Stories

Transfiguration and other stories

 Part I — Stories translated from Bengali

TRN 1-2. The first two stories in this volume were initially printed, along with other stories, in a pamphlet entitled Silence Liberates published circa 1971.

Transfiguration1

A beggar man and a beggar woman. The woman was ugliness incarnate; the man stoneblind from his very birth. One day they chanced to meet on the outskirts of the town.

“Oh,” she cried, “you are a blind beggar, and I have no one to call my own. I shall clasp your hand and lead you from door to door. And thus both of us shall be benefitted.” She could not express her actual feeling.

“I shall derive much benefit from your kindness, no doubt,” said the beggar man, “but what about your good self? I shall be nothing but a burden to you.”

“A human being cannot live without having such a burden,” she replied.

So from that day on, they went out begging together. She held him by the hand and led him from door to door as he asked for alms. The blind man felt indebted to her and prayed to God to shower blessings on her.

One day they went out far beyond the town and returned home very late. The sun had been unbearably hot and their feet were scorched. As they made their way home, the blind beggar said to his comrade, “Am I not a trouble to you?”

“My life became unbearable,” she said, “simply because I had no such trouble.”

The blind beggar could only remain silent.

One day it began to rain heavily while they were on their way to beg. The violent downpour was accompanied by tremendous thunderbolts. The two beggars ran and took shelter under a huge banyan tree nearby. Even there, the relentless shower made its way through the space between the leaves, soaking them to the skin. The fury of the wind and the lashing rain set them shivering in their scanty rags. Suddenly, in a voice choked with emotion, the blind beggar said, “Ah! What suffering you are put to! But for me, you could have been free!”

“Suffering? No doubt it is suffering. But suffering of this kind alone has made my life worth living.”

Silence reigned upon the lips of the blind beggar.

In this wise, days ran into weeks and weeks into months.

The intimacy of the blind man and the ugly woman grew deeper through touch than through words. She held him by the hand and led him from village to village. Her touch was to him no less than a garland of fragrant flowers laid upon him. That touch, day by day, penetrated his nerves and blood and assuaged a deep-rooted pang of his heart. An utmost, inseparable intimacy grew between them.

One day the blind man burst out, “I am consumed with the desire to see you. How I wish to be blessed with sight even for a day!” At this the woman was simply stunned. For she was convinced that she had got him precisely because he had no sight.

Presently the beggar asked her, “What has come over you? What makes you so upset?”

The beggar woman caught hold of his hand and gave it a gentle shake. “Who? Why? Nothing is the matter.” But the eyes of the beggar woman were now brimming with tears.

The beggar man himself became deeply moved. He asked her why she had begun to weep.

“Are you a magician? You have no sight. How do you know that my eyes are swimming in tears?”

After some moments of silence, he answered,

“Well, I myself do not know how I have known it.”

Silence fell upon the two souls.

One day the woman confided, “You know, I shall lose you the moment your eyes start functioning.”

“Why? How do you mean?” he demanded.

“Well, you know, I… I… I am the most uglylooking woman upon the earth.”

A subtle smile played upon his lips. “You are ugly? Do not lie to me. To your eyes you are ugly because you have not been able to see your true self. But my blind eyes have seen it. You are the embodiment of beauty. Full of compassion are your eyes. A divine affection courses across your lips. A full-bloomed lotus is in your hand. The blush of a red lotus shines upon your cheeks.”

At this, a silent smile hung upon her quivering mouth. That smile was, as it were, laden with the sorrow of the whole world.

“Yet, I pine to see you with my eyes open,” said the blind beggar man.

For two days a storm had been raging in all its fury within the heart of the beggar woman. She had a dream that the beggar would gain the power of sight. If this did happen, what then? The Goddess of Beauty had been hostile to her all along. There was no shadow of a doubt in her heart that the beggar would desert her as soon as he saw her. Again she would have to go her way. And who, but the blind beggar, could have fallen deeply in love with her, ugliness itself?

After a long battle, the selflessness of the woman came successfully to the fore and she decided to tell him of her dream.

