2011 Holi
Philosophy
Perfect Play of HoliRam TattvaThe greatest form of serviceHappy Indian New Year |
Kids Story
Saint and Sinner |
Philosophy
This is a translation of a Holi-Bhajan written by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj, compiled in His book “Prem Ras Madira”. Here, Shri Maharaj Ji describes the perfect way of playing Holi with beloved Shyam Sundar.
An eternally God-realized soul has descended during the descension period of Supreme Lord Shri Krishna. She is a milk maiden in the land of Braj (called gopi) has been playing Holi with Shri Krishna since eternity. Another gopi has recently attained this privilege and is going to experience this rarest fortune of playing Holi with Shyam Sundar for the very first time. So the first gopi is guiding the second gopi on how to play Holi with Shri Krishna in the perfect way.
An eternally God-realized soul has descended during the descension period of Supreme Lord Shri Krishna. She is a milk maiden in the land of Braj (called gopi) has been playing Holi with Shri Krishna since eternity. Another gopi has recently attained this privilege and is going to experience this rarest fortune of playing Holi with Shyam Sundar for the very first time. So the first gopi is guiding the second gopi on how to play Holi with Shri Krishna in the perfect way.
लाल संग खेलिय हिलमिल फाग ।
चलु री सखी! भव निशा सिरानि, भई भोर गयी जाग । केशर घोल भाव की गोरी, पिच्कारी अनुराग । पानि तानि मरीय दृग बानन, सहज पिया रस पाग । रति रस रंग सरबोरी गोरी, लखु अपुनो बड़ भाग । इमि “कृपालु” करि उर पट बंदी, करु निज अमर सुहाग ॥ |
lāla saṁga kheliya hilamila phāga ।
calu rī sakhī! bhava niśā sirānī, bhaī bhora gayī jāga । keśara ghola bhāva kī gorī, picakārī anurāga । pāni tāni mārīya dr̥ga bānana, sahaja piyā rasa pāga । rati rasa raṁga saraborī gorī, lakhu apuno baड़ bhāga । imi "kr̥pālu" kari ura paṭa baṁdī, karu nija amara suhāga ॥ |
The first Gopi says, “O my friend! Get ready to play Holi with your beloved Shyam Sundar. It means the time of expressing your love to your beloved has come. The night of ignorance has passed and you have woken up in the dawn of true awareness. “
She further explains that the way of playing Holi with the divine beloved is different than the way of playing Holi with material beings. In the world, people play Holi by spraying fragrant saffron colored water from their water guns. But, a devotee should prepare the color of sweet sentiments of love and fill it in a gun made of love.
Then, instead of spraying water color using the piston of the water gun, spray the sentiments of love with full force towards beloved Shyam Sundar using long side-ways glances and drench Him from head to toe, in an irremovable hue of love. (Although sentiments reside in the mind, yet eyes are the only means of exhibiting one’s sentiments. No other part of the body can express one’s internal feelings).
Hence, through the Gopi, the poet Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj suggests to express one’s love sentiments towards Shyamsundar through your side long glances. Lord Krishna has said in Gita -
She further explains that the way of playing Holi with the divine beloved is different than the way of playing Holi with material beings. In the world, people play Holi by spraying fragrant saffron colored water from their water guns. But, a devotee should prepare the color of sweet sentiments of love and fill it in a gun made of love.
Then, instead of spraying water color using the piston of the water gun, spray the sentiments of love with full force towards beloved Shyam Sundar using long side-ways glances and drench Him from head to toe, in an irremovable hue of love. (Although sentiments reside in the mind, yet eyes are the only means of exhibiting one’s sentiments. No other part of the body can express one’s internal feelings).
