True Devotion attracts Krishna- Story!
There was a devotee who, every day, would walk through the streets singing the 11th verse of the Bhaja Govindam, going from door to door to beg for food before partaking of his meal.
One day, as he was walking along the street singing in this manner, a ten-year-old girl called out to him. “Swami,” she asked, “will you please come to my home? I am waiting there to offer you food.”
The devotee looked at the little girl intently.
She had neatly arranged and draped her tattered clothes with grace; despite her poverty, her beautiful face radiated the innocence of childhood.
The devotee asked her affectionately, “My dear child, who are you? And tell me, what is the specific reason you have invited me—in particular—to your home to offer me food?”
The girl replied with humble reverence: “Swami, every day I listen with delight to your Krishna bhajans. By listening to them day after day, I have memorized the entire song you sing. Therefore, regarding you as my Guru, I invite you to my home. Please come, Swami.”
Captivated by the love evident in her words, the devotee accompanied the little girl to her home.
It was a small hut, yet it was kept immaculately clean.
The girl’s parents were weavers; at that moment, they had gone to the market.
The girl herself possessed a small weaving loom of her own.
As the devotee entered the girl’s home, she poured water to wash his feet, worshipped them with flowers, and then offered him the fruits and milk she had set aside for her own meal.
The devotee partook of his meal with great joy, deeply touched by her loving hospitality.
Afterward, noticing some tangled threads lying scattered near her weaving loom—threads that appeared to be broken and discarded—he asked, “My dear child, in this otherwise spotless home, why have you left these tangled threads lying about like refuse?”
The girl replied: “Oh, Swami! Those are not refuse at all. They are threads that Lord Krishna Himself has snapped and cast aside with His own tender little hands!”
The devotee asked in astonishment, “What are you saying, child? Threads severed by Krishna?”
The little girl replied: “Yes, Swami. Every day, I spin the spinning wheel while singing the Krishna kirtans that you composed. At that time, Krishna comes here in the form of a small child. Disregarding my pleas to stop, he simply enjoys my singing, severs these threads one by one, and then vanishes.”
Hearing this, the devotee was dumbfounded. He thought to himself: “Krishna—who never appeared despite all the songs I have sung over so many days—would he really appear just because this little girl, who merely heard and memorized my songs, sings them? …Very well, let us put that to the test.”
The devotee looked at the little girl and said, “Child, spin the wheel now while you sing; let me see if Krishna truly appears.”
The little girl began spinning the wheel while singing. A few moments later, she cried out joyfully, “Swami! Krishna has arrived!”
The devotee asked: “Where? I do not see anyone with my own eyes!”
The little girl immediately turned to Krishna and asked, “Krishna, why are you not visible to my Guru?”
Krishna replied, “Your Guru sings my kirtans solely for the sake of his own livelihood. There is absolutely no true devotion, genuine emotion, or heartfelt love in his singing. Therefore, I shall never be visible to his eyes.”
The little girl repeated exactly what Krishna had said to her Guru.
Upon hearing this, the devotee pleaded with the little girl:
“I am your Guru, am I not? Please, find some way to let me see Krishna!”
Hearing the Guru’s plea, the elusive Krishna turned to the little girl and said:
“My dear friend, you sing. As you sing, I shall dance and sever the threads. I will ensure that, at the very least, the severing of the threads is visible to his eyes; tell him to find joy in witnessing that alone. I am doing this only because you have asked me with such love. …Now, go ahead and sing.”
The little girl then conveyed Krishna’s words to her Guru. He, too, replied, “Very well, go ahead and sing, child; let this sinner at least witness that, thereby earning some merit.”
As soon as the little girl began to sing, he watched in awe as the strings of his instrument snapped and fell away of their own accord.
Overwhelmed with divine ecstasy, the devotee sought Lord Krishna’s forgiveness for the error he had committed; he then blessed the little girl and walked down the street, continuing to sing as he went.
Now, his hands no longer reached out to beg.
MORAL:
Lord Krishna yields only to true devotion. Not to the devotion for business!
(The Ganges flows into a well – Story! READ HERE!)