“Do you know something?” she said.

“What is it?”

“Soon your eyes will obey your command. You will be able to see at your will.”

An overwhelming delight stilled the power of his speech.

“You will be blessed with the power of sight,” she continued, “when you stand chestdeep in Devi Lake and when the blessing-flower of the Mahalakshmi Temple is put to your eyes at the very moment of sunrise.”

“Is it so?” His heart gave a jump and a thump in ecstasy.

“Mahalakshmi herself has promised me so in my dream.”

Light, hope and delight shone on the beggar’s face.

There was a minute’s silence. A few drops of tears stole into her eyes.

Impatience tortured him. “But when, my dear, when?”

“In two days, the day of the sun’s entrance into Capricorn.”

On the appointed day, both beggar man and beggar woman stood chest-deep in Devi Lake. A fragrant blessing-flower from the Mahalakshmi Temple was in the hand of the beggar man. The beggar woman was trembling with expectation to see the sunrise.

The golden disk was now appearing on the horizon. The beggar woman touched the blind eyes of her beloved with the flower. Lo, the miracle!

The man was blind no more. His bright eyes were now flooded with sight and delight. They reflected the devotion welling up from the depths of his heart. He seized her by the hand and looked eagerly into her face. With a voice full of gratitude, he cried out, “Oh! You… you… you beautiful beggar woman!”

She blushed and her heart gave a throb of ecstasy. She cast a glance at her own reflection in the water. There, in the silvery freshness of the dawn, mirrored in the calm lake, her face, transfigured into the Goddess of Beauty, incarnate.

  1. TRN 1. This story was written by Suresh Chandra Chakravarty. It was translated by Sri Chinmoy from the original Bengali.

Union (A Fable)

An incalculable number of years ago there was a time when man was extremely addlebrained. He treated his consort, the most intimate companion upon earth, as a bond-woman. She was kept, as it were, in iron fetters. She was granted the freedom of moving about inside the house performing all household duties. But she was denied the right of going out of doors.

She accepted her lot without a murmur. No, none was there to read her mind. She would take every care of his room as of the whole household. She would tidy up all her husband’s things and keep them trim and safe for his use, and even the floor she would scrub with her own hands. When the day was done and the Sun dozed into a sweet sleep on the Western brim of the world, she would light a lamp fed with clarified butter and, placing it under the tulsi plant in the courtyard, offer prayers to ward off all unforeseen evils. She would arrange flowers for his daily worship and timely serve food and drink to all concerned. The man was certain that she did all these simply because she had no existence without him.

God could not help smiling at the secret thoughts of the man. He wanted to play a trick on the man. However, God’s fun-making was of the merry type. One day He removed the man’s better half from his house. On entering his house, the man found no food to eat, no water to drink, no flowers to offer to God.

In no time, he flew into a rage. He shouted himself hoarse. He was, as it were, preparing himself to wage a war against somebody. Suddenly God donned the earthly cloak and came into his presence. With utmost innocence, He said to the man: “What has come over you? What is all this commotion?”

“How do you mean?” He was more than angry. “Where is she gone, the one who has been marked for me? Now there is none to serve me with food and drink. Who will collect flowers for me for my daily worship? She used to do all these.”

“So it was only to have all these that you needed her?”

“Then for what else?”

“Can I seize upon your word?”

“I give you my word of honour. There, there alone, her importance ends.”

“I promise, every day you will get food, drink and flowers, all on time.”

By the Omnipotence of God, all the necessities of the man were supplied to him. No, there was not even the slightest flaw in God’s management. The man was timely supplied with everything as before. But only his consort’s presence was denied to him.

All went well — timely food for the appeasement of his hunger, water for the quenching of his thirst, flowers for his daily worship — all were there. But there was something lacking in his life. The tune that would fill the gap between his food and drink and bring in a wave of satisfaction between his drink and worship was sadly missing. Now his food was simply food, his water was mere water, his flowers were mere flowers. Life appeared to him as cruelty personified. Everything went on mechanically, like the hands of a clock.