Hence, through the Gopi, the poet Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj suggests to express one’s love sentiments towards Shyamsundar through your side long glances. Lord Krishna has said in Gita -
ये यथा मां प्रपद्यन्ते तांस्तथैव भजाम्यहम्।
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ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁstathaiva bhajāmyaham।
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As per his vow, seeing you drench Him with pure divine love, He will reciprocate in exactly the same manner, emotion and intensity. Being drenched in the hue of Shyam Sundar’s divine love bliss, you will become the most fortunate soul in the entire world!! Do not miss this golden opportunity and accomplish your ambition of millions of lives.
And this is not all. As soon as He gives you a glance filled with divine love bliss, grab the opportunity to trap and lock Him in the cage of your heart and make him your eternal beloved.
For those who aspire for bliss of divine love, this is the perfect way of playing Holi.
And this is not all. As soon as He gives you a glance filled with divine love bliss, grab the opportunity to trap and lock Him in the cage of your heart and make him your eternal beloved.
For those who aspire for bliss of divine love, this is the perfect way of playing Holi.
Bibliography - Learn more
(1) Daihik Taap
Philosophy
You are chanting Ram’s name. It is essential to know “Who is Ram”. If you understand who is Ram then you won’t need to say “Ram”, “Ram” several times.
रामं विद्धि परं ब्रह्म सच्चिदानंदमद्वयम्।
आ रा. |
rāmaṁ viddhi paraṁ brahma saccidānaṁdamadvayam।
ā rā. |
Ram is Brahm. Who is called Brahm?
बृहत्वात् बृंहण्त्वाच्च तद् ब्रह्मेत्यभिधीयते ।
वेदव्यास |
br̥hatvāt br̥ṁhaṇtvācca tad brahmetyabhidhīyate ।
vedavyāsa |
"One who is the biggest and makes others big is called Brahm."
So what is big? There are several big things. You have a 6 feet tall object and you place a 7 feet tall object next to it. The 7 feet tall object is bigger than the 6 feet. Being big is relative. If you keep an object larger than the first, the second is called bigger and if you keep an object larger than the second, the third is called bigger. There is a whole sequence of things that are growing in size. So how big is Brahm?
So what is big? There are several big things. You have a 6 feet tall object and you place a 7 feet tall object next to it. The 7 feet tall object is bigger than the 6 feet. Being big is relative. If you keep an object larger than the first, the second is called bigger and if you keep an object larger than the second, the third is called bigger. There is a whole sequence of things that are growing in size. So how big is Brahm?
सत्यं ज्ञानमनन्तं ब्रह्म ।
तैत्त 2.1 |
satyaṁ jñānamanantaṁ brahma ।
taitta 2.1 |
He is unlimited in size. For if He was limited, how could He contain innumerable universes at the time of complete dissolution?
न तत्समश्चाभ्यधिकश्य दृश्यते ।
श्वेता 6.8 |
na tatsamaścābhyadhikaśya dr̥śyate ।
śvetā 6.8 |
Nothing in the entire universe is even equal to Him. How then could anything be bigger than Him? His size cannot be described in words! He has infinite names, infinite attributes, infinite pastimes, infinite powers, infinite creations, and infinite saints! You might say, well, God is like that! It is comprehensible.
But here we are talking about Ram, the son of King Dashrath the ruler of a small kingdom called Ayodhya. The Brahm that you are talking about is different.
But here we are talking about Ram, the son of King Dashrath the ruler of a small kingdom called Ayodhya. The Brahm that you are talking about is different.
भृगुर्वैवारुणि: वरुणं पितरमुपससार अधीहि भगवो ब्रह्मेति। तस्मा एतत्प्रोवाच ।
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bhr̥gurvaivāruṇi: varuṇaṁ pitaramupasasāra adhīhi bhagavo brahmeti। tasmā etatprovāca ।
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Bhrigu Ji Maharaj asked his father “Who is Brahm”? His father replied,
तॅहोवाच । यतो वा इमानि भूतानि जायन्ते, येन जातानि जीवन्ति, यत्प्रयन्त्यभिसंविशंति, तद विजिज्ञासस्व । तद्व्रह्मेति ।
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taॅhovāca । yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante, yena jātāni jīvanti, yatprayantyabhisaṁviśaṁti, tada vijijñāsasva । tadvrahmeti ।
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The One, who is the origin of infinite creations, is Brahm. He does not have to create His creations, nor does He have to say a word or drop a hint to anyone to make it happen. He thinks about it and it happens i.e. His decisions come true (satya sankalp).
