Children’s corner
6 years ago by SVBF
Shreya Anand
Sant Eknath
“Engirundo vandan” – ‘Kannan en sevakan’ – Bharatiyar
When envisioning God, we always humble ourselves to assume a position of servitude to Him. God is the Supreme Lord, and therefore we, as devotees, by performing our duties, are only carrying out His bidding. Hence it is astonishing for us to hear Bharatiyar, the renowned poet and freedom fighter, singing of God as a servant to him. The tale of Eknath illustrates this concept and how the reversal of roles does not change the relationship between God and devotee.
Let us begin by going to Paithan, Maharashtra, 400 years ago. Here lives a rare devotee of Mahavishnu, Eknath. Eknath, being well known as a pious individual, was commanded by the well known Dhattatreya himself to sing Ramayana and Bhagavata in his native tongue, Marathi. He obeyed his orders conscientiously and helped to spread the stories of Rama and the Puranas all over Maharashtra.
Seeing the dedication and character of Eknath, Lord Krishna desired to come and live with him. However, Krishna decided to come in the form of a servant. He appeared one day, seemingly out of thin air, on Eknath’s house threshold, and knocked on the door.
Eknath opened the door and keenly surveyed the form in front of him. The man appeared to be a strong, dark, supple limbed youth, and in his eyes Eknath could see a divinity.
“What’s your name?” he inquired.
“I am called Kandiya Krishna,” replied the Lord with a twinkle in his eye. “I hