Story 190 - The story of devotee child - Nam Deo

There are other examples too. I shall now relate to you story of a Hindu child. There was a child whose name was Nam Deo. His maternal grandfather used to worship God in the form of (Thakur Ji's) idol. Once the child said to his maternal grandfather, "what is this"? His grandfather replied, "This is Gopal Ji. It is God's representation in the form of baby! Krishna". The child observed the idol of Gopal Ji minutely. He saw the figure of Lord Krishna as a child in the, pose of walking on His knees, holding a ball of butter in his hand and looking behind to see if His mother was not watching Him. In one hand he had a ball of butter while the other was resting on the ground. Nam Deo did not know that it was only an idol made of stone or metal. He thought it was Lord Krishna Himself, as a child in the form of Gopal Ji. The child saw the child God in the form of Gopal Ji.

“Birds of the same feather flock together”.

A small child cannot have love for an aged God. A child can love only a child God. Love does not evolve out of any recommendation. We develop love only for our desired objects. Love is natural and spontaneous. The young heart of Nam Deo could not conceive the idea of the formless omnipresent God. His heart could be impressed only by this butter eating child God. When Rama was young in age, his heart was also stolen by this very butter eating form of Lord Krishna. The child, Nam Deo, requested his grandfather to give him one day the turn to worship Gopal Ji. But the grandfather rejected his request and said, "You are not yet fit to worship Him. You are not clean enough to perform the worship, as you do not take your bath every day". One day, when the grandfather had gone out of the town, the child said to his grandmother, "I shall perform the worship of Gopal Ji today". The grandmother agreed and said, "You are allowed to worship Him, but not today, only tomorrow in the morning, after you have taken your bath".

The child could not sleep the whole night. He woke up from his sleep now and then. He woke up his mother and grandmother and requested them to bring Gopal Ji down for him to worship. But they said, "It is still night. Close your eyes and sleep". After all, the night was over. The child got up, ran to the nearby river and soon returned after a dip or two. But he did not know the rituals of worshipping an idol. He dipped the small idol in water which he had brought from the river, took it out and wiped it with a small dry towel. He then requested his mother to get some milk for the child God. The milk was brought and put before the idol, so that He might drink it. But, to his utter surprise, the idol did not drink the milk. The child did not know that his grand-father only put- up a show of feeding Gopal Ji, and that Gopal Ji did never drink milk. More often, persons have only lip sincerity which does not touch the heart at all. But the child was untainted and free from any showy rituals. His heart was full of sincere love for Gopal Ji. So the child insisted upon the idol of God to drink milk, and said, "How is it, you don't drink my offered milk? Is your heart stony?" But it was all in vain. The child said to himself "my mother is ever ready to do anything for me." But he wondered that God had no consideration for his request, not even as much as his parents had. In the words of a Persian poet:

"O, beloved! You are white like silver but your heart is hard like a stone. I had never seen before a stone hidden inside silver".

O, dear God! This innocent child is requesting you with folded hands to drink milk and you are not obliging him. What sort of God are you? The child then thought that God might drink milk if he closed his eyes. He, accordingly closed his eyes with his fingers but was occasionally peeping through them to see, if God was drinking milk or not. But God would not drink milk. He thought that God might drink it, after repeated requests. He did so again and again, but to no good. The child was already tired, due to sleepless night. He was hungry also.

One, two, three hours had passed but Gopal ji would not yield to his request. Good God! Rama also gets annoyed at such a Thakur Ji. The child then started weeping so much so that his voice became hoarse and he could hardly speak. His eyes became red. After all, the child lost his temper. Though he was quite young, he had a strong will behind. According to Hindu scriptures:

"The weak willed cannot realise the Self"

What was the child's strength? It was his perseverance, his faith and his strong belief in his success.

Such strength can perform wonders and can bring about even storm which could uproot the trees, dry the rivers and move the mountains. Unshakable faith of a man is his real strength. They say Farhad of Persia had also such a strong will force. The mountains were coming down with the heavy strokes of his spade. When persons of faith move about, they can create upheaval in the whole world. You have never tested the force of strength of "faith". The child Nam Deo had also such a faith in him. The faith of the child attracted, rather personified God Himself. An Urdu poet says:

"If there is any effect in my true love, you are sure to be attracted towards me, I, therefore, do not mind, if you remain aloof from me or are unmindful of me".

The child out of intense disappointment caught hold of a sword and, putting it on his neck said, "If you do not drink milk, 1 am putting an end to my life. If I will live, I will live for you, otherwise I have no mind to live at all". A poet says:

"It is better to die, rather than live for one's own self. One, who dies for God, lives forever."

In America psychological experiments are being performed which make you see a table as a horse. As such, you should accept the story of your own country. This is also believable that, when the child was putting a sword on his neck, all of a sudden, nobody knows from where, God materialized and, taking the child in his lap, began to drink milk with His own hands. Seeing this, the child was very happy. But, when he saw that He was drinking away all the milk, he gave Him a slap and said, "Do keep some milk for me, as well". The child had a very thick curtain over his eyes, for he had no knowledge of God at all. Let the curtain be thick or thin, true love, sincerity and faith will surely remove the curtain. When a small child can develop such a faith in God, it is a pity, if a grown up man, fails to acquire it. An Urdu poet says: "If it is possible for a small insect to penetrate a stone, one does not deserve to be called a man, if one fails to win the heart of beloved."

"My Namaz is the informal bow out of respect for Him. The aching of my heart for Him is my Koran".

Vol. 4 (79-82)