OK, but we are talking about Ram. Ram was not like that! Ram had to bring together a large army to kill Ravan, He lived like an ordinary human being. How can Omnipresent God live in a human body? Further still, how can the All-knowing God, become so ignorant that He has no idea about the whereabouts of his wife Sita!! How can a self-complacent personality feel hungry and thirsty? Not only that, He had to ask His mother Kaushalya to give Him a piece of bread!! In addition to the above, there is one more question that arises in the minds of material beings - If you say He was an ‘Avatar’ (descension) of the Supreme God, then why does that Brahm descend on earth? That is a good question.
In the Gita, Lord Krishna gave a very amusing answer -
OK, but we are talking about Ram. Ram was not like that! Ram had to bring together a large army to kill Ravan, He lived like an ordinary human being. How can Omnipresent God live in a human body? Further still, how can the All-knowing God, become so ignorant that He has no idea about the whereabouts of his wife Sita!! How can a self-complacent personality feel hungry and thirsty? Not only that, He had to ask His mother Kaushalya to give Him a piece of bread!! In addition to the above, there is one more question that arises in the minds of material beings - If you say He was an ‘Avatar’ (descension) of the Supreme God, then why does that Brahm descend on earth? That is a good question.
In the Gita, Lord Krishna gave a very amusing answer -
यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत । अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम ॥
गीता 4.7 परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम । धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे ॥ गीता 4.8 |
yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānirbhavati bhārata । abhyutthānamadharmasya tadātmānaṁ sr̥jāmyahama ॥ 4.7
paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkr̥tāma । dharmasaṁsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge ॥ 4.8 gītā |
Meaning, there are 3 reasons for the descension of God:
To kill demons,
To protect saintly souls
To establish religion Really!!
You just said that God is “Satya Sankalp” i.e. His resolutions automatically come true. When innumerable cosmic universes dissolve merely by His resolution, then why does He have to descend to kill ordinary demons like Ravana and Kumbhkaran? Why did He have to take the pain of being born as the son of King Dashrath, walk all the way from Ayodhya to Sri Lanka and so on?
And Ram also told Sugreev, “You want to know who I am, let me tell you”
To kill demons,
To protect saintly souls
To establish religion Really!!
You just said that God is “Satya Sankalp” i.e. His resolutions automatically come true. When innumerable cosmic universes dissolve merely by His resolution, then why does He have to descend to kill ordinary demons like Ravana and Kumbhkaran? Why did He have to take the pain of being born as the son of King Dashrath, walk all the way from Ayodhya to Sri Lanka and so on?
And Ram also told Sugreev, “You want to know who I am, let me tell you”
पिशाचान दानवान यक्षान पृथिव्यां चैव राक्षसान । अंगुग्रेन तान्हन्या मिच्छन हरी गणेश्वरः॥
वाल्मीकि रामायण |
piśācāna dānavāna yakṣāna pr̥thivyāṁ caiva rākṣasāna । aṁgugrena tānhanyā micchana harī gaṇeśvaraḥ॥
(vālmīki rāmāyaṇa) |
I can kill all demons in all creations by a mere decision. I won’t need to pick up any weapons; I don’t even need to say “all shall die”. And forget about Me -
जग महँ सखा निशाचर जेते । लछिमन हनहिं निमिष महँ तेते ।
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jaga maham̐ sakhā niśācara jete । lachimana hanahiṁ nimiṣa maham̐ tete ।
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Lakshman can kill all the demons in all universes in a moment. But I have descended on the earth to show people how to behave. I am a practical example of how humans should behave. I have demonstrated what kind of behavior you should have towards your mother, father, brother and wife. I am a living example of all that. And being a human, I am doing and practically demonstrating all that. I am not showing you My Divinity. See in this world too when a father who is a highly qualified PhD scholar, teaches his little child, he does not demonstrate his scholarly abilities. He simply says, “Son say c”, son says “c”, “Son say a”, son says ‘a’, “Son say t”, son says ‘t’. “Now son say c, a, t cat”. This is how he teaches.