One day the man returned home dead tired. He found everything in perfect order — his food, his drink, his flowers, in a word, whatever he actually might have wanted. Yet his anger knew no bounds. He cried out, “Who wants all these? Who can put up with Your cruel mockery? Who can abide by Your mechanical dealings?” Then, with a tremendous kick, he sent all the utensils and the flowers flying pell-mell.

God appeared. “What is wrong with you again?”

In lieu of a meet reply, the man blurted out: “You are clever enough to guess the reason. How long will You keep up this farce? Who wants all these services from You? Take them all back. Who wants Your insipid gifts? Give her back who was absolutely my own. My heart is in hot haste to see her. I have had no heart for anything else. I cannot lure my heart away from her.”

A subtle smile played upon the eyes of God. He made the man feel for himself that his wild anger was the malady of his own heart. So now God returned his wife.

The sight of her sent the man mad with joy. He was overwhelmed with a tremendous emotion. In the twinkling of an eye, he released her from her fetters. He decked her wrists with two gold bracelets and placed round her neck a pendant of snow-white pearls. His heart was ravished with love. He hugged her impetuously. “It does not behoove me to treat you as a bondwoman anymore. You are my peer in every respect. You are perfection’s model. You are the Purna [the deity of Fulfilment]. By your magic touch, the empty hearts become filled with the richness of delight. You eclipse Lakshmi’s matchless pride of beauty. It is you who complete the incomplete.”

That was the day when the gods were awakened by the redolent smell of the flowers offered by man.

  1. TRN 2. This story was written by Suresh Chandra Chakravarty. It was translated by Sri Chinmoy from the original Bengali.

II Part 2 – Stories

 God is your only own

One day, while a spiritual Master was meditating, one of his female disciples came up to him and said, “Master, Master, please do me a favour.”

He asked, “What kind of favour?”

She explained, “My husband is unmanageable. I want him to be under my control. I am infinitely wiser than he is, so I want him to listen to me.”

The Master said, “I cannot make him do that. It is an impossible task.”

The woman became annoyed with the Master. She said to him, “Master, why do you say that you can bring God to us? If you cannot do something as simple as make my husband listen to me, then how can you bring God to us? That is infinitely more difficult! If you cannot do even this small favour for me, if you cannot help me in this small way, then how will you ever be able to show us God? I want my husband to be under my full control. You cannot do that, yet you say you can bring God down to us from Heaven. How can this be? I am sure that if you can bring God down from Heaven, then easily you can make my husband come under my control.”

Finally, the woman’s tirade came to an end. In a calm and quiet voice, the spiritual Master replied, “I can bring God to you because God is your own, whereas your husband is not your own.”

Now the woman became really upset. “What do you mean?” she cried. “We are married legally. And we have been together for so many years! Now you are saying that my husband is not my own. If my husband is not my own, then who else can be mine?”

The woman stood before the Master, moving her arms as she spoke. Her attitude was almost threatening. Nevertheless, the Master continued in the same patient and calm voice, “Look, you want to bring your husband under your control. Your husband also wants to do the same with you. He wants you to be under his control. What am I going to do? I am lost in between two bosses. Here is the proof that you and he are not one. You and he are not thinking the same. You want to be his boss; he wants to be your boss. Neither of you is coming forward to surrender to the other. You are not saying, ‘All right, let me surrender to him. If he wants to be my boss, then let me surrender.’ And he also is not agreeing to surrender to you. So already you two have differences of opinion. Your desire is to bring your husband under your control. You want to lord it over him. He wants to do the same with you. Your wish he is not fulfilling, and his wish you are not fulfilling. So how can you be one?”

The Master gestured for the woman to sit down. Then he went on, “On the other hand, if you pray to God, ‘God, do give me Peace, Love and Bliss,’ God immediately listens to your request. So is He not truly your own? As soon as you pray to God to give you inner wealth, God immediately listens. So God is absolutely your own.”

The woman jumped up and said, “Master, you stay with your philosophy. Your philosophy is too complicated.” Then she left the Master’s house quite abruptly.

