Sattvam: Soulful Tales and Food for the Soul

Many people are unreasonably attached to their material wealth – their money, their clothes, and their family. They try so hard to protect all these, but what is the use? When their life ends, even their body is consumed by agni. They cannot take anything with them. Only the good deeds performed by them will stand by their name, none of their wealth. When life ends, even your body is consumed by fire - only your good deeds will be remembered. That is why, Adi Shankaracharya says in his famous work, Bhaja Govindham… मा कुरु धन जन यौवन गर्वं हरति निमेषात्कालः सर्वम् | मायामयमिदमखिलं हित्वा ब्रह्मपदं त्वं प्रविश विदित्वा | Ma kuru dhana jana youvana garvam harathi nimeshaath kaalah sarvam| Maya mayamidham akhilam hithva brahmapadham tvam pravisha vidhithva|| Do not take pride in your wealth, people and youth. Time will destroy all this in a moment. Understand that all this is maya (an illusion), leave these aside, understand the true nature of brahman and enter into it. Here...

There is a lot of information available all around us – from books, the Internet, and so on. However, true knowledge can be attained only through a Guru’s grace. He can help you achieve high goals, beyond what you can imagine. A young boy arrived at the ashrama of Sage Haridrumata Gautama, seeking to stay at his hermitage and learn under his tutelage. When asked who he was, he replied: “Jabala is my mother, and she says she does not know who my father is. So, I go by the name of Satyakama Jabala.” The benevolent  rishi  was pleased. It did not matter to him that the boy did not know his  gotra  or lineage. His truthfulness and quest for knowledge qualified him as a  brahmin  to the  rishi . “Only a true  brahmin  can speak the truth thus,” he said, and initiated the boy into the life of a  brahmacharin .  Satyakama, the young seeker, finds his Guru Image courtesy: Mysticadii.com Fostering patience in the disciple Soon, the sage ga...

Even enemies could end up doing you good when they start fighting among themselves! Here is a smart and snappy story from the Panchatantra that reiterates this surprising truth…  Once upon a time, there was a poor brahmin called Drona. He got meagre alms, hardly enough to appease his hunger. He was literally a bag of bones, with no decent clothes. His hair and nails were unkempt, and he was a sorry sight indeed. One day, a man performing a yagna took pity on the brahmin and gifted him a few calves. Drona was dedicated to the calves and cared for them meticulously. He fed them the choicest grass, bathed them and tended to their every need sincerely. Soon enough, the calves grew to be plump and healthy. Unfortunately, a thief set sight on them and decided to steal them. Drona cared for the cows with love, and they grew hale and healthy Image courtesy: freepik.com The thief meets a demon That night, as the thief was walking towards Drona’s house armed with a thick rope, he was a...

  Trying to gain more than you need or deserve, through shortcuts and unfair means, will only lead to destruction. Here is an oft-repeated fable that reminds us of this. Jaggu, a fisherman, was sitting all day in his boat waiting for a catch, but alas, there was none. Just as he was about to wind up and go back home, a huge golden fish got stuck in his net! Jaggu was delighted. But as he pulled up his net, the fish spoke, “My dear man, I am a divine being, living in the form of a fish due to an evil curse. It is almost time for me to go back to deva-loka. So, please do not harm me. Be kind enough to let me go.” The fisherman was stunned to hear a fish talk, and instantly threw it back into the river. When he went back home empty-handed, his incensed wife shouted, “What use is this net, and what use are you, to me? Always coming back home with nothing!” The fisherman replied, “I did catch a beautiful golden fish today, haughty woman! But it spoke to me, and requested to be relea...

You would surely have heard of, or perhaps even visited, the famous Kedarnath Temple in Uttarakhand. However, do you know that this belongs to a set of five temples known as the Panch Kedar, and the interesting puranic tale about these? Kedarnath Temple; Courtesy: Chardham Yatra, Govt of India The Mahabharatha war was rife with schemes and scandals. The Pandava brothers too committed several sins – knowingly and unknowingly – during the course of the war. Two amongst these, were the deadly sins of gotra-hatya ( killing their kin) and brahmana-hatya ( killing Brahmins, like Dronacharya). These actions of theirs were inevitable – as they had to reinstate righteousness in a land plagued by adharma. However, none can escape from the fruits of their actions – be it good or bad. Hence, after the war, Lord Krishna advised the Pandavas to go in search of Lord Shiva, to seek his blessings and reduce the impact of their sins. The brothers first headed to Kashi (Varanasi), Lord Shiva’s favo...

You would have noticed Lord Shiva being praised as Tripurantaka, in several shlokas and bhajans. Have you wondered how he got this name, which means the destroyer of three cities, and what the three cities really represent? After Lord Karthikeya defeated and killed Tarakasura, his three sons – Tarakaksha, Vidyunmali and Kamalaksha – became insecure. They did not want to meet the same end, and undertook severe austerities to please Lord Brahma. Pleased with their penance Lord Brahma appeared before them and asked them what they sought. They replied: “Oh Lord, we know you will not grant the boon of immortality to anyone, so we will ask for invincibility. Gift us three cities that will be floating in three different realms – earth, sky and heaven. They should align only once in a thousand years, and that too only for a fraction of a second. We seek the boon that the three of us can be defeated only when the three cities are destroyed at the same time by the same arrow.” Brahma grant...

