Once a devotee
came to God and asked,
“Are you pleased with my worship? Do you
like my offerings? Is there
any particular kind of offering that pleases you more, any particular flower, any sweet? Let me know, O Lord
so I can offer it to you
every day!”
God replied, “Nothing pleases
me more than the loving heart with which you worship
me!”
But the devotee insisted, “Do
you love any particular flower…..are there any pushpams (flowers) you prefer over
others? Mandar (the red hibiscus), for instance?
At this urging, the
Lord smiled and said, “Yes, there are certain pushpams I prefer over
others…and whosoever offers those will certainly get
my attention!”
The devotee was eager
to please Him, “Just name them, O Lord -- I’ll find them
wherever they grow and bring them to you, unfailingly!”
“There are eight of
them that I particularly love!” the Lord answered and then,
he began to enumerate them ….
The first one is ahimsa
pushpam…the practice of non-violence.
The second indriya
nigraham… control over senses.
The third is sarvabhoota
daya pushpam…compassion for all living beings.
The fourth is kshama
pushpam… forbearance, fortitude and forgiveness.
The fifth is shanti
pushpam… practice peaceful existence with
minimizing of desires and ego.
The sixth is tapo pushpam… practice penance and austerity in daily life with harmony in
thoughts, words and deeds -- what you think, what
you say and what you do should
be consonance.
The seventh is dhyan pushpam….practice meditation in daily
life for a few seconds every day.
And finally,
The eighth and last one is satya pushpam…to pursue the truth at all
costs as God is truth.
I caught myself wondering if I had been the devotee, how many offerings could I make Him? Sadly, not one.
What was your rating? Do comment and let us know. And as always, do share, follow and subscribe to leftrightthodasacenter.blogspot.com
All image credits: Google
No comments:
Post a Comment