Do we use an atom bomb to kill a mosquito? Likewise, God does not demonstrate all His powers during His descension.
He hides all of them. Still the concept that He had to descend to kill all the demons does not take root! Establishing religion is done by saints and they are always present on earth for performing that job! All scriptures assert this fact.
In the next edition we will hear the second reason for God’s descension:
Do we use an atom bomb to kill a mosquito? Likewise, God does not demonstrate all His powers during His descension.
He hides all of them. Still the concept that He had to descend to kill all the demons does not take root! Establishing religion is done by saints and they are always present on earth for performing that job! All scriptures assert this fact.
In the next edition we will hear the second reason for God’s descension:
Philosophy
Shrimad Bhagwat says Lord Shiva is the supreme most devotee of Lord Ram. Lord Shiva descended as Hanuman Ji. Hence Hanuman Ji is an ardent devotee of Shri Ram.
As per the Hindu calendar (Vikram Samvat), Hanuman Ji’s birthday falls on April 18, this year. The best way to glorify Him on His birthday is to share with you His love and devotion for His master Lord Shri Ram. Hearing this amusing story about Hanuman Ji’s matchless wit and His way of pleasing Lord Shri Ram, we too can learn the true meaning of “service”. That may help us to offer our selfless services to God and Guru to please Them and get Their grace.
When the Supreme Lord Shri Ram descended on earth, Hanuman Ji used to perform all services to Lord Ram, thereby getting His association all the time. Hanuman Ji was very diligent in His job. He performed all services very efficiently and effectively. As a result other devotees, who also wanted to offer their services to Lord Ram, did not get an opportunity to serve Him. This made them discontented and jealous of Hanuman Ji. They approached Lord Shri Ram and complained to Him about this.
Lord Ram put forth the complaint to Hanuman Ji and asked Him to resolve the matter in the interest of everyone. Hanuman Ji readily agreed to do so and came up with a plan that was unanimously accepted by everybody. He asked all the devotees to select the services that they wanted to perform. He agreed to do only that service that nobody had selected. All the devotees took this as their opportunity to outsmart Hanuman Ji and perform all services to the Lord depriving Hanuman Ji from performing any services to Shri Ram.
All devotees divided all the services amongst themselves, leaving nothing at all for Hanuman Ji. Bhagwan Ram, called Hanuman Ji and asked, “Hanuman all My services from morning to night have been taken by other devotees. There is nothing left for you to do. What will you do now?” Hanuman Ji replied, “Prabhu, the service of snapping fingers in front of your mouth when you yawn is still available. With your permission, I would like to perform that service”. Ram Chandra Ji smiled and permitted Him to do so.
Now, all other devotees started performing their respective duties with great love and devotion. However, they noticed something that disturbed them. They noticed Hanuman Ji was present with Shri Ram all the time-24 hours a day, even when Shri Ram slept, ate, drank, took bath, went for a walk, met others.... This made them jealous of Hanuman Ji and they complained about this to Shri Ram saying, "Hanuman Ji has no services to perform and He still follows you everywhere. That is not fair".
