The Story of the Brahmana and the Cobbler
In his book Raja Vidya Srila Prabhupada gives the wonderful story of the Brahmana and the cobbler as follows:
There is a story of Nārada Muni, who was once asked by a brāhmaṇa: "Oh, you are going to meet the Lord? Will you please ask Him when I'm going to get my salvation?"
"All right," Nārada agreed. "I shall ask Him."
As Nārada proceeded, he met a cobbler who was sitting under a tree mending shoes, and the cobbler similarly asked Nārada, "Oh, you are going to see God? Will you please inquire of Him when my salvation will come?"
When Nārada Muni went to the Vaikuṇṭha planets, he fulfilled their request and asked Nārāyaṇa (God) about the salvation of the brāhmaṇa and the cobbler, and Nārāyaṇa replied, "After leaving this body, the cobbler shall come here to me."
"What about the brāhmaṇa?" Nārada asked.
"He will have to remain there for a number of births. I do not know when he is coming."
Nārada Muni was astonished, and he finally said, "I can't understand the mystery of this."
"That you will see," Nārāyaṇa said. "When they ask you what I am doing in My abode, tell them that I am threading the eye of a needle with an elephant."
When Nārada returned to earth and approached the brāhmaṇa, the brāhmaṇa said, "Oh, you have seen the Lord? What was He doing?"
"He was threading an elephant through the eye of a needle," Nārada answered.
"I don't believe such nonsense," the brāhmaṇa replied. Nārada could immediately understand that the man had no faith and that he was simply a reader of books.
Nārada then left and went on to the cobbler, who asked him, "Oh, you have seen the Lord? Tell me, what was He doing?"
"He was threading an elephant through the eye of a needle," Nārada replied.
The cobbler began to weep, "Oh, my Lord is so wonderful, He can do anything."
"Do you really believe that the Lord can push an elephant through the hole of a needle?" Nārada asked.
"Why not?" the cobbler said, "Of course I believe it."
"How is that?"
"You can see that I am sitting under this banyan tree," the cobbler answered, "and you can see that so many fruits are falling daily, and in each seed there is a banyan tree like this one. If, within a small seed there can be a big tree like this, is it difficult to accept that the Lord is pushing an elephant through the eye of a needle?"
So let us faith in Krishna like the faith of the cobbler.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari.
There is a story of Nārada Muni, who was once asked by a brāhmaṇa: "Oh, you are going to meet the Lord? Will you please ask Him when I'm going to get my salvation?"
"All right," Nārada agreed. "I shall ask Him."
As Nārada proceeded, he met a cobbler who was sitting under a tree mending shoes, and the cobbler similarly asked Nārada, "Oh, you are going to see God? Will you please inquire of Him when my salvation will come?"
When Nārada Muni went to the Vaikuṇṭha planets, he fulfilled their request and asked Nārāyaṇa (God) about the salvation of the brāhmaṇa and the cobbler, and Nārāyaṇa replied, "After leaving this body, the cobbler shall come here to me."
"What about the brāhmaṇa?" Nārada asked.
"He will have to remain there for a number of births. I do not know when he is coming."
Nārada Muni was astonished, and he finally said, "I can't understand the mystery of this."
"That you will see," Nārāyaṇa said. "When they ask you what I am doing in My abode, tell them that I am threading the eye of a needle with an elephant."
When Nārada returned to earth and approached the brāhmaṇa, the brāhmaṇa said, "Oh, you have seen the Lord? What was He doing?"
"He was threading an elephant through the eye of a needle," Nārada answered.
"I don't believe such nonsense," the brāhmaṇa replied. Nārada could immediately understand that the man had no faith and that he was simply a reader of books.
Nārada then left and went on to the cobbler, who asked him, "Oh, you have seen the Lord? Tell me, what was He doing?"
"He was threading an elephant through the eye of a needle," Nārada replied.
The cobbler began to weep, "Oh, my Lord is so wonderful, He can do anything."
"Do you really believe that the Lord can push an elephant through the hole of a needle?" Nārada asked.
"Why not?" the cobbler said, "Of course I believe it."
"How is that?"
"You can see that I am sitting under this banyan tree," the cobbler answered, "and you can see that so many fruits are falling daily, and in each seed there is a banyan tree like this one. If, within a small seed there can be a big tree like this, is it difficult to accept that the Lord is pushing an elephant through the eye of a needle?"
So let us faith in Krishna like the faith of the cobbler.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari.
The Cobbler and Narada Muni
Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom
Question: What is Offense Against Chanting?
Hare KrishnaAll glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Please accept my humble obeisances to your lotus feet.
In one of your emails you mentioned "chanting Hare Krishna mantra without any offense." What is meant by "offense?"
Your humble servant,
Ajay
My Dear Ajay,
Please accept my blessings.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Here are the offenses to be avoidedwhile chanting Hare Krishna:
(1) To blaspheme the devotees who have dedicated their lives for
propagating the holy name of the Lord.
