there. It kills anyone who goes there. Strangely, the monk, instead of becoming afraid, said, Oh! That's alright. I am not afraid of snakes. I know a mantra to control them. Saying this, he walked right along. The boys pitied the monk. But, due to fear of losing their own lives, they didnt follow him any further. Staying behind right there, they talked among themselves, How sad! Poor Swamiji. He will surely fall a prey to that vicious snake. The monk had advanced a little distance along the path, when the snake opened its hood, and spitting venom, rushed towards him. As the snake came near him, the monk started uttering a mantra. And lo & behold! The vicious snake, feared by all living beings, crawled towards the monk and sat at his feet like a mere earthworm! The monk then said, Listen here. Why do you roam around troubling others like this? I will impart a mantra to you. Chant it regularly. Devotion to the Lord will awaken in you. In due course, you will be blessed with a vision of the Lord. You will be able to renounce your despicable violent nature. Saying this, he imparted a mantra to the snake. After receiving the mantra, the cobra reverentially offered pranams to its Guru and asked, Holy Sir, how should I perform sadhana now? Please instruct me. The monk said, I have given you the redeeming mantra. Perform Japa. And dont hurt anyone. Ordering thus, the monk went his way. Before leaving however, he blessed the snake and said, I shall see you again soon. Many days passed. The cowherd boys realised that the monks meeting with th e snake had its effect on that wretched snake. They saw that the snake had indeed become mild. It was no longer vicious. It wouldnt bit any more. They discussed all these among themselves. In order to test their conclusions, they pelted a stone at the snake. But the snake did not get excited at all. Not only that, it didnt even budge from its resting place. It continued to sleep like a harmless earthworm. Emboldened by this development, one day, a particularly brave boy, steeled his heart and went near the snake. He caught hold of its tail. The snake remained supine. He twirled it around in the air many times, showing off his bravado, dashed it to the ground and threw it far away into the jungle. The snake bled from its mouth. It lost consciousness. Its movement stopped completely. Thinking that the snake had died, the boys went away merrily. Late at night, after a long time, the snake regained consciousness. Creeping and crawling with great difficulty, it entered its hole. Its bones were all broken. It had no strength left to move around. Some more days passed like this. It got reduced to skin & bones. It never came out of its hole during the daytime, fearing the cowherd-boys. It came out only during the night, in order to eat something. From the time it had received Page 6 of 11

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the mantra, it had eschewed harming anyone for any reason. So, it used to eat leaves and fruits that had fallen from the trees in order to maintain its life-breath. Perhaps a year had passed by, when the itinerant monk came that way again. He searched for the snake. The cowherd-boys came to him and informed with great joy, That snake is dead. The monk didnt believe them. He knew that unless the mantra had effected the snakes spiritual emancipation, the snake wouldnt die. So, he went about the forest, calling out the name he had christened the snake during the Mantra-Diksha. Hearing its Gurus voice, the snake came out of its hole and offered its salutations to the monk very reverentially. The monk asked, Keeping well? Yes, Holy Sir. I am keeping quite well. But what is this? Why have become reduced to skin & bones like this? Holy Sir, you taught me not to harm anyone. So, I am now subsisting on leaves and fruits. It could be the change in my diet that has brought about this corporal change in me. Since the cobras mind had become truly calm, it had absolutely no anger on anyone. It had completely forgotten the fatal episode with the cowherd-boys! The monk said, This sort of bodily deterioration wont come due to change of diet only. There is certainly some other reason. Think hard and tell me. Gradually the cobra recalled and said, Holy Sir, now I remember. One day, those cowherd-boys dashed me to the ground. They are, after all, innocent boys, arent they, Sir? They didnt realise that a tremendous transformation had come about in my personality and that I wouldnt bite anyone. How would they know that I wouldnt harm anyone anymore after being advised by you? The monk rebuked it and said, Stupid fool! What an idiot you are! You dont know even how to protect your own self! True, I asked you not to bite anyone. But did I forbid you from hissing? Couldnt you have hissed at those who tried to harm you? Sri Ramakrishna told this story and continued, We ought to hiss at wicked people. We must generate fear in such fellows in order to avoid being hurt by their wickedness. But we dont need to spew venom at them. We need not harm them in any way, wicked though they be. Now, here, in this story is presented a great moral dilemma. And a wonderful common sense solution is presented. This story tells us that while living as per our Gurus advice, often some tricky situations may arise. In such cases, we ought to use our common sense and overcome the problems.