Shri Ram called Hanuman Ji and asked him to explain why? Hanuman Ji explained saying, "There is a time for every activity for e.g. there is a time to eat, sleep, bathe etc. But there is no fixed time for “yawning”. Lord Ram can yawn at any time of the day. And even at night, He may just wake up from sleep just for a minute, yawn and go right back to sleep. If I am not there to snap my fingers then I won’t be performing my duty diligently. So I stay close by and watch Your face, so as soon as You yawn, I can offer my services to You".
Shri Ram smiled and asked everyone, if they had any doubts. Everyone lowered their heads in shame and realized their ignorance. They understood the fact that the essence of offering service is to fulfill your Master’s wish. All services are equally important, when offered with the objective of pleasing one's master. No service is more significant than the other.
As per the Hindu calendar (Vikram Samvat), Hanuman Ji’s birthday falls on April 18, this year. The best way to glorify Him on His birthday is to share with you His love and devotion for His master Lord Shri Ram. Hearing this amusing story about Hanuman Ji’s matchless wit and His way of pleasing Lord Shri Ram, we too can learn the true meaning of “service”. That may help us to offer our selfless services to God and Guru to please Them and get Their grace.
When the Supreme Lord Shri Ram descended on earth, Hanuman Ji used to perform all services to Lord Ram, thereby getting His association all the time. Hanuman Ji was very diligent in His job. He performed all services very efficiently and effectively. As a result other devotees, who also wanted to offer their services to Lord Ram, did not get an opportunity to serve Him. This made them discontented and jealous of Hanuman Ji. They approached Lord Shri Ram and complained to Him about this.
Lord Ram put forth the complaint to Hanuman Ji and asked Him to resolve the matter in the interest of everyone. Hanuman Ji readily agreed to do so and came up with a plan that was unanimously accepted by everybody. He asked all the devotees to select the services that they wanted to perform. He agreed to do only that service that nobody had selected. All the devotees took this as their opportunity to outsmart Hanuman Ji and perform all services to the Lord depriving Hanuman Ji from performing any services to Shri Ram.
All devotees divided all the services amongst themselves, leaving nothing at all for Hanuman Ji. Bhagwan Ram, called Hanuman Ji and asked, “Hanuman all My services from morning to night have been taken by other devotees. There is nothing left for you to do. What will you do now?” Hanuman Ji replied, “Prabhu, the service of snapping fingers in front of your mouth when you yawn is still available. With your permission, I would like to perform that service”. Ram Chandra Ji smiled and permitted Him to do so.
Now, all other devotees started performing their respective duties with great love and devotion. However, they noticed something that disturbed them. They noticed Hanuman Ji was present with Shri Ram all the time-24 hours a day, even when Shri Ram slept, ate, drank, took bath, went for a walk, met others.... This made them jealous of Hanuman Ji and they complained about this to Shri Ram saying, "Hanuman Ji has no services to perform and He still follows you everywhere. That is not fair".
Shri Ram called Hanuman Ji and asked him to explain why? Hanuman Ji explained saying, "There is a time for every activity for e.g. there is a time to eat, sleep, bathe etc. But there is no fixed time for “yawning”. Lord Ram can yawn at any time of the day. And even at night, He may just wake up from sleep just for a minute, yawn and go right back to sleep. If I am not there to snap my fingers then I won’t be performing my duty diligently. So I stay close by and watch Your face, so as soon as You yawn, I can offer my services to You".
Shri Ram smiled and asked everyone, if they had any doubts. Everyone lowered their heads in shame and realized their ignorance. They understood the fact that the essence of offering service is to fulfill your Master’s wish. All services are equally important, when offered with the objective of pleasing one's master. No service is more significant than the other.
Philosophy
The Western calendar also referred to as the Gregorian calendar is a Solar Calendar, in which a year is the time required for the earth to complete one orbit around the Sun. This precisely measures 365 days 5 hours 48 minutes and 46 seconds.