A few hours later, the husband came to the Master with the same request: he wanted his wife to listen to him. The Master told the husband the same thing that he had told the wife. He said, “God is the only one who is your own because only God listens to your prayers, whereas your wife does not listen to your prayers.”

In a voice laden with despair, the husband said, “I have had enough of her. Since we got married, she has destroyed all my peace, all my joy.”

“Then go forward on your own,” advised the spiritual Master.

The husband cast aside all his complaints against his wife and started praying and meditating with the Master most soulfully. Several hours passed. Meanwhile, the wife did not know where her husband had gone. She arrived at the Master’s house to inform him that her husband was missing. She came rushing into the room and said to the Master, “It is late into the night, but my husband has not come home.”

All of a sudden she noticed that her husband was sitting on the ground in front of the Master. He was in deep meditation and she saw that her husband’s face was full of light. His entire being shone with light.

An inner transformation was taking place inside the wife. She said to herself, “If he can be happy like this, then what is wrong with me? Let me also pray and meditate with the Master and not think about controlling my husband.”

So each of them began to follow the spiritual life most sincerely and, in the course of time, each one stopped trying to control the other. They only prayed and prayed. Whenever they had to arrive at an important decision, the husband would say to the wife, “Your way is the only way,” and the wife would say to the husband, “Your way is the only way.”

This is how they became really happy, peaceful and blissful.

God the slave

One day God appeared before a certain seeker with folded hands and began bowing to the seeker again and again.

The seeker was simply shocked. He cried out, “God, what are You doing? What are You doing?”

God made no reply. He only bowed down and touched the feet of the seeker.

“God, You have gone crazy, crazy!” shouted the seeker in disbelief.

This time God spoke. He said, “No, I am not crazy.”

“Then please explain Your behaviour to me, God,” begged the seeker. “How can You touch my feet? How can You stand in front of me with folded hands? What does it mean?”

Finally, God answered him: “Every day you demand something from me. You tell me, ‘God, give me this, give me that; give me this, give me that!’ Your demands and commands have no beginning and no end. Every day you command Me to do so many things. Who can issue commands? Only he who is superior. One can only command someone who is subordinate, like a slave. So I have become your slave.

“Since you have made Me your slave, I have to stand in front of you with folded hands and touch your feet. At every moment you are commanding Me to give you this and give you that. Therefore, you must be superior to Me. That is why I have come with folded hands and why I am touching your feet again and again. It is you who have made Me your slave.”

The oath of silence

There were three monks who were very close friends. One was a Russian, one was a German and one was an Italian. They all wanted to realise God, so they entered into an Himalayan cave and took an oath of silence. They decided to pray and meditate most intensely, and not to utter a single word until they had realised God.

For one year, everything went well. They remained silent and they enjoyed very deep meditations. Alas, the day came when the weather became unbearably cold. The three monks were shivering. Each one was finding it extremely difficult to meditate.

Finally, the Italian monk opened his eyes and said, “It is very cold here.”

The German monk opened his eyes and said, “You are right, my friend.”

Hearing their conversation, the Russian monk flew into a rage. “You two are so bad!” he thundered. “You cannot keep your promise. You have to discuss the weather! What is more, you have interrupted my meditation. I was drinking in peace and delight, but now it is all ruined. What happened to your sacred oath? It is simply worthless!”

Like this, he went on insulting the German monk and the Italian monk mercilessly.

Still his anger did not abate. At last, the Russian monk said, “You two are worse than useless! I am leaving you.” Saying this, he left the cave.

The German monk and the Italian monk were so furious and upset at the behaviour of the Russian monk. “What right does he have to scold us?” they shouted. They became so disgusted that they, too, decided to leave the cave.

This is how the three monks ended their silence and abandoned the Himalayan cave. Needless to say, God-realisation was nowhere to be found!

Part V — Stories about Christian saints

TRN 24-33. These stories for children about the lives of some of the Christian saints were told by Sri Chinmoy in June 1981.

