Shiva Sutras: Power of Devotion - The Story of Ramdas
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Power of Devotion - The Story of Ramdas
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Paramahamsa Nithyananda Speaks On THE POWER OF DEVOTION – STORY OF RAMDAS April 2006
Beautiful story! I just love to tell this story! There was a man in Varanasi. He was staying on the banks of Ganga. Varanasi is the religious capital of India. Per day floating population is three-hundred-thousand (300,000) people! Three-hundred-thousand people enter into that city every day just to touch and have the blessings of Shiva in that city. You will be surprised, no industry, nothing! The whole city, the only income of that whole city, the only reason for the development of the whole city is a few temples of the city; that’s all! If you go there you will see. All these things can happen only in India! Cities grow around temples! Even the village in which I was born and brought up, if you see the value, means, the amount of money, time, energy spent on building the village temple, and the amount of money, time, energy spent on building the whole remaining village, it is not even ten percent! If they have put hundred rupees, hundred men, and hundred percent energy in building the temple, on the whole remaining village they have put hardly less than ten percent of money, ten percent of men, and ten percent of energy to build the whole remaining village. You will be shocked, twenty-five acres stone built-up area, built-up in stone, stone, complete granite built-up area, and all other houses will be made out of wood and mortar, cement, bricks. In this beautiful city, the great city, Varanasi, there was a man, very simple, innocent man, uneducated. He wants to have initiation from a priest. He thought the priest was enlightened, and somehow he devoted himself to that priest. Of course, not only that priest was not enlightened, he is not interested in accepting this illiterate man as a disciple. But, this man’s devotion is such, he is a very village person, his name is actually, Ramdas. His name is Ramdas. He decides, ‘I should take initiation from this priest. Let me do something.’ Then, finally, he somehow comes to know about the initiation process. Initiation means, the disciple will touch the feet of the Master; Master will put the feet on the head of the disciple and give the mantra, means, the holy word, sacred word to repeat. This is the initiation. This guys thinks, ‘If I go and lie down on the banks of the Ganges....’ Actually, early morning the priest will come every day to take bath, early morning four o’clock, before the sunrise. ‘If I lie down in the steps, naturally when he walks, he will put his feet on my head; because it is dark, it is dark, he will not know; he will somehow step on me. So, it is the blessing!’ One more thing, in India there is a habit, strange habit. Even if you step on somebody, if you do some mistake, you say, ‘Ram! Ram Ram! Krishna Krishna!’; not ‘shit’! People, when they do something like this, they say ‘Ram Ram! Krishna Krishna!’ The words which you repeat are very powerful. So, it is expected, any devoted person is supposed to use the words related to God, or sacred words, even when he is unconscious, even when he does something wrong. So, this man, also expected, this Ramdas also expected that his would-be guru, he is a great spiritual person; so, naturally when he steps on him by mistake, he will repeat ‘Ram Ram!’ or ‘Krishna Krishna!’ He thinks, ‘I will take that as a mantra!’ Very intelligent plan! ‘He will put his feet on my head, and, naturally, he will slip, and he will say, “Ram”, or “Krishna”, or some god’s name. I will take that as mantra.’ He goes to the Ganga steps. Early morning four o’clock he is lying on the same path on which the priest used to walk. Almost everything was working, but for one thing. One thing missed. The priest came, he walked in the same route, and he put his feet also on Ramdas. But, because he is not enlightened as Ramdas thought, instead of saying, ‘Rama’ or ‘Krishna’, he shouted, ‘O buffalo! Hey buffalo!’ He just shouted, ‘Fool! Buffalo!’ Just he shouted as ‘Buffalo!’ But, this Ramdas is such a sincere person, he decides, ‘Whatever my master uttered is mantra! I will repeat this word “Buffalo” as my mantra!’ And he starts! You will be shocked! He starts repeating that word “Buffalo, Buffalo, Buffalo, Buffalo, Buffalo”! Continuously he is repeating! He is sitting and repeating that word, “Buffalo, Buffalo”! Just because of his devotion, the story says, really Devi appeared and gave darshan to him in the form of buffalo! If it is just a story, you won’t believe naturally. There is an historical incident, incident which happened. If it is just a story, we won’t.... ‘Baaah! It is just a story for inspiration. Forget about it.’ But there is a history! History! Then you will understand the power of this devotion. The next year, festival time, they were trying to bring this Devi in the procession. When they were trying to bring Devi in the procession..... The door of the main temple is ten feet high. Devi murthi (idol) is only three feet high. But when they were trying to bring that Devi, it is not coming out of that door-frame! It is stuck! Physically there is nothing; but, actually, the Devi murthi is not coming out! Something is hitting! These priests were trying their best. This priest who initiated him is also trying, who initiated him into this Buffalo mantra, he is also trying. The Devi is not coming out. This Ramdas, he was there in the festival. He shouts, ‘Hey, don’t you see the horns of the Devi is hitting the wall? It is hitting the window! It is hitting the door-frame! Just lower a little bit; then she will come out.’ He was able to see Devi is appearing to him in the form of buffalo, and the horns of that buffalo is hitting the door-frame. That is the reason the murthi is not coming out. It is very difficult to believe logically that all these things are possible. Let me tell you one or two more incidents which is historical proof. Then it may.....we may be able to understand. He shouts, ‘O priests! O Gurudev! Why don’t you lower the statue a little bit? The horns of the Devi is hitting the wall.’ The priests are shouting at him, ‘Fool! Don’t you have eyes? What are you talking? Where Devi has horns? Keep quiet! Your being allowed here itself is too much! Get out!’ They were shouting at him. Then they are trying their best. She is not coming out. Finally, he (Ramdas) felt disturbed that they are hitting the Devi’s horn on the door-frame. He just went. By force he pressed the murthi half a feet. Immediately the murthi came out! It came out! The story says, he was given darshan by Devi in the same form of buffalo on which he was meditating. And not only she gave darshan, she proved to the whole world through this incident that whoever meditates, with whatever form, with whatever name, He appears, the Divine appears to them in that same form, in that same way. In memory of this incident, still now they have a beautiful buffalo created in a silk carpet, which will be hanging next to the Devi temples. Still now, if you go to Varanasi, on this festival day they will hang a big curtain in which they have embroidered a buffalo, in a silk curtain, and the puja will be done to that also. Just in memory of this Ramdas, great devotee who meditated on Devi in the form of buffalo and got enlightened just in the same form, just to respect his devotion, still now they worship Devi in the form of buffalo with a big golden screen, a silk screen with golden embroidery. Not one, thousands of incidents! One more thing: The person from whom he took mantra, the priest himself is not enlightened; he never had the darshan of Devi. But the devotee, Ramdas, just because of his devotion, not only was able to have the darshan, he is able to communicate with the Ultimate! Let you be very clear, don’t bother about whether the Master is enlightened or not. The very devotion, the very surrender, the very sincerity, that sincerity itself has got the power to liberate you, to enlighten you! The sweetness, or the beauty of this type of stories, it creates so much of life, it creates so much of devotion, it creates so much of joy in your being! When we just relax for a few minutes from our logic which is constantly nagging us, which is constantly torturing us, and relax your being, this kind of few stories, this few things can create devotion which can straightaway help you to know the Knower!
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