The Indian calendar also called as “Vikram Samvat” is a Luni-Solar calendar, ingeniously based on both the sun and the moon. It uses a solar year and divides it into 12 lunar months. A lunar month is precisely 29 days 12 hours 44 minutes and 3 seconds long. Twelve such months constitute a lunar year of 354 days 8 hours 48 minutes and 36 seconds. To help the lunar months coincide with the solar year, the practice of inserting an intercalary (extra) month arose. So 60 solar months = 62 lunar months. Hence an extra month, called the Adhik Maas, is inserted every 30 months i.e. every 2 ½ years.
Lunar days in the Indian calendar are called tithis. They are calculated using the difference of the longitudinal angle between the position of the sun and moon. Because of this, tithis may vary in length. Consequently, the tithi may or may not have changed by the time the day has changed at sunrise. And that is why we find at certain times a tithi being omitted, and at certain times, two consecutive days sharing the same tithi.
In the Indian calendar, seasons follow the sun; months follow the moon; and days, both the sun and the moon. The era in the Indian calendar is called the Vikram Era, or the Vikram Samvat, which began in 57 BCE. To calculate the corresponding year of the Common Era, 57 years should be subtracted from the Indian year if the date falls between the beginning of the Indian year and the end of the Western year i.e. between Kartak Sud 1 and 31 December. If the date falls between the beginning of the Western year and the end of the Indian year i.e. between 1 January and Aso vad 30, then only 56 years should be subtracted.
Vikram Year 2067 starts on first day of the month of Chaitra. This is also the day that Brahma starts the new creation.This year this day falls on the Monday Apr 4, 2011. In various parts of India, this day is called by different names. Navreh in Kashmir, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh call this day Ugadi. The Marathas call it Gudi Padwa, and the Sindhis call it Cheti Chand.
On this occasion, Didi Braj Banchary Ji from Shri Kripalu Kunj Ashram, Houston, Texas, wishes everybody a very Happy New Year!!
The Indian calendar also called as “Vikram Samvat” is a Luni-Solar calendar, ingeniously based on both the sun and the moon. It uses a solar year and divides it into 12 lunar months. A lunar month is precisely 29 days 12 hours 44 minutes and 3 seconds long. Twelve such months constitute a lunar year of 354 days 8 hours 48 minutes and 36 seconds. To help the lunar months coincide with the solar year, the practice of inserting an intercalary (extra) month arose. So 60 solar months = 62 lunar months. Hence an extra month, called the Adhik Maas, is inserted every 30 months i.e. every 2 ½ years.
Lunar days in the Indian calendar are called tithis. They are calculated using the difference of the longitudinal angle between the position of the sun and moon. Because of this, tithis may vary in length. Consequently, the tithi may or may not have changed by the time the day has changed at sunrise. And that is why we find at certain times a tithi being omitted, and at certain times, two consecutive days sharing the same tithi.
In the Indian calendar, seasons follow the sun; months follow the moon; and days, both the sun and the moon. The era in the Indian calendar is called the Vikram Era, or the Vikram Samvat, which began in 57 BCE. To calculate the corresponding year of the Common Era, 57 years should be subtracted from the Indian year if the date falls between the beginning of the Indian year and the end of the Western year i.e. between Kartak Sud 1 and 31 December. If the date falls between the beginning of the Western year and the end of the Indian year i.e. between 1 January and Aso vad 30, then only 56 years should be subtracted.
Vikram Year 2067 starts on first day of the month of Chaitra. This is also the day that Brahma starts the new creation.This year this day falls on the Monday Apr 4, 2011. In various parts of India, this day is called by different names. Navreh in Kashmir, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh call this day Ugadi. The Marathas call it Gudi Padwa, and the Sindhis call it Cheti Chand.
On this occasion, Didi Braj Banchary Ji from Shri Kripalu Kunj Ashram, Houston, Texas, wishes everybody a very Happy New Year!!
Bibliography - Learn more
Kid's Story
Anastasias was the abbot of a monastery in Egypt. The monastery had a large collection of spiritual books. One of those books was a very precious, rare old volume, worth a fortune.
