A collection of best short stories with varied interests will be published on this blog from classic stories to modern. Stories would be Inspirational, spiritual, full with wisdom, famous, fiction, funny or humorous to stories for children, adult, fiction, non fiction, bible stories,social stories, follkore . So feel free to find a story to read online be your mood happy or sad. Navigate through the list of labels like Zen and Sufi.
Miniature of Nasreddin Hodja (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
In order to teach this truth to a would-be student, who was 'full of himself', Nasrudin got a pitcher and took the young man to a well in the village.
The Mulla drew a bucket of water up from the well and poured it in the pitcher. Then he drew up another and another until the young man could contain himself no longer: 'Mulla, mulla!' he cried out. 'There is no bottom in the pitcher and the water is pouring out.'
'Nonsense!' Nasrudin retorted. 'I am trying to fill the pitcher and my eyes are fixed upon the neck. When the water reaches the neck of the pitcher, it will be full. What on earth has the bottom of the pitcher got to do with it?'
This incident perplexed the would-be student and he pondered the Nasrudin's insane actions for several days, until the truth suddenly dawned on him. So he went back to see the Mulla and, cap in hand, he said: 'Mulla. Please teach me about the pitcher. I am now ready to learn.'
“Divine Grace is not limited by conditions of ability.
Ability, in fact, is conditioned by Divine Grace.”
Hearing this, one of the disciples remarked, “Sire, if realization be so easy of attainment, then why is it that disciples are invariably made to undergo a long period of trials and austerities?”
In reply, Ghaus Ali Shah related the following anecdote:
“A certain man, having two vessels encrusted with the rust and dirt of many years, decided to have them cleansed.
He gave one vessel to a professional who promised to cleanse it in forty days, and the other to a man who undertook to do the job in a single day. The professional began to work at his vessel scientifically.
He subjected it to many different processes over a period of forty days, and he made the vessel not only spick and span but also a thing fit for use.
“The second man, who had promised to finish the job in one day, adopted the very drastic procedure of burning the vessel in a huge fire. This cleansed the vessel quickly and completely, but made it brittle and worthless.
It can be seen, therefore, that although both the vessels were made clean, only that which underwent the lengthy process was of any use.”
The Master went on to say that it was for this reason that a Perfect Master seldom gave realization to an aspirant instantaneously, but led him to it slowly so that he might become a robust, useful vessel for God’s work.
In this connection, Meher Baba once remarked to his disciples, “Realization can be imparted to anyone in a second. It will then be for one’s own self only with no benefit to others.
You might like to watch a very good video made on "How to Love God" by Meher Baba on youtube.
There is a story of a Master who was
p e s t e red by a disciple as to when he would realize God. Once when they went to bathe in a river the Master held the aspirant under water for a few moments.
When the disciple was on the verge of
suffocation the Master pulled him out and asked what he had thought of and longed for most while under the water.
The aspirant replied, “Air.” The Master explained that when the disciple had just as intense a longing for God then Realization would come.
Maulana Rumi says:
Ab kamju, tishnigi avar bidast.
“Call out for water less, but create thirst for it more.”
In the words of Meher Baba, “The Path begins with a conscious longing for a deeper reality. As the fish which is taken out of water longs to go back to the water, so the aspirant who has sensed the
Goal longs to be united with God.
In the above video from youtube a storyteller Irving Rothstein narrates a very short Mulla Nasruddin story called a 'Perfect Woman'. You can listen this story online on youtube video.
He starts by telling that Nasruddin is a popular character from Sufi literature.
He says in this story Mulla Nasrudin is a sophisticated character, who comes home, to have coffee with his best friend, after wandering around the world.
"Nasruddin", his friend said, "You are smart, sophisticated, elegant and handsome. How is it that you haven't married?"
"Well I am looking for the perfect woman."
"I mean you have never found her well."
"I got closer few times, I met beautiful girl here and there, but you know there was always something lacking." "Except, one time I did find a perfect woman." Well, she was tall, she was beautiful, she was intelligent, she was compassionate, she had everything a man would possibly want."