(2) To consider the names of demigods like Lord Śiva or Lord Brahmā to be equal to, or independent of, the name of Lord Viṣṇu. (Sometimes the atheistic class of men take it that any demigod is as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu. But one who is a devotee knows that no demigod, however great he may be, is independently as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, if someone thinks that he can chant "Kālī, Kālī!" or "Durgā, Durgā!"and it is the same as Hare Kṛṣṇa, that is the greatest offense.)
(3) To disobey the orders of the spiritual master.
(4) To blaspheme the Vedic literature or literature in pursuance
of the Vedic version.
(5) To consider the glories of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa to be imaginations.
(6) To give some interpretation on the holy name of the Lord.
(7) To commit sinful activities on the strength of the holy name
of the Lord. (It should not be taken that because by chanting the
holy name of the Lord one can be freed from all kinds of sinful
reaction, one may continue to act sinfully and after that chant
Hare Kṛṣṇa to neutralize his sins. Such a dangerous mentality
is very offensive and should be avoided.)
(8) To consider the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa one of the auspicious
ritualistic activities offered in the Vedas as fruitive activities (karma-kāṇḍa).
(9) To instruct a faithless person about the glories of the holy name. (Anyone can take part in chanting the holy name of the Lord, but in the beginning one should not be instructed about the transcendental potency of the Lord. Those who are too sinful cannot appreciate the transcendental glories of the Lord, and therefore it is better not to instruct them in this matter.)
(10) To not have complete faith in the chanting of the holy names
and to maintain material attachments, even after understanding
so many instructions on this matter.
It is also offensive to be inattentive when chanting the Lord's' holy names.
Every devotee who claims to be a Vaiṣṇava must guard against these offenses in order to quickly achieve the desired success, Krishna prema.
I hope this meets you in the best of health.
Your ever well-wisher,
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
ISKCON Founder-Acharya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, ordered his disciples to become gurus and deliver the world. Sankarshan Das Adhikari has taken this order very seriously and is thus accepting disciples all over the world and has dedicated himself fully to the mission of making the entire world Krishna conscious as soon as possible. He requests your help in this most urgent world deliverance mission to save the suffering humanity from gliding down to the animal kingdom in their next births.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari email: sd@worldleader.com
Please accept my humble obeisances to your lotus feet.
In one of your emails you mentioned "chanting Hare Krishna mantra without any offense." What is meant by "offense?"
Your humble servant,
Ajay
Answer: The Offenses to be Avoided
From: Austin, Texas USAMy Dear Ajay,
Please accept my blessings.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Here are the offenses to be avoidedwhile chanting Hare Krishna:
(1) To blaspheme the devotees who have dedicated their lives for
propagating the holy name of the Lord.
(2) To consider the names of demigods like Lord Śiva or Lord Brahmā to be equal to, or independent of, the name of Lord Viṣṇu. (Sometimes the atheistic class of men take it that any demigod is as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu. But one who is a devotee knows that no demigod, however great he may be, is independently as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, if someone thinks that he can chant "Kālī, Kālī!" or "Durgā, Durgā!"and it is the same as Hare Kṛṣṇa, that is the greatest offense.)
(3) To disobey the orders of the spiritual master.
(4) To blaspheme the Vedic literature or literature in pursuance
of the Vedic version.
(5) To consider the glories of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa to be imaginations.
(6) To give some interpretation on the holy name of the Lord.
(7) To commit sinful activities on the strength of the holy name
of the Lord. (It should not be taken that because by chanting the
holy name of the Lord one can be freed from all kinds of sinful
reaction, one may continue to act sinfully and after that chant
Hare Kṛṣṇa to neutralize his sins. Such a dangerous mentality
is very offensive and should be avoided.)
(8) To consider the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa one of the auspicious
ritualistic activities offered in the Vedas as fruitive activities (karma-kāṇḍa).
(9) To instruct a faithless person about the glories of the holy name. (Anyone can take part in chanting the holy name of the Lord, but in the beginning one should not be instructed about the transcendental potency of the Lord. Those who are too sinful cannot appreciate the transcendental glories of the Lord, and therefore it is better not to instruct them in this matter.)
(10) To not have complete faith in the chanting of the holy names
and to maintain material attachments, even after understanding
so many instructions on this matter.
It is also offensive to be inattentive when chanting the Lord's' holy names.
Every devotee who claims to be a Vaiṣṇava must guard against these offenses in order to quickly achieve the desired success, Krishna prema.
I hope this meets you in the best of health.
Your ever well-wisher,
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
The Most Urgent World Deliverance Mission
ISKCON Founder-Acharya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, ordered his disciples to become gurus and deliver the world. Sankarshan Das Adhikari has taken this order very seriously and is thus accepting disciples all over the world and has dedicated himself fully to the mission of making the entire world Krishna conscious as soon as possible. He requests your help in this most urgent world deliverance mission to save the suffering humanity from gliding down to the animal kingdom in their next births.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari email: sd@worldleader.com
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