The Virgin Mary appears in a dream

There was once a little girl who came of a poor family. Her parents could not send her to school because they were so poor. As a result, this little girl could not read or write properly, but she had the earnest desire to learn how to read and write. Her parents were very spiritual and they taught her how to pray.

The little girl used to pray daily most soulfully and then she used to help her parents in their work. Late at night, when her parents were fast asleep, she used to get up secretly and try to teach herself to read and write. She wanted to read and write well so that she could be of real help to her family. She wanted to be able to work outside and bring money home to support her family.

One night, when the little girl was fast asleep, she had a dream. In the dream, the Virgin Mary came to her in a vivid form and said, “You do not have to learn how to read and write. You have to do only three things in your life in order to please God.”

Already the young girl used to pray and meditate very soulfully every day. So the Virgin Mary told her, “The first thing is to keep your heart always pure. The second thing is not to criticise anybody, not to speak ill of anybody. The third thing is, when you think of your own troubles, think how much more Jesus suffered when he was on earth. His suffering will be much more than yours. So if you can do these three things, you will be very happy and God will be most pleased with you.”

The girl obeyed the Virgin Mary. In the course of time, when she grew up, she joined a convent and became a nun. She did a splendid job, both for God and for humanity. Her name was Veronica. We call her Saint Veronica. She was born in a village near Milan, Italy.

Spiritual commentary:

Veronica always listened to her superiors. She was rightly convinced that to listen to one’s superiors is to obey God. You, too, sweet children, should listen to your superiors, starting with your own parents. It is as good as obeying our Beloved Supreme.

The most important thing is the message that Veronica received from the Virgin Mary: you have to be pure of heart and not criticise others. When you think you have all kinds of troubles, remember what kind of suffering Jesus went through. And, when you listen to your parents, immediately think that you are listening to God. Immediately think that what they are saying is for your good and, if you can please them, then you are pleasing God.

My sweet, sweeter, sweetest children, I want you all to be like saints.

The Mother’s chosen child

She was of poor parents and she was poor in health. Earthly poverty was her outer name. Heavenly prosperity was her inner name. One day her parents sent her and her younger sister together to collect firewood. She had an unexpected vision. A beautiful lady appeared before her. The lady was dressed in blue and white and she was holding a rosary in her right hand. She was full of compassion and love.

The lady blessingfully smiled at the older sister and made the sign of the cross. The girl at once fell on her knees, took out her own rosary and started praying. The beautiful lady told her that she had something special to do on earth, that she must pray every day devotedly for the sinners. Also the lady told her that she would suffer much on earth, but in Heaven she would rejoice.

When she grew up, the young girl became a nun. She was humility incarnate. Simplicity, sincerity and humility everybody appreciated in her.

The same lady, the Mother of Christ, appeared before her eighteen more times. One day her younger sister said to her, “Look, everybody appreciates and admires you because you are a chosen child of the Mother.”

She replied, “How can I be proud? She has chosen me because I am the most ignorant of all.”

One day the Mother appeared before her and said, “Dig in the mud.” She did as she was asked and, lo and behold, water began to spring up. Over the years, many miracles have been performed when people use this holy water from Lourdes.

She is our Saint Bernadette.

The rock of the church

There was a fisherman who became a close disciple of the Christ. Before the Christ left for Heaven, he asked this disciple to be head of the church. The disciple preached the gospel and took special care of the Church.

At first he worked very hard in Jerusalem and other places. Then he became Bishop of Rome. At that time, Rome was a most undivine city. But the disciple’s exemplary devotedness, along with the Lord’s infinite Compassion, brought many lost souls to the Christ.

He was martyred for his faith. Since his departure from the earth-scene, there has always been a Bishop of Rome. This disciple is now known as the first Pope. The Pope is he who represents the Christ on earth. His successors are lovingly called the Holy Father by all.

He is our Saint Peter. It was Christ who gave him the name Peter, meaning ‘rock’. The Christ told him, “It is upon this rock that I will build My Church.”

