Teachings from an ancient tale

Once a courtier happened to see the beautiful princess. A mad desire to possess her totally possessed him.

Desperate and enslaved by his desire he forgot his lowly station in the Kings court and asked for her hand in marriage, as he would neither eat nor sleep.

To his surprise, the queen agreed, but on condition that if he can lead the pure life of an ascetic, living outside the town alone,eat only Sattwik pure food, pray three times a day, do Japa of the lords name many thousand times and meditate intensely on the Lord for six months, he can marry the princess. The courtier readily agreed, after all it was only for six months.

Doing exactly what the queen had asked, the man started doing his Tapasya.Still he could not get the princess out of his mind, day and night he longed for her.

Gradually all his time was taken up by Sadhana, Japa and meditation, his mind had little time to dwell on the princess. He became lean and his mind could habitually dwell only on the Lord.

Somehow the six months passed, and lo and behold, the queen, as promised, reached there along with her daughter to fulfil her promise.  The courtier fell at her feet and asked for forgiveness, embarrassed he said, “your majesty, I now am totally cleansed of all desire, and my only love is for the Lord, I cannot now marry the princess.”

This ancient tale only explains how a seeker can purify his mind and rise above his, carnal cravings for flesh. Japa, withdrawal from sense objects, a Sattwik diet, meditation and introspection, if done repeatedly with regularity are a sure method to lift an ordinary mortal from the morass of sensuality.

Prarthna Saran, President Chinmaya Mission New Delhi can be contacted at prarthnasaran@gmail.com