Ten Tales About Religious Life

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Understanding Through Experience

Jaykumar and Akhil were walking home after their weekly Hindu Basics class. They were excited that their families’ Guruji was teaching this month and felt fortunate to learn directly from this wise soul. It was a bright sunny morning and in the distance a few children were flying colorful kites.§

Akhil shouted, “Hey, let’s go get our kites! We haven’t fl own them in a long time.” When Jaykumar did not respond, Akhil repeated himself.§

Jaykumar looked blankly at Akhil and inquired “Sorry, what was that you said?”§

Akhil smiled. “What’s wrong with you? Don’t tell me you’re still thinking about our class?”§

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Jaykumar scowled. “As a matter of fact, I was!”§

Akhil looked at Jaykumar’s serious face. Of the two, Jaykumar was the one who focused more during the class, while Akhil tended to daydream.§

“What did you find so interesting?” asked Akhil after a pause.§

“I was just wondering about the meaning of the seventh niyama— mati, cognition. The word cognition means ‘understanding,’ but that word took on so much additional significance in today’s class. Didn’t it to you?”§

“I don’t know,” responded Akhil.§

After a moment, Jaykumar asked, “If I tell you something I’m ashamed of, you won’t think I’m a bad person, will you?”§

Akhil realized that Jaykumar had something really serious to share. He said, “Jaykumar, we are friends. Trust me. Spill it.”§

“One day last week, I was walking back home when it started raining heavily, so I took cover in a doorway. There, a five-dollar bill was lying on the ground. I picked it up and put it in my pocket. Then a man came by, searching the ground for something with a big frown on his face. I think he had dropped that money. I knew I should give it to him, but I kept quiet. I told myself that since I had found it, I could keep it. Was that wrong? It’s not like I stole it, is it?” Without waiting for Akhil’s reply, he muttered, “But I did keep the money.”§

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As Akhil wondered what to say, Jaykumar went on, “Two days ago, I brought $20 to school to buy some books for class. I left the money in my duffle bag during lunchtime. When I came back, the money was gone!”§

“Twenty dollars! You must have been upset!”§

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“Upset is putting it mildly. I was really mad! Who was the person who stole that money from me! I could not buy the books, and my parents were distraught. Not only did I lose the money and not get the books that day, but now my parents also think I’m careless. Where is honesty in this world? Who would have guessed someone would steal the money? But then I thought of how I kept the $5 and how maybe this was an example of karma.”§

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Akhil asked, “So what’s all that got to do with today’s class?”§

Jaykumar exlained, “When Guruji talked about cognition today, it made sense to me. I saw how the two things were connected. I didn’t just understand karma, I experienced it, just like one might find out that water is wet or that fire is hot.” Akhil thought for a moment, then replied, “Yes, this is probably what is meant by cognition. But now that you understand, what are you going to do about it?”§

“I plan to find the man and return the money to him. I have had sleepless nights thinking about what I did.”§

Matching his action to his words, Jaykumar went to the bus stop at the same time he had the day before. He was happy to see the same man standing there, waiting for the bus.§

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Jaykumar walked up to him and said, “Sir, did you lose some money here last week?”§

Surprised, the man responded, “Yes, I lost a five-dollar bill.”§

Jaykumar reached into his pocket and handed over the money. Softly he said, “I should have asked you if you had lost it that day when I saw you searching for something. I am sorry.”§

The man gave Jaykumar a stern look and said, “You know, I really needed that money right then, and I wasted precious time going home to get more. I missed my bus, and I almost missed my appointment in town!”§

He softened when he saw that Jaykumar was truly apologetic. “But I’m glad you returned it. A five-dollar bill is light, but it can be so heavy when you carry it in your conscience. You were brave to admit to your action and make amends. You are a good boy. Be proud of yourself.”§

Jaykumar returned home with an empty pocket, but he had never felt happier in his life! His conscience, that small voice inside his head that chided him when he did something wrong, was now quiet.§

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A few days later, his teacher called him to her desk. Handing over an envelope, she said, “I believe this belongs to you. Someone put this envelope on my table. When I opened it, I found this $20 and a little card with your name on it.”§

Jaykumar took the money and closed his eyes. Any remaining doubt about karma was washed out of his mind.§

As they were entering their Hindu Basics class the next week, Jaykumar told Akhil how the $20 had come back to him. Akhil was deeply impressed, and he, too, came to see karma as a real spiritual law of the universe.§

During class Guruji asked, “Does anyone have a testimony to give? Has something special happened this week you would like to tell everyone about?”§

Jaykumar stood up and related the incident about the money.§

Guruji said, “It is brave of you to tell this experience honestly. It reminds me of the story of a great sage who came to a village to meditate. He sat down under a tree and went into deep meditation. After a while, a gang of boys came by and, thinking it was fun, tossed pebbles at the sage, then ran away. The sage did not move.§

“Later that day, the sage came out of meditation. A villager who had seen the earlier event asked, ‘Swamiji, did you not notice the boys throwing stones at you?’§

“‘Ah, yes, I did notice something,’ answered the sage, ‘I saw some boys throwing stones at themselves.’§

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“This sage,” Guruji explained, “had mastered mati, cognition. He did not see the stone throwing as an attack against him. He only saw the consequences of the action upon the boys. The stone each boy threw hit himself in the future. You likewise saw that when you kept the money, you only stole from yourself. In the same way, if you tell a lie, someone else will lie to you in the future. If you hurt others, you will be hurt. If you love, you will be loved. Understanding these great spiritual laws is what is meant by mati, cognition.”§

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