In
Maharabharata there is a story of Bheema – the mighty pandava and lord Hanuman
– revered as god of strength. Bheema was
extremely proud of his strength and that pride had made him arrogant. One day
when Bheema was going down the path, he saw an old monkey sitting on the road
with its tail spread across. Bheema ordered the monkey to move the tail and the
frail monkey said. “I am too old to move. Why don’t you move it?” Bheema, with
all his strength could not move the tail even by an inch. Finally he bowed to
the monkey and asked for forgiveness. That’s when lord Hanuman who was in the
guise of an old monkey came into his own being.
I
had heard this story quite a few times but it had not sunk in well…. It did - a
few years back- in a very peculiar way
……
In
India long distance driving holidays are not as common as some of the other
countries. I was 35 then and had planned a driving holiday all the way up to
Nainitaal and Kausani (approximately 2000 Km from Pune where I stay). It was a
long drive and we traveled as a big team comprising me, my wife, daughter,
parents, in-laws and my brother-in law. Kausani was the farthest point in our
trip and after thoroughly enjoying our stopovers at Corbett, Nainitaal, we
finally arrived at Kausani. We stayed a small hotel facing the valley. After
watching the sunset from the terrace, I strolled down to bonfire lit in hotel’s
backyard. I came across an elderly gentleman who must be in his early sixties.
We said hi to each other and he asked “where have you come from”. Feeling proud
about my long distance driving I told him,” I have come from Pune and I have
driven all the way with my family in Innova (MUV manufactured by Totoya)”
Excellent” said the old man. Little disappointed that he showed no further
curiosity I asked him about himself. “Well, I am 63 and retired. I have come
from Bangalore.” “So, how did you come?” The old man quietly said, “I have a
santro (small car by Hundai) and I drove
down from Bangalore”. I was speechless! Here was a man almost three decades
older than me and had driven down almost 1000 km more than me in a small car
and was pretty cool about it!
I
blushed and felt extremely foolish about my own pride! I guess god has his own
design to quietly put things in perspective. Thank you lord for everything!
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