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6. An alternate view of life: What is Real and what is Unreal? To know this difference, one needs the sharp Eye of Discernment. This Eye of discernment gives us an alternate view of life, which is different from how we have come to view it. Sri Ramakrishna narrates a small story to indicate the working of this new faculty in man: A certain farmer, after many years of marriage, had a son. Both the husband and wife loved the son very dearly. The boy grew up to be a handsome youth, endeared by all. One day as the farmer was working in his field, someone came running and told him, Sir, your son has been bitten by a snake and is critical! The farmer rushed home, but the situation was beyond control. The son died. His wife started weeping bitterly, beating her chest in uncontrollable agony. But the farmer was seated in a corner, silently. There was not a drop of tear in his eyes. Even with the tear-laden eyes, the wife saw this. Now her grief changed to anger, intense anger. She shouted at him at the top of her voice, Is your heart made of stone? Our only son has passed away, and not a drop of tear comes to your eyes! After a while, the farmer slowly replied, Look here, my dear. Do you know why I am not weeping now? Yesterday night I had a very vivid dream. I dreamt that I was a king. You were my Queen. We had seven wonderful sons. They grew up to be very handsome and very intelligent. They were all well educated. Suddenly I woke up. Now I am wondering seriously. Should I weep for those seven wonderful sons who died when my dream broke? Or should I weep for this gem of a son that lies dead here now? The entire story gives us a great lesson in discernment or what is commonly known as Common Sense. [In Sanskrit, it is called Viveka]. To the real knower of Truth, who is filled with common sense, the dream state and the waking state are equally false. That however does not mean you shouldnt weep when near & dear ones die. But you dont have to weep yourself sick that is the meaning. Weep for the dead; but dont weep yourself to death over those who are already dead as they say. Death is a part of the package called Life. Jaatasya Maranam Dhruvam is a famous Sanskrit adage, which means, Death is certain for those who are born. If one keeps on cogitating on this great fact of life, one can avoid being thrown off balance by sorrow.

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7. Necessity of Authority: If we start delivering lectures on spiritual topics without specifically receiving the badge of authority to do so, directly from the Lord, absolutely no impact will be made on the listeners. Sri Ramakrishna narrated a very interesting illustration to drive home this point to the devotees: Early morning, every day, the village folks used to defecate on the banks of the Kamarpukur Lake. People who would go to that lake for taking bath and washing their clothes used to curse those despoilers to no end. But their curses were of no avail. People went on using the banks as a public toilet. [All laugh]. So the village folks complained to the government officials. The government officials of that region promptly sent a policeman to that place. He came there, saw everything, and placed a signboard saying Do not defecate here. Violators of this Order will be punished. Immediately it stopped! [All laugh].

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8. Dance with gay abandon: A lady once went on a social visit to her friend. Her friend was a weaver. When she arrived at her friends house, she found her friend spinning yarns fine, colorful silk threads. She was pleased beyond words that her friend had come to visit her after a long time. She stopped her work and welcomed her with visible joy. Come, friend. Sit. I cant express in words my joy on seeing you. Its been so long since we last met. Is everyone fine at home? Oh! Where is my concern for you! You must be tired walking so far. I will get you something to eat and refresh yourself. You sit here for a moment while I prepare something for you. Saying this, the weaver-woman went into the kitchen inside. When the lady saw around her, her eyes landed on the silk thread lying in heaps. Her desire was kindled. In the blink of an eye, she lifted a bundle and hid it in her armpit. The weaver-woman returned with some snacks and some beverage. With genuine love, she served her friend. With great sisterly affection, she spoke to her while she ate. While speaking, her eyes too fell on the bundles of thread lying around. Her expert eyes immediately discovered one bundle was missing! Who could have flicked it? Who else could it be? Nobody else had come in. Surely, her friend must have pocketed it. But the weaver-womans face showed no change. Moreover, how odd it would be to ask a dear friend who has come after a long time on a social visit Have you taken my bundle of silk thread? Certainly that would lead to an irreparable break-up. So, the weaver-woman hatched an ingenious plan. She said, We are meeting after a really long time, dear. Truly, today is a great day! I have a great desire to dance with you. Come, lets dance. The lady was now in a soup! Yet, how could she refuse? So, both started dancing. The weaver-woman saw her friend dance with only hand raised. She thought, Oh! If she dances like this, the bundle wont fall. So, she said, Friend, let us dance with gay abandon. Lift both hands. Isnt it a joyous occasion today? Still, the lady wouldnt allow her other hand to be raised. Then the weaver said, What is this? Why dance with only one hand raised? Lift both hands and dance. Look at me. I am dancing with both hands uplifted. But the lady kept only one hand upraised and smilingly said, Friend, what can I do? I know only this type of dance the one-hand-uplifted-dance. Sri Ramakrishna explained this further: People who renounce everything for the sake of God are like the weaver-woman. They are able to dance with both arms uplifted, as it were. But those who hold on to this transmigratory existence symbolized by the silk thread can only dance with one arm lifted. But atleast for sometime during the day, if you can make yourself free and sing the Lords name and dance to his glory with both hands free, it would be beneficial to you. Monks hold onto the Lords feet with both hands. Householders may hold on to the Lord with one hand and do their worldly duties with the other hand. When their days duty is over, they ought to hold Him with both hands. How simple this suggestion is! How very easy to put to practice!

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9. Everything is good Time: Once Sri Ramakrishna told the devotees, Unless the right time arrives, the desire to realize God doesnt arise. Without a real deep hankering called Vyakulata, God-realization doesnt occur. Once a child told its mother before going to sleep, Mother, wake me up when I feel the urge to piss. The mother said, Child, when you get that urge, that very urge will wake you up. You dont have to worry about it. Now sleep well. [All laugh]. ***************************

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