Sushmajee
Preachers' Diary
Greatness of Daan |
Greatness of Daan A tale goes like this, that once upon a time there lived a rich man. He used to perform Anna Daan - poor feeding every day. Slowly his wealth started depleting but still he continued his Anna Daan. Now he was on his death bed, so he called his wife and took a promise that even after his death she will continue his Anna Daan Hom. Then the old man died and his wife continued his good work, but her teenaged son got wild and started asking why she was doing that Anna Daan and squandering the little wealth they had. He asked his mother what was the greatness of that Anna Daan. His mother advises him to go to a forest and meet the wise sage over there and find out the things which he wants to know. The Boy starts his journey to the forest. It was afternoon and he met a man near a mango tree. They both introduce themselves and the man in forest told that he was also going to meet the sage, but unfortunately he cannot move even a single step and he is trying to move it since so many decades and he is not able to do so. He requests our boy to find out the Parihara from the sage. They were under a beautiful Mango tree which had lot of fruits. Since it was afternoon and the boy was hungry, he plucks a mango from the tree and was about to eat it that the man warns him that these fruits are poisonous and he should not eat them. The tree felt very bad and started crying that nobody eats its fruits because they were poisonous. The tree requests the boy to find out the reason of this from the sage he was going to meet. The boy agreed and began his journey to meet the sage. As he goes on towards the sage's hermitage, that the night befalls. He stops at one place where the boy meet's a hunter and and the hunter asks the boy to stay for night with him and then proceed to the sage's hermitage in the morning. The boy agrees and hunter takes him to his house which was on the top of the tree. Hunters wife chides him for bring in a guest to house and says there is only meals for two persons and place for two persons to sleep and she tells she will not sacrifice her luxury of meals and good place to sleep. Then the hunter gives his own food to the boy and also asks him to sleep in the house. Hunter sleeps out side the house without having the food. Unfortunately hunter falls down in the night and he is eaten by a tiger. Next day boy gets up and proceeds to the forest and he is able to reach the hermit. As the sage is a Tri-kaal Gyaanee (knower of past, present and future) he tells him that he cannot answer his questions, but a son born to the ruler of that place will answer his questions and he instructs the boy to go to the ruler and tell him that the ruler will be blessed with a male child. The boy does so. Raajaa is very happy to hear this and he asks the boy that what does he want in return of this good news as a boon. Boy tells him that once his son is born bring him to him in a golden plate and he will ask three questions to the newborn. After 10 months, the queen gives birth to a beautiful male child. Raaajaa is very happy and he then takes his child to the court in a golden plate as desired by the boy. The boy tells the Prince that he wants him to answer his three questions including a personal one, but first let the prince answer to the queries of the others first. This showed that the boy was not a selfish person. The boy asks his first question regarding the man who was unable to walk for decades, why? For that the Prince tells that man is too learned and he has not done Vidyaa Daan to others then tells if he does Vidyaa Daan, he will be able to move. The second question was about the tree - "Why its fruits were poisonous so the people do not eat its fruits." The Prince tells that there was a rich man who was greedy and miser and he did not give it to the needy and he has buried his wealth under that tree and since it is sinful money the fruits are growing on the tree are poisonous, If the tree donates that money to someone, the fruits will become eatable. Now the boy asks the Prince the Mahatmya of Anna Daan, for that Prince asks him to see him properly, but boy says that he could not recognize him. For that Prince tells him that he is the same hunter whom he met on his way and since he did Anna Daan of his share of food he is born as a Prince, and at the same time a Pig out side the palace has given birth to a piglet and it is his wife who was selfish. Because of her deed in her past birth she is born as piglet and by virtue of doing Anna Daan, only one time, he has attained the birth at a Raajaa's Palace. Such is the power of Anna Daan." The boy thanks the Prince and starts coming back to the tree. He tells it what the Prince had told him to tell the tree. The tree asks the boy to dig the treasure buried under it and take it along with him. Then he meets the man whom he found under the tree. He told him what Prince had told him to tell him. Immediately the man had gladly accepted the boy as his disciple and taught his knowledge to him. Thus he did his Vidyaa Daan. The man had started moving and the boy is a scholar and a wealthy man. He goes back to his mother and continued the Anna Daan which his father and mother had been doing for years.
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Created by Sushma Gupta on 05/09/04 | Contact: sushmajee@yahoo.com | Modified on 12/08/12