Faith

Yesterday a friend asked me to write about 'faith'...now I was seriously not prepared to write anything about faith..yes I do need some preperation for writing,you can figure that out from the fact that I wrote only two blogs in a year.Even when the topic is decided by me I need some time what if the topic is decided by someone else...how much time? But, then I decided its always good to do some unprepared things, amazingly they always end up surprising you.

That got me thinking what could I write about faith and then I remembered a story my mother used to tell me so often when I was small. A story whose meaning I never understood at that time but was still fascinated enough with to ask my mother to repeat it again and again maybe because of the magical feel attached to it.

In a certain village lived a very learned pundit who considered himself an authority on religion, vedas and everything else under the sun. This guy was famous throughout and naturally was also very proud about it.He used to think that no one can be compared to him when it came to offering the puja and rituals to GOD.

A lowly woman from the lower caste used to bring the milk to this pundit's house every morning.Now, there was only one thing that used to surprise the pundit...how did the woman manage to bring the milk and keep it at his doorsteps everyday so early even when the sun was not up.The pundit knew that the woman came from a very far place and had to cross the river on her way, then how did she manage to cross the river at so early an hour.

The pundit wondered and wondered, there would be no boats in the river so early in that case the milk maid would have to cross the river by swimming...how could she swim across the river with the pot of milk with her. So he decided to ask her himself. The next morning he met her at his doorstep and asked her this question to which she simply replied 'I am a poor woman sir, I have to come early to keep the milk because I have to do the same at many other houses, I cannot afford to be late'.

To this the pundit asked how she manages to cross the river so early without any boatman being there or how can she ever swim with the pot?. The woman replied 'How can I swim with the pot? 'I cross the river by walking on the water'.Now the pundit was very angry at the audacity of the woman to give such a reply to him. But, the woman was adamant with her answer that every morning she crossed the river by walking on the water. The pundit was sure that this uneducated, illeterate woman was making fun of him. So he decided to follow her the next day. The next day without letting her understand the pundit followed her to the river.What he saw at the river was unbelievable, the woman actually crossed the river by walking on the water with the pot of milk on her head.

The pundit was convinced that this was no ordinary woman and that he must learn all methods of such great knowledge from her. So, the next day he requested the woman to tell him the secret to walk on water.The woman replied that there was no secret, she was a poor woman and it was very important for her to deliver the milk early morning so before stepping on the water she just prayed to GOD to be able to walk on the water. She told that she had complete FAITH in GOD knowing that he would never let her down and so she could fearlessly walk on the water, crossing the river by walking effoertlessly on the water with the pot of milk on her head because she had FAITH.

I guess I dont need to write anything else on faith now...this simple story has the capacity to convey to one and all the mighty power of faith. Let each one of us be blessed by this power. Amen.