Never get into the company of evil people, even if they act like good friends. Their false friendship will only result in your downfall. Read the story of the camel who got fooled by the predators of the forest… A camel was pulling the caravan of a trader. They were crossing a forest on the way to a nearby town, when the camel hurt his leg. Considering him to be useless, the trader left the camel alone and went on his way. The camel was greatly distressed. Being a desert animal, he felt lost in the forest. The camel found new friends in the forest Image source: https://www.awsfzoo.com/ A lion came that way with his friends, a jackal and a crow. Seeing the lonely camel, they enquired what happened. When he heard the camel’s sad story the lion took pity on him and said, “Don’t worry. I am the king of this jungle, and I permit you to live here. In fact, I consider you as one of my friends. Henceforth you can live with us.” The camel felt at home in the jungle, and started spending...

One day when little Krishna was playing outside the house, he heard a fruit-seller selling jambu fruits. He ran to the woman and asked her for some. The very sight of the innocent child made the fruit-seller’s heart melt. Yet, she wanted to play with him. So, she said, “Oh dear child, I will give you some fruits, but what will you pay me in return?” The child did not even know what paying was, and he questioned the fruit-seller. She explained that if he wanted fruits, he should give her something in exchange for it. The smart little child seemed to understand. He went to the grain storehouse, and shoveled a handful of grain with his cupped palms. He walked unsteadily, as he was just a little toddler. By the time he had walked across the garden and reached the fruit-seller, most of the grains had leaked out of the gap between his cupped palms, and only a few were left. When the child saw this, his face dulled thinking he would not get any jambu fruits in return for the few grains th...

It does not matter how small or big you are. You can achieve what you want if you do it together with like-minded people, in an organized way. अल्पानामपि वस्तूनां संहति: कार्यसाधिका | तॄणैर्गुणत्वमापन्नैर्बध्यन्ते मत्तसन्तिन: || Even small things if organized together properly can help to achieve a great task, just like small threads of fibre combine to make a strong rope that can tie up even the mighty elephant. No better example than a coir rope to prove that unity is strength! (Courtesy: D'Source) How did Rama and Lakshmana defeat Ravana? Was it not because they joined hands with the  vanaras?  Have we not read of kings with small armies who resisted foreign rule and sent their invaders packing, all thanks to organized effort and smart war tactics? From animals to kings and even Gods, we have innumerable stories to show that, “Unity is Strength!” Here is one such simple but meaningful story that can be enjoyed by young and old alike - and each wil...

The concept of “zero waste” is not new to the Indian kitchen. Grandmoms and moms around the country have been practicing it through the generations. While there are many ways in which they implemented it, the exquisite thogayals and podis (chutneys and powders) they made with peels and piths of vegetables and fruits, is one of my favourite ideas! Here are a few thogayals and podis, rasams and teas that I regularly make. Please do try them, and I assure you that you will never think about throwing away these peels and piths ever again… Wood Apple Shell Rasam Wood apple (kapittha phalam, vilam pazham) is a treat that appears in the market for a very limited period of time, specifically in the festive season from August to October. While the inner flesh of the ripe fruit is usually enjoyed as a  pacchadi  sweetened with jaggery, not many people know that the outer shell can be used too. It is hard and cannot be eaten, but it is added as a flavour enhancer to  rasam!...

Lord Vishnu is everywhere around us in this world. Here is a little story from the Bhagavatha where he reminds Lord Brahma of this fact. Seeing the leelas of Lord Krishna in Vrindavan, Lord Brahma decided to play a game with him. Whether he intended to reveal Lord Krishna’s divinity, test his powers, or assure himself that indeed it was this little cowherd boy who was going to save the world, we do not know, but he decided to play a trick on the Lord! So, one day when Lord Krishna and his friends were having lunch on the river bank after grazing the cows, Lord Brahma quietly came and hid all the cows. When Lord Krishna went in search of the cows, he hid his cowherd friends as well, in a faraway cave. When the five-year-old Lord Krishna came back and found his friends missing, he started searching all around for them. When he could not find them, he realised through his inner vision that this was Brahma’s mischief! He could have immediately gone to where his friends were hidden and ...

Thiruvarur is a kshetra that is enrobed in wonderful lore -- be it about its origin, or about the wondrous deeds of the presiding deities and their devotees. Here is one such story about how the resplendent statue of Lord Thyagaraja came to Earth, to reside in Thiruvarur and bless us all.  An innocent monkey lived on a bilva tree in Kailasha. Once when he was playing on the branches, some of the bilva leaves fell on Lord Shiva and Parvathi who were sitting under the tree. Nothing pleases Lord Shiva as much as an offering of bilva, and so the Lord called the monkey near him and said, “Dear monkey, you have pleased us by showering bilva leaves on us. We would like to give you a boon! What do you seek?”  The monkey had no answer. It simply sat and gazed, mesmerized by the divine image of the Lord and the Mother. “Oh Lord, I am already so gifted, having seen You and Mother together like this. What more do I need? I need nothing.”  Shocked by a boon But, Lord Shiva, th...