Billy Goat Gruff Billy Goat at Woodside Conservation Centre (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Nasruddin was crossing a field when a billy goat charged him. With
no time to escape, the Mulla stood his ground and struck the animal between
the horns with a large rock. The goat dropped to the ground, just as the
owner ran up. 'You've killed my best goat.'
I'm sorry, but it was attempting to kill me.'
'Couldn't you have simply struck it on the rump?'
'I could have,' replied Nasrudin, 'but it was not attempting to
kill me with its rump, but with its horns.'
You might also like to watch an animated story for kids of Mulla Nasruddin called To se the almighty on youtube.
"At one time Rani Rasmani was staying in the temple garden. She came to the shrine of the Divine Mother, as she frequently did when I worshipped Kali, and asked me to sing a song or two. On this occasion, while I was singing, I noticed she was sorting the flowers for worship absent-mindedly. At once I slapped her on the cheeks. She became quite embarrassed and sat there with folded hands.
"Alarmed at this state of mind myself, I said to my cousin Haladhari: 'Just see my nature! How can I get rid of it?' After praying to the Divine Mother for some time with great yearning, I was able to shake off this habit.
"When one gets into such a state of mind, one doesn't enjoy any conversation but that about God. I used to weep when I heard people talk about worldly matters. When I accompanied Mathur Babu on a pilgrimage, we spent a few days in Benares at Raja Babu's house. One day I was seated in the drawing-room with Mathur Babu, Raja Babu, and others. Hearing them talk about various worldly things, such as their business losses and so forth, I wept bitterly and said to the Divine Mother: 'Mother, where have You brought me? I was much better off in the temple garden at Dakshineswar. Here I am in a place where I must hear about "woman and gold". But at Dakshineswar I could avoid it.'"
Once, while at Vrindavan, he felt thirsty and went to a well.
Near it he saw a man standing. On being asked to draw a little water for him, the man said: 'I belong to a low caste, sir. You are a brahmin.
How can I draw water for you?' Krishnakishore said: Take the name of Siva. By repeating
His holy name you will make yourself pure.' The low-caste man did as he was told, and Krishnakishore, orthodox brahmin that he was, drank that water. What tremendous faith!
Once I had the desire to put on a gold-embroidered robe, wear a ring on my finger, and smoke a hubble-bubble with a long pipe. Mathur Babu procured all these things for me. I wore the gold-embroidered robe and said to myself after a while, 'Mind! This is what is called a gold-embroidered robe.' Then I took it off and threw it away. I couldn't stand the robe any more. Again I said to myself, 'Mind! This is called a shawl, and this a ring, and this, smoking a hubble-bubble with a long pipe.' I threw those things away once for all, and the desire to enjoy them never arose in my mind again."
You might also like to watch a very good video on youtube
Description About Devendranath Majumdar~ "Do you know what your attitude to God is? It is like that of the Gopis to Krishna," Sri Ramakrishna had said to him one day. Immersed in this Gopi-bhava Devendra used to sing and dance in ecstasy, elevating the minds of all those present by the spiritual vibration of his songs. Near the end of his life he composed this beautiful hymn on Sri Ramakrishna. Hearing it Swami Brahmananda commented, "Devendra composed that song while absorbed in a high plane of consciousness, beyond the reach of ordinary people."
There is need of everything. Once Sita said to her Husband: 'Rama, it would be grand if every house in Ayodhya were a mansion! I find many houses old and dilapidated.' 'But, my dear,' said Rama, 'if all the houses were beautiful ones, what would the masons do?' (Laughter.)
God has created all kinds of things. He has created good trees, and poisonous plants and weeds as well.
Among the animals there are good, bad, and all kinds of creatures — tigers, lions, snakes, and so on
"There is another way: earnestly praying to God. God is our very own. We should say to Him: 'O God, what is Thy nature? Reveal Thyself to me. Thou must show Thyself to me; for why else hast Thou created me?' Some Sikh devotees once said to me, 'God is full of compassion.' I said: 'But why should we call Him compassionate? He is our Creator. What is there to be wondered at if He is kind to us? Parents bring up their children. Do you call that an act of kindness? They must act that way.' Therefore we should force our demands on God. He is our Father and Mother, isn't He? It the son demands his patrimony and gives up food and drink in order to enforce his demand, then the parents hand his share over to him three years before the legal time. Or when the child demands some pice from his mother, and says over and over again: 'Mother, give me a couple of pice. I beg you on my knees!' — then the mother, seeing his earnestness, and unable to bear it any more, tosses the money to him.
