One morning I arrived at his ashram to find him in the company of
a man who suffered from epileptic fits so frequent and severe that
someone always had to accompany him. After a short conversation Swami
Sadananda gave this man a powder that looked like ash and told him to
take it as a medicine. Then he instructed him to feed cracked wheat
and other grains to wild birds before eating the first meal of the
day.
When the man and his companion left I said, I understand the value
of taking medicine, but why does he have to feed the birds?" "You
should watch," Swami Sadananda replied. "When he is cured I will
explain."
For three days the man went hungry because the birds would not eat
the grain he scattered for them. Finally on the fourth day they ate
the grain, and the man too could eat. It became his routine to feed
the birds before starting his day, and within a month his fits came
less frequently; within six months they vanished. When I asked Swami
Sadananda to explain he said, "Birds are part of nature. Their
relationship with humans is not contaminated by selfishness and
expectation. Serving them is serving nature, the repository of all
our karmas."
a man who suffered from epileptic fits so frequent and severe that
someone always had to accompany him. After a short conversation Swami
Sadananda gave this man a powder that looked like ash and told him to
take it as a medicine. Then he instructed him to feed cracked wheat
and other grains to wild birds before eating the first meal of the
day.
When the man and his companion left I said, I understand the value
of taking medicine, but why does he have to feed the birds?" "You
should watch," Swami Sadananda replied. "When he is cured I will
explain."
For three days the man went hungry because the birds would not eat
the grain he scattered for them. Finally on the fourth day they ate
the grain, and the man too could eat. It became his routine to feed
the birds before starting his day, and within a month his fits came
less frequently; within six months they vanished. When I asked Swami
Sadananda to explain he said, "Birds are part of nature. Their
relationship with humans is not contaminated by selfishness and
expectation. Serving them is serving nature, the repository of all
our karmas."
More explanation on: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndianCivilization/message/79078
