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A hunter was once intimidating a small bird perched on a tree. He was feeling exalted that he is so powerful that he can shoot even a flying bird with his gun. The subdued bird on the other hand reminded him not to boast of his present corporeal form but to sober down just like a humble soul. He then narrated the story of the powerful King Chitraketu, where the soul of his just dead son, reminds him, in front of the august rishis assembled there that in his previous births, he was his father, and many a time Chitraketu was his father. Hence the present physical form of the hunter is just a passing milestone of his soul’s journey and nothing to boast about.
The hunter in return reminds the bird of how Lord Krishna is killed by a hunter named Jara who shoots an arrow that pierces Krishna’s foot mistaking him for a deer when he is resting. So, the corporeal or the personification of the human form is much more powerful than the non-corporeal immortal soul. ‘And what are you, you little bird in front of this mighty hunter’, he aggressed.
‘Oh, don’t you go by the size of my body? Haven’t you heard of the famous Valakhilyas … the thumb-sized sages who cursed and threatened Lord Indra to create another Indra because of his ignoble deeds with the power of their yagya (sacrifice) which terrified Lord Indra the king of the Devas so much that he ran to his guru for advice. So, don’t you mistake your current human form for your strength and my bird form for my weakness, because the bandwidth of our souls is equal? What I can see through my soul you can’t see through your body form’, replied the bird.
‘Well, then you haven’t heard of the great warrior Veer Ghatotkacha who increases the size of his body when he is killed by Karna who uses his Shakti (astra) in the holy war of Mahabharat. Ghatotkacha falls on the Kuru soldiers killing so many of them. One can do so many things with a versatile human embodiment but very less without it. And the soul is just an offshoot of the towering human embodiment.’
The bird reacted by saying, ‘Veer Ghatotkacha’s martyr was for a holy cause. But haven’t you heard of the demon king Hiranyakashipu? He is an adamant corporeal of vice. In contrast, his son Prahlad is a corporeal endowment of virtue and God’s consciousness. The father and the son lost their soul connection and that led to a huge disaster in their lives, didn’t you know that? Hiranyakashipu uses his ungodly embodiment to dissuade Prahlad from the path of righteousness and even tries to incinerate him by making him sit in the lap of his sister Holika who is invulnerable to fire but the reverse only happens. Holika is reduced to ashes by the blazing fire whereas Prahlad comes out unscathed. So hey you hunter tone down your arrogance and deal with me just as how a soul would like to deal with a soul.’ The hunter for a moment thought about the lost connection between the two souls, the soul of King Hiranyakashipu and the soul of his son Prahlad and got a glimpse of his old friend from his previous birth sitting up there on the tree as a bird.
We human beings mostly treat animals and even other human beings as a corporeal identity in life and never as another soul. This leads to friction and distaste. It also leads to inequality, obsequiousness and terror. The hunter would have shot the bird had he dealt with him as a bird but when he connected with the bird’s soul he found him to be an old friend and so he dropped his gun. Remember, the other being is a soul first just like you and me and a body identity later.
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By Kamlesh Tripathi
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https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com
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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers that includes both children and adults and it has a huge variety in terms of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate for the cause. The bank details are given below:
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Our Publications
GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE
(The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in 8 prestigious libraries of the US that includes Harvard College Library; Harvard University Library; Library of Congress; University of Washington, Seattle; University of Minnesota, Minneapolis; Yale University, New Haven; University of Chicago; University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill University Libraries. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in libraries and archives of Canada, Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai; Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida; India. Shoolini University, Yogananda Knowledge Center, Himachal Pradesh and Azim Premzi University, Bangalore).
ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY
(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi; Available for reading in Indian National Bibliography, March 2016, in the literature section, in Central Reference Library, Ministry of Culture, India, Belvedere, Kolkata-700022)
AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES
(Is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity. That happens to be the undying characteristics of Lucknow. The book was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival of 2014. It is included for reading in Askews and Holts Library Services, Lancashire, U.K; Herrick District Library, Holland and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library, Mecklenburg County in North Carolina, USA; Black Gold Cooperative Library Administration, Arroyo Grande, California).
REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD
(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2016)
TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN
(Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his way through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen. The book was launched on 10th February 2018 in Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available on Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)
RHYTHM … in poems
(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day-to-day life. The book is available on Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)
MIRAGE
(Published in February 2020. The book is a collection of eight short stories available in Amazon, Flipkart and Notion Press)
AWADH ASSAM AND DALAI LAMA … The Kalachakra
(The story of the man who received His Holiness The Dalai Lama and his retinue in 1959 as a GOI representative when he fled Tibet in 1959. The book was launched on 21st November 2022 by His Holiness The Dalai Lama).
BHAVANS JOURNAL
Short stories, Book reviews and Articles published in Bhavan’s Journal: 1. Reality and Perception, 15.10.19; 2. Sending the Wrong Message, 31.5.20; 3. Eagle versus Scholars June, 15 & 20 2020; 4. Indica, 15.8.20; 5. The Story of King Chitraketu, August 31 2020; 6. Breaking Through the Chakravyuh, September 30 2020. 7. The Questioning Spouse, October 31, 2020; 8. Happy Days, November 15, 2020; 9. The Karma Cycle of Paddy and Wheat, December 15, 2020; 10. Power Vs Influence, January 31, 2021; 11. Three Refugees, March 15, 2021; 12. Rise and Fall of Ajatashatru, March 31, 2021; 13. Reformed Ruler, May 15, 2021; 14. A Lasting Name, May 31, 2021; 15. Are Animals Better Teachers?, June 16, 2021; 16. Book Review: The Gram Swaraj, 1.7.21; 17. Right Age for Achievements, 15.7.21; 18. Big Things Have Small Beginnings, 15.8.21; 19. Where is Gangaridai?, 15.9.21; 20. Confront the Donkey Within You 30.9.21; 21. Know Your Strengths 15.10.21; 22. Poverty 15.11.21; 23. Top View 30.11.21; 24. The Bansuriwala 15.1.22; 25. Sale of Alaska 15.2.22; 26. The Dimasa Kingdom 28.2.22; 27. Buried Treasure 15.4.22; 28. The Kingdom of Pragjyotisha 30.4.22; 29. Who is more useful? 15.5.22; 30. The White Swan from Lake Mansarovar 30.6.22; 31. Bhool Bhulayya 15.9.22; 32. Good Karma 30.9.22; 33. Good name vs Bad Name 15.10.22; 34. Uttarapath—The Grand Trunk Road 1.12.22; 35. When Gods Get Angry 1.1.23; 36. Holinshed’s Chronicles 15.1.23; 37. Theogony 15.2.23
SUNDAY SHILLONG TIMES:
1. POEM HAPPY NEW YEAR 8.1.23; 2. POEM SPRING 12.3.23;
(ALL THE ABOVE BOOK TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE ON AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)
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