This Sri Ramakrishna advice to seek beloved God's or Goddesses love and grace. Recently I was reading a book about life of Meher Baba, Avatar of the age. There is interesting incident that happened. One devotee asked for Meher Baba's blessings to realize God. Meher Baba warned him not to ask for his blessings for the same as it would be really difficult to bear for him. But instead ask for His love.
However the devotee was persistent. Despite three to four warnings of Meher Baba to ask for His love and not blessings, he pestered Baba for the His blessings. Finally Baba said he had his blessings.
This devotee was well to do with wealth and happy family. Soon his fortune changed. He became extremely poor. He was in dire straits, with no house to live and not even being able to feed his small family. He passed few years in extreme difficulties. Tired he decided to commit suicide.
As he was walking with the desire for suicide in his mind. He saw Eruch Jessawala, Eruch was surprised to see him in tattered clothes. He listened to his condition and took him to Meher Baba who was near by. Meher Baba told him that he had warned him. Then Meher Baba gave him love. Soon the man's condition improved. He was wealthy again with a comfortable business and huge and comfortable home.
means what Guru gives without giving is milk, what Guru gives after you ask is water. And if you get something by pestering Guru it is blood.
Enjoy a very nice video from youtube, the video clip has nice music with chants. Quotes attributed to Shri Ramakrihsna Paramahamsha and pictures of Him and close devotees like Swami Vivekananda, Ma Sardadevi, Master Mahashaya (author of Gospel of Ramakrishna), Swami Bramananda, Swami Sardananda, Swami Turiyananada, Swami Nirjananda, Panchvati (where Ramakrishna performed intense Sadhna (spiritual practice), Swami Sardananda (author of life of Ramakrishna), NagMahashaya (A saintly house holder devotee of Sri Ramakrishna), Swami Bramananda (mind born son of Sri Ramakrishna).
"Once a man was about to cross the sea. Bibhishana wrote Rama's name on a leaf, tied it in a corner of the man's wearing-cloth, and said to him: 'Don't be afraid. Have faith and walk on the water. But look here — the moment you lose faith you will be drowned.' The man was walking easily on the water. Suddenly he had an intense desire to see what was tied in his cloth. He opened it and found only a leaf with the name of Rama written on it. 'What is this?' he thought. 'Just the name of Rama!' As soon as doubt entered his mind he sank under the water.
"If a man has faith in God, then even if he has committed the most heinous sins — such as killing a cow, a brahmin, or a woman — he will certainly be saved through his faith. Let him only say to God, 'O Lord,! will not repeat such an action', and he need not be afraid of anything."
Enjoy a small nice video clip with quotes of Sri Ramakrishna on youtbe video
A wood-cutter once entered a forest to gather wood. A brahmachari said to him, 'Go forward.' He obeyed the injunction and discovered some sandal-wood trees. After a few days he reflected, 'The holy man asked me to go forward. He didn't tell me to stop here.' So he went forward and found a silver-mine. After a few days he went still farther and discovered a gold-mine, and next, mines of diamonds and precious stones. With these he became immensely rich.
"Through selfless work, love of God grows in the heart. Then, through His grace, one realizes Him in course of time. God can be seen. One can talk to Him as I am talking to you."
Below is yet another different story from youtube, about a hones wood cutter.
Men often think they have understood Brahman fully. Once an ant went to a hill of sugar. One grain filled its stomach. Taking another grain in its mouth it started homeward. On its way it thought, 'Next time I shall carry home the whole hill.' That is the way shallow minds think. They don't know that Brahman is beyond one's words and thought. However great a man may be, how much can he know of Brahman? Sukadeva and sages like him may have been big ants; but even they could carry at the utmost eight or ten grains of sugar!
This one is great story for the spiritual seekers. Another similar story narrated by Sri Ramakrishna Paramhamsha is, one that comes to mind on this subject is.
