Once a saint, to test his disciples to find out if they are conscious of God’s presence everywhere, called a few of them, gave them a mango each and asked them to eat it in a place where nobody could see them. They all went with their mangoes and, except one, returned and reported that none saw them eating the mangoes. But the disciple who was an exception came back with the mango and told the Guru that he could not find a place where he was not watched by God, who is an eternal and all pervading witness. God is omnipresent.
---From Stories as told by Swami Ramdas
Avvaiyar’s Wisdom
Ancient Tamil poetess Avvaiyar dedicated her life to educate the people. She was a preacher of simple yet profound truths. Her teachings have the validity for the whole world for all time. She has a permanent place in Tamil literature and her name is a household name in Tamil speaking parts of the world. Several poetesses had this name Avvaiyar. The most famous one was the Sangam poetess. This Avvaiyar was said to be the sister Tiruvalluvar, author of Tirukkural, according to an old legend.
‘’An interesting story offers an insight into Avvaiyar’s mind. After long wanderings the poetess arrived at a temple and, sitting down to rest, stretched her legs in the direction of the sanctum (Garba Gruham). The temple priest came to her shouting, ‘’how dare you stretch your feet towards god. Get up and get out’’.
Avvaiyar pointedly replied, ‘’Sir I am dead tired and I am urging the ache in my legs to seek relief from god. If you think this is blasphemy, please put my legs in the direction where there is no God. Please, learned priest show me a direction where God is not found ’’.
The priest was nonplussed; soon he acknowledged her wisdom and admitted his ignorance.
Story as told by Sri Suddhananda Bharati from London Sri Murugan Temple Consecration Souvenir, year1984.
Compiled by London Swaminathan
