Three beads of my rosary

Dec 5, 2009, 11.00am IST
Sadhu T L Vaswani.

I received a rosary of beads from a child one day. Touching a few beads, i gave them each a name: I called the first bead, Love. The bead whispered, “Give love, get loved.” There is the story of a seeker who wept openly at the mere sight of a hill, a mountain, a flower, or a river.


One day someone asked him: “Why do you cry?” He replied: “Looking at these icons of nature I hear a voice which says, ‘Do not be thankless! You have forgotten the Creator of the Universe. The voice rattles my soul and so I weep’.” That call is for every one of us. Do not be ungrateful, for the Universe is beautiful and we are lucky to be part of it.

Love binds us with silken threads. We get bonded; we get linked with persons we love. Love unites. Loving the Supreme, you are united with Him for you will feel God’s presence within you and around you. When you love God, you will learn to love others, and your life will be built on the foundation of love.
A 31-year-old man was trying to climb a steep hill. He kept falling. Each time he picked himself up and tried, again and again. Undaunted, he continued to climb. He slipped down seven times, before finally reaching the hilltop, On reaching the top, he picked up the wounded man lying there and carried him to a hospital, and got him treated.


People asked him, “How much have you suffered for this man! You put your life in danger! Suppose you had fallen down and died? Why did you have to do this? Do you know this man?”


The young man explained: “This man is no relative of mine, neither is he a friend. He is an acquaintance whom I met at a satsang . For the sake of my guru, I began to love him. It is for the love of my guru that I suffered. It is for this love that I put my life in danger.”
I called the second bead Humility. It says: “Give up pride.” Just as eating food and drinking water are necessary for living, it is necessary to practice humility. One has to pay a price for giving up ego. And that price is, to be in fellowship with the devotees of the Lord, and to receive their blessings. How foolish it is to say, “I did this, I did that!” This ‘ego-intoxication’ must go! For what am ‘I’ but a flickering candle that at the dawn will die!


The third bead is Shanti. It says: “Don’t be angry. Keep your cool.” Anger is harmful. One mother got angry because her child was troubling her while she was working. She admonished the child, but the child continued to play mischief. The enraged mother picked up the child and threw him down. Every heedless act is sinful, but there is much more irrationality in anger.


Whenever you become angry, recite a mantra like “ Hare Ram, Hare Krishna ” 10 times. If your anger is beyond control, recite the mantra 100 times. That ought to cool you down. With love, humility and a peaceful disposition, your path can only become more pleasant and less difficult.