When a person visit is mango farm. Why should he worry about --- How many mangoes are there? How many mango trees are there in farm? How many leaves are there in farm? If he is there to satisfy his hunger, he should first eat the mangoes and fill satisfied and relax. Perhaps after that he might get curious about the other things.
These stories are related to the spiritual grace for devotees or seekers. People often go to spiritual guru's, or a sacred place (pilgrimage). There first they should do is imbibe the grace as much as they can and then worry about other things.
MASTER (smiling): "Oh, no! You mustn't go that far, my child! (Laughter.) God dwells in all beings. But you may be intimate only with good people; you must keep away from the evil-minded. God is even in the tiger; but you cannot embrace the tiger on that account. (Laughter.) You may say, 'Why run away from a tiger, which is also a manifestation of God?' The answer to that is: 'Those who tell you to run away are also manifestations of God — and why shouldn't you listen to them?'
"Let me tell you a story. In a forest there lived a holy man who had many disciples. One day he taught them to see God in all beings and, knowing this, to bow low before them all. A disciple went to the forest to gather wood for the sacrificial fire. Suddenly he heard an outcry: 'Get out of the way! A mad elephant is coming!' All but the disciple of the holy man took to their heels. He reasoned that the elephant was also God in another form. Then why should he run away from it? He stood still, bowed before the animal, and began to sing its praises. The mahut of the elephant was shouting: 'Run away! Run away!' But the disciple didn't move. The animal seized him with its trunk, cast him to one side, and went on its way. Hurt and bruised, the disciple lay unconscious on the ground. Hearing what had happened, his teacher and his brother disciples came to him and carried him to the hermitage. With the help of some medicine he soon regained consciousness. Someone asked him, 'You knew the elephant was coming — why didn't you leave the place?' 'But', he said, 'our teacher has told us that God Himself has taken all these forms, of animals as well as men. Therefore, thinking it was only the elephant God that was coming, I didn't run away.' At this the teacher said: 'Yes, my child, it is true that the elephant God was coming; but the mahut God forbade you to stay there. Since all are manifestations of God, why didn't you trust the mahut's words? You should have heeded the words of the mahut God.' (Laughter.) "It is said in the scriptures that water is a form of God. But some water is fit to be used for worship, some water tor washing the face, and some only for washing plates or dirty linen. This last sort cannot be used for drinking or for a holy purpose. In like manner, God undoubtedly dwells in the hearts of all — holy and unholy, righteous and unrighteous; but a man should not have dealings with the unholy, the wicked, the impure. He must not be intimate with them. With some of them he may exchange words, but with others he shouldn't go even that far. He should keep aloof from such people."
The following story reveals something of the nature of this love, this real love that Meher Baba was talking
about. It concerns a king and a queen who lived and ruled some centuries ago. They loved each
other and were happy together. The king was a wise and just ruler, and under his reign his kingdom
flourished and peace and prosperity prevailed over the land. The King's subjects were happy and
content. In short, it was almost an idyllic existence, but there was one flaw, one minor thing which
prevented the queen from being completely happy. And this was that the king seemed to have no
interest in God. It was not that he was against God. He had no objection to his subjects or his wife
worshipping God as they saw fit, it was just that he never seemed to join in.
Because the king was such a good man, whose life seemed naturally full of virtue, it was not
immediately apparent that he was not a believer. But, as time passed, the queen noticed that the king
always seemed to make some excuse so as not to attend religious festivals. And while she
understood that the nature of his duties prevented him from worshipping as regularly as she did, she
realized after a while that not only had she never seen him perform worship, she had never even
heard him utter a short prayer. In fact, she had never heard him mention the Lord's name.
Now, the queen was very religious, and when she began to suspect that her husband, the king, was
not a lover of God, she became quite upset. She did her best to persuade him to join her in her
devotions, but no matter how hard she tried, he always found some excuse for not joining her. This
was the only thing that marred her happiness, but as time passed, it became a bigger and bigger
thing. She would think to herself, "My husband is such a good man, his kingdom is peaceful and
prosperous, his subjects are happy. Just think how perfect life would be if only he loved God." Or
sometimes she would fear that because her husband did not love God, the peace and prosperity
might be taken away, and the more she thought about it, the more upset she got.