One day a monk visiting the monastery saw the book and succumbing to temptation made off with it. The theft was discovered the same day and it was not hard for Anastasias to guess the culprit. However, He refused to send anyone after the monk to inquire about the book; for fear that the monk might refuse having taken the book and add the sin of perjury to that of theft.
Meanwhile, the monk tried selling the book and found an interested buyer - a rich man who asked him to leave the book with him for a day so that he could get it evaluated. When the monk left, the rich man hastened to the monastery and showed the book to Anastasias. The abbot instantly recognized the book but did not say anything. The rich man said, “A monk wants to sell this book to me. He’s asking for a gold sovereign. You are very knowledgeable about books. Is this book worth that much?”
“This is a very fine book. It’s worth at least a gold sovereign,” said the abbot.
The rich man thanked the abbot and left. The next day when the monk came, he informed him that he would like to buy the book and was prepared to pay the price he had mentioned. The monk was overjoyed. “Who did you show it to?” he asked.
The rich man said - “Anastasias, the abbot.”
His visitor turned pale. “A-And what did he say?”
He said the book was worth a sovereign.”
“And what else?”
“Nothing”
The monk was both amazed and touched. He realized that the abbot had refused to reclaim his lost treasure so that he, “the thief” would not get into trouble. Nobody had ever shown him such love or had ever behaved so nobly towards him.
“I’ve changed my mind, I don’t want to sell it,” said the monk and took the book from the rich man.
“I’ll give you two sovereigns”, said the rich man. The monk walked away without answering. He went directly to the monastery and handed the book to the abbot, tears brimming in his eyes.
“Keep it,” said Anastasias. “When I learnt you had borrowed it I decided to gift it to you.”
“Please take it back, else I shall never have any peace” pleaded the monk, “please also let me stay here and gain wisdom from you.”
His wish was granted. He spent the rest of his years in the monastery modeling his life after that of the saintly Anastasias.
One day a monk visiting the monastery saw the book and succumbing to temptation made off with it. The theft was discovered the same day and it was not hard for Anastasias to guess the culprit. However, He refused to send anyone after the monk to inquire about the book; for fear that the monk might refuse having taken the book and add the sin of perjury to that of theft.
Meanwhile, the monk tried selling the book and found an interested buyer - a rich man who asked him to leave the book with him for a day so that he could get it evaluated. When the monk left, the rich man hastened to the monastery and showed the book to Anastasias. The abbot instantly recognized the book but did not say anything. The rich man said, “A monk wants to sell this book to me. He’s asking for a gold sovereign. You are very knowledgeable about books. Is this book worth that much?”
“This is a very fine book. It’s worth at least a gold sovereign,” said the abbot.
The rich man thanked the abbot and left. The next day when the monk came, he informed him that he would like to buy the book and was prepared to pay the price he had mentioned. The monk was overjoyed. “Who did you show it to?” he asked.
The rich man said - “Anastasias, the abbot.”
His visitor turned pale. “A-And what did he say?”
He said the book was worth a sovereign.”
“And what else?”
“Nothing”
The monk was both amazed and touched. He realized that the abbot had refused to reclaim his lost treasure so that he, “the thief” would not get into trouble. Nobody had ever shown him such love or had ever behaved so nobly towards him.
“I’ve changed my mind, I don’t want to sell it,” said the monk and took the book from the rich man.
“I’ll give you two sovereigns”, said the rich man. The monk walked away without answering. He went directly to the monastery and handed the book to the abbot, tears brimming in his eyes.
“Keep it,” said Anastasias. “When I learnt you had borrowed it I decided to gift it to you.”
“Please take it back, else I shall never have any peace” pleaded the monk, “please also let me stay here and gain wisdom from you.”
His wish was granted. He spent the rest of his years in the monastery modeling his life after that of the saintly Anastasias.
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