Pride
Once upon a time, the Devas won in a certain battle against the demons. It was through the good offices of God. But due to ignorance, they appropriated the credit to themselves and became proud and elated. They thought, “Verily, this victory is ours and this glory, too.”
Brahma came to know of this. He thought of teaching them a lesson and of making them realise their limitations. When they were in the midst of their rejoicing, he suddenly appeared in their presence. But, how could they know him, blinded as they were by egoism and by empty vanity? They saw that some wonderful being was before them, but they could not recognise it. Then, they thought seriously of knowing it by some means. They deputed Agni, the Lord of Fire, also known as the omniscient one, to investigate into the matter.
Agni approached the strange being. Brahma queried “Who art thou?”
“Why, I am the famous Agni, otherwise known as the all-knowing one.”
“If such is your name and fame, may I know what power you possess?”
“Well, I can burn all that is on the face of this earth and in the sky and everything that is in the seven worlds.”
Brahma put before him a dry blade of grass and said “Bravo, mighty one, burn this blade and oblige.”
Agni tried with all his might to burn it up. But, he could not even singe it! He felt ashamed and went back to the gods and confessed his inability to know who the strange being was.
Vayu, the wind-god, was next requested to go and find out what it was that had defiled the attempts of Agni. Vayu went with great confidence and thought that he would succeed.
When he approached Brahma, he was asked, “Who art thou?”
“I am well-known as the god of winds. I am also known as the god that sweeps through the vast skies!”
“What power characterises you?” was the next question by Brahma.
“I can take away all that fills the earth by a mighty sweep,” said Vayu.
“Here you are,” so saying, Brahma laid before him a piece of straw and asked him to blow it off.
Vayu tried his best, but could not move it by a hair’s breadth. He, too, retired and informed his colleagues that it was beyond him to know the strange person.
The Gods then appealed to Indra, their king, “Oh, wealthy one, see if you can comprehend this unique person has defied two of us.”
Indra, the powerful lord of the Gods, agreed. He approached the Being, but before he could contact him, Brahma had disappeared and in the self-same place stood a charming woman. It was Uma, the Goddess of spiritual knowledge, lavishly laden with gold.
Indra made bold to ask of her, “Who was that awe inspiring person, who stood here long in the same place as you stand now?”
Uma said, “Know ye, little minds, that it was Brahma. It was He, Who won the victory for you, the victory over the demons. Take pride in Him, Who won you victory.”
When Indra realised that it was Brahma that had appeared to them, he went to his friends and told them the truth. They all realised their folly and gloried in the knowledge of the Supreme Spirit
Questions:
- Why were the gods proud?
- How was Agni put to shame?
- Why could not Vayu lift the blade of grass?
- What did Uma teach Indra?
- What is the moral?
Source- Stories for Children- II Published by- Sri Sathya Sai Books & Publications Trust, Prashanti Nilayam.