She began to lose interest in her duties as queen. Uppermost in her mind was the thought that her
husband was not loving God as he should. Next to that, nothing else seemed important. She began
to spend more and more time by herself in the palace temple. Her eyes, which previously had always
twinkled with delight, now seemed pensive and brooding. Her constant cheerful smile was replace
with a frown. The king observed this and was sad, but whenever he asked the queen what was
wrong, she would say, "Nothing." For she had already told the king she would like it if he
worshipped regularly, and he had said, "Ask me for anything but that."
And so life went on, with the king attending to his duties, and the queen becoming more and more
despondent and withdrawn. Now it so happened that one day, after this had been going on for some
time, the king awoke and went to the ramparts of his palace. This was his usual custom. He would
rise early and climb up to the ramparts and look out over his kingdom. He used to feel that he could
ascertain the pulse of his kingdom from there. He had learned to tell, just from standing there in the
early morning hours, whether there was any unhappiness or sorrow in the kingdom that needed
attending to.
Well, this morning, as he looked out, he was surprised to see that many people were already awake
and were busy putting up decorations. Others were cleaning the streets or their homes, and it was
clear that some sort of major celebration was about to take place. This puzzled the king. He couldn't
think of any festival or celebration which took place at that time of year. He called his prime minister
and asked him what was happening.
"It is the queen's order, sire," the prime minister replied.
"The queen's order?"
"Yes, sire. Early this morning she got up and ordered that today was to be a day of rejoicing. She
instructed that orders were to be given to all your subjects that today was a day of celebration."
"Why did she do that?"
"I don't know, sire. She didn't say."
The king was puzzled at this. Of course it was in the queen's power to pass such an order, but as she
had taken no interest in the affairs of the kingdom for some time, this was a complete mystery to the
king. Why had she suddenly given such an order? He went to see the queen, who greeted him in her
best clothes and with a dazzling smile on her face.
"Did you order this celebration?" the king asked.
"Yes," the queen admitted.
"Why? What is it? What has happened that has made you so happy all of a sudden?"
"Oh my king," the queen exclaimed, "I am so happy. At last what I have been praying for all these
years has come true. Last night, while you were sleeping, you turned over and I heard you utter the
name of God. That is why I have ordered this celebration."
"What!" exclaimed the king, "has my Beloved escaped from my heart and passed through my lips!"
And with that the king sighed and dropped dead.
The above story always brings tears to my eyes whenever i read it.
You might also like to watch a wonderful video made from 'How to love God' by Meher Baba on youtube.
More inspirational short stories to read online on this blog
I once remember a Harijan lady who for the past twenty-five years was gathering honey to send to Sri Bhagavan. On every occasion she was unable to bring the honey herself and had to send it with someone. After waiting for twenty-five years, she finally found the opportunity to come. The poor lady was in tattered clothes, standing before Bhagavan. Her eyesight was poor and I still vividly recall the unusual way she looked at Sri Bhagavan, calling out "Oh Darling, where are you? I want to see you." Bhagavan in all his graciousness said, "Grandmother, look this way. I am here." Looking at the honey she had brought with her, he said to me, "They are Brahmins, they won't eat this. We will share it, and eat it."
It is often said, Bhagavan did not give direct Upadesa (spiritual teaching), but what else is all this? Although Bhagavan repeatedly pointed out human frailty, people were not prepared to rectify themselves. As if talking to himself, he looked at this poor old woman in ragged clothes and said, "Poor lady, she must be hungry. And where will she go for clothes? Who will offer her food and clothes?" Upon hearing this, Ondu Reddiyar got up and said, "We will give her food and also see that some clothes are purchased." Then Reddiyar took the woman to the Dining Hall and fed her sumptuously. He also sent someone to town to buy her a sari. As the old woman had no money, she had walked a great distance to come here. Bhagavan knowing this, said in an impersonal way, "Would anyone be interested in getting her a bus ticket?" Reddiyar again came forward and said, "We will provide her with a bus ticket and see her off." When this lady returned from the Dining Hall she was touching the ground, and then touching her eyes. That is a way of prostration and thanksgiving.
It is noteworthy that whenever the poor or untouchables came, Bhagavan took a very personal interest in them, which was a moving sight to see.
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