Teaching Story - The Brahmin

by Life Positive

Lord Krishna, pleased with his prayers, appeared before him and told him to ask for any boon. Sage Uttanga told Krishna that he did not want anything. But on Lord Krishna’s insistence, he asked that whenever he needed water (since it was a desert area) and whenever he felt thirsty, water may be provided to him. Lord Krishna granted him the boon and disappeared.

One day, after walking long in the desert, Sage Uttanga felt thirsty. But there was no trace of water. Then he remembered the boon granted by Lord Krishna.

	The only true love is Divine Love. All other types of love are useful only if there is divine love in the heart within. - Dada Vaswani

The next moment, he saw a hunter dressed in rags accompanied by furious dogs, carrying water in a leather pouch. He came near and asked, "Sir, would you like to have water?" Looking at the condition of the hunter, and being a staunch Brahmin, the sage felt repelled. He politely refused. The hunter once again repeated his question but the sage spurned the offer. The hunter and the dogs disappeared. Witnessing this, he realised that God Himself must have disguised Himself and come to quench his thirst. He felt hurt. How could Lord Krishna send water to him through a low caste? How could He expect a Brahmin to accept and drink water from a leather pouch?

Meantime, Krishna appeared, smiled and said, “I had asked Lord Indra to fetch you water. Instead of water, he had actually brought you the nectar of immortality, but on the condition that you would be able to recognise the divinity in all.”

Uttanga understood that he had failed in the test. He was yet to conquer his ego.

Adapted from Stories by Ramana Maharshi.