18 DISCIPLE AND THE POISONOUS RIVER

At Premashram, the Divine Master called His student Mohan to assign a task to him. The Master requested Mohan to visit a nearby village, Jyotishpur and spread the message of Truth and Love. Delighted with this seva, Mohan prostrated at his Master's Feet and sought His blessings. The Master knew that Mohan was frivolous by nature, hence warned him about what to do and what not to. The Master also cautioned Mohan about a mysterious and poisonous Vaitarani river. He instructed Mohan to stay away from it, if he encountered the river on his path. Mohan took it as yet another daily dose of suggestions by his Master and did not take it seriously.

The Divine Master gave some eatables, clothes and a mat to sleep on, to Mohan and all that he needed on his journey. Excited, Mohan embarked on his journey to visit the nearby village. He sang bhajans and chanted mantras in the glory of his Master.

But somehow, while on his path, he couldn't erase the thought of wanting to know more about the forbidden river. He kept asking himself, "What must be there? What is so secret about it?"

As he made his way through the forest, he saw a young, thin boy of around 14-15 years of age, through the bushes. He decided to meet the little boy and take rest as well. As he approached closer to the boy, he saw him diving into the river water from an elevated rock close by. The joy of diving into the river was reflected on the little boy's face. Mohan remembered, "Oh! This is the Vaitarani river that my Master spoke about. But this boy is having so much fun here. My innocent Master must have been fooled by the local villagers."

Consequently, with this frame of mind, he went ahead and met the boy. He introduced himself and inquired about the water. The boy said nothing and instead asked Mohan to join him for a swim. He said, "Why don't you swim with me as well and enjoy the water?" By now, Mohan was convinced that there was nothing wrong with the water. Without a second thought, he too jumped into the water. To his surprise, nothing untoward happened.

Instead, he enjoyed swimming in the water as much as the young boy. Internally, excited and joyful Mohan wanted to share this new revelation with his Master and other students. He was proud of himself, as he had got the secret out entirely by himself without anyone's help. After spending a few hours in the water, they both came out of the river and sat together for a while. The young boy said, "I have to go back as I can't spend more time here. Someone is waiting for me at home." Mohan also agreed as he too had to continue his journey before it got dark. The young boy quickly walked ahead and disappeared into the bushes. Mohan was still engrossed in judging and doubting his Master. "How foolish my Master is! I have tasted this water and have swum too and felt only joy and nothing toxic." As he was ruminating over all this, he felt like resting on a nearby rock. He closed his eyes to sleep for sometime.

As he slept, he heard his Master calling him by his name, "Mohan, Mohan my child, wake up, wake up." Someone was patting him, shaking his body, and all of a sudden he vomited and opened his eyes. He was breathless and found himself back in his Premashram. He was astonished to see himself like that. Mohan was unable to comprehend, what was happening as he saw all his fellow students surrounded around him with worried faces. In all this, only the Master had the answer.

Dumbfounded Mohan asked his Master, "Master what has happened to me? I was on my path for Jyotishpur. How did I come here?"

The Divine Master replied patiently, "My child, you did not pay attention to my instructions. I told you the Vaitarani river is mysterious and poisonous. All that has happened to you, was because of that river. You were intoxicated with its water. The moment you were unconsciousness, I felt internally that something wrong has happened to you.

With my inner eyes, I saw everything that had occurred and rushed there to save you, otherwise you couldn't have been able to see us all, as you are now."

Mohan was unable to forgive himself for doubting his Master's words. He was ashamed of his act but had one more question. He again humbly asked his Master, "Then, Master tell me, why didn't I feel the negative impact of water at first when I was swimming and tasting that water?" The Master smiled at this query and enlightened Mohan affectionately, "It was Grace. When you left from the ashram, you had a desire to know more and see for yourself about the river. Although I had warned you, you still wanted to know more. Knowing that you would experiment with the negative source, God appeared to you as a child. As long as He was there, you did not experience any ill- effect of the water. His disappearance resulted in you becoming unconscious. At the same time, He passed a message to me inside and enabled me to see what all had happened. He allowed you to experiment with your desire and allowed me to give you one more life.

" Listening to this, Mohan became emotional, thanked God and learnt the lesson for his entire life to never doubt The Divine and His words. He does everything for you with only one interest that you keep growing internally.

Your Inner Divine is your True Friend.

His association stops you from experiencing the viciousness of the physical world.

Having a bond with your Inner Divine, keeps you away from all the negative influences and consequences.

Learn to listen to your Inner Divine and free yourself from all the worries and obstacles!

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