The transformation of Saul

There was a very brilliant young man whose name was Saul. He was at home in the Hebrew religion. He hated the Christ and his followers. He did not believe in the divinity of Christ in the least. As a matter of fact, it was Saul who used to torture mercilessly the followers of Christ and it was also he who stoned to death the first martyr, St Stephen.

One day Saul was riding a horse in the city of Damascus. He saw a very bright light all around him. He fell down from his horse. Then he heard a voice, “Saul, Saul, why do you want to persecute Me? What have I done to you?”

Saul asked, “Who are you?”

The voice replied, “I am Jesus. Do you not realise that it will be hard for you to kick against the good?”

Saul was deeply moved and he began trembling. He begged the Christ, “Forgive me, Lord, forgive me. Forgive all my sins. You tell me what I should do.”

The Lord said, “Accept Me, spread My Light all over.”

“Lord, I promise You I shall do that,” said Saul.

From that time onwards, Saul travelled all over the world spreading the message of Christ. Very hard he worked. Very much he suffered. But nothing could stop him from bringing souls to the Christ. He was always soulfully adamant in that. He was more than ready to suffer for the Christ and to bring lost souls to the Christ.

When Saul was very old, he was sentenced to prison. After many years in prison, he was beheaded.

During his life, Saul wrote fourteen most soulful, most powerful letters to the Christians. These letters now adorn the Holy Bible. They are called Epistles. They are read every morning at early mass.

This is the transformation of Saul into our Saint Paul.

Spiritual commentary:

The undivine not only surrenders ultimately to the Divine, but also listens to the Divine completely and unconditionally.

The slave turns over a new leaf

There was a slave who was in the habit of stealing. One day he stole something very valuable from his master, Philemon, and ran away to Rome. On the way, he felt miserable that he had stolen from his master, and so he went to see the great apostle St Paul, who was then in prison because of his faith.

St Paul had a big heart. He showed much affection and love to the slave. Since the slave had now repented of his misdeed, St Paul hoped that his master would forgive him. The master, who was a Christian, happened to be a friend of St Paul’s. Therefore, he listened to the request of the saint.

When the slave returned to his master’s house, the master saw that the slave had totally turned over a new leaf. Not only had he turned over a new leaf, but he was expressing deep interest in the spiritual life. So the master set him free and said, “You can spend your life for God.”

The former slave was so happy and delighted. He went back to St Paul and became a very devoted server to him. He became an excellent God-seeker and man-server. St Paul made him a priest and later, even a bishop.

It seems that the power of ignorance is all-where. Although, in his case, the former slave had conquered ignorance, his enemies stoned him to death, for they could not tolerate his exemplary faith in Christ and his extraordinary service to the God-lovers.

He is our Saint Onesimus.

A Swedish saint

This story is about a little girl who was born in Sweden. Her parents were holy people. At the age of seven, the little girl was sent to a convent for education. When she was fourteen years old, her parents married her to a young nobleman.

She always spoke to her husband about her love of God and about how desperately she needed to lead a spiritual life. Her husband said, “Let us lead together a brotherly and sisterly life.” So this young couple lived a pure and pious life. Together they used to pray to God and they used to serve the people in their town.

Many of the girl’s relatives did not approve of her spiritual life. They mocked at her and insulted her, but she was not at all disturbed. She consecrated her life totally to God’s Will.

One day, quite unexpectedly, her husband died. Since the girl was quite young and beautiful, many men requested to marry her. She flatly refused. She said, “My husband and I loved God together. Now he is with Him. I shall pray every day for hours to please my God.”

When the girl’s mother died, she entered into a convent. Her simplicity, sincerity and purity fulfilled her God in her completely. She is our Saint Catherine.

The shepherd boy

There was a poor shepherd boy who lived in England. He loved nothing but games and his friends loved him dearly for his childlike nature. But one day one of his friends told him, “I am not going to waste so much time with you in playing. It is a waste of time. We have to value time.”

The poor shepherd was so grateful to his friend for his wise advice. When he was fifteen years old, the Lord granted him a powerful and vivid vision of the Lord Himself. The boy then gave up everything and wanted to become a saint. He entered a monastery. Later, he became a hermit on a small island off the coast.

In the course of time, he was made a bishop and he went from village to village cheerfully, devotedly and unconditionally to spread the message of the Saviour.

Although by nature this priest wanted to live a life of seclusion, for that is what he loved most, his love of God and his service to mankind came first and foremost. So he gladly fulfilled his divine duty.

His name was Saint Cuthbert.

The saint-king

There was once a very soulful God-lover and, at the same time, a very powerful man-ruler in Denmark. He ruled his kingdom powerfully in the sense that there could be no corruption in his kingdom and not that he wanted to show his supremacy over his subjects. His power-life and soulful heart he utilised in a divine way.

At the dawn of his reign, he had to fight against the barbarians. He defeated them easily and placed his victorious crown at the feet of Christ in a church. He gave the credit to Christ. He felt that it was the Christ-force acting in and through him that conquered the barbarian force. Therefore, he was extremely grateful to Christ and placed his victory’s crown on the altar.

In this life, unfortunately, when we become great and good, we become a victim to others’ jealousy, meanness and hatred. So it was that this King had many enemies. His enemies did not appreciate his good qualities and, above all, they did not appreciate his support for the Church.

The King wanted everyone to go to church regularly and support the church in every possible way. He wanted people to be spiritual and he wanted the church to be more disciplined and self-giving. His enemies could not tolerate this. They wanted to kill him.

One day the King was in the church praying. His enemies came to the church. The King knew his enemies intended to harm him and so, before any harm could fall on him, he prayed to the Christ to forgive them. Then he prostrated himself before the cross and awaited death. Lo and behold, his enemies threw a spear at him through a window and killed him.

A heart of compassion and a soul of forgiveness was he. He is our Saint Canute.

The Egyptian saint

In a small village in Egypt he was born. His parents were rich. When he was twenty years old, both his parents died and he became the owner of a large estate. He had a younger sister. Both brother and sister were kind to each other and fond of each other. Both of them decided to lead the spiritual life.

One day this young man heard something in the church that transformed his consciousness: “Give everything to the poor and follow me, if you want to have your treasure in Heaven.” He thought that this message was meant directly for him. So he gave away everything. His sister was glad that he did so. She joined a convent to lead a spiritual life. She became a nun.

He went into the desert to remove himself from worldly distractions. There he received spiritual instruction from several hermits. In the course of time, many people began to flock to him for spiritual guidance. When he was over fifty, he built a monastery. By that time, he had many devoted disciples and admirers. They all needed his advice. They all admired his inner depth.

He told them that all problems can be solved only through prayers. There is and there can be no other way. He told them, “We are afraid of the devil. The devil is afraid of us. The devil is afraid of us when we pray, especially when we love Jesus with all our heart and soul.”

He lived a very long life. He ended his earthly existence in a cave at the age of 105. His was a life not only of God-service to man but also man-illumination for God. Discouragement was a stranger to him. Continuous enthusiasm, continuous zeal, continuous self-giving his aspiration-heart and dedication-life became.

He is our St Anthony of the Desert.

The choice of the two brothers

There were two brothers who were born in Italy. They had tremendous love for their religion, Christianity, and both of them tirelessly performed countless services for the needy.

These two brothers happened to be extremely close to one another. The Bishop of their district made them priests and they began to preach devotedly and unreservedly to the poor and the rich alike.

Fear could not torment them, although their enemies tried to kill them. When the Emperor Hadrian came to hear about these two brothers, he put them into prison and asked his soldiers to torture them mercilessly.

Then the Emperor informed the brothers that either they would have to give up their Christian faith totally or they would have to suffer unspeakably until the end in the hands of the soldiers.

The brothers gladly chose torture and suffering and did not abandon Christianity. These two brothers were Saint Faustinus and Saint Jovita.

(Sri Chinmoy, Transfiguration and other stories)

 

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We are all leaves, flowers
And fruits
On the different religion-branches
Of the birthless and deathless
Life-tree.

(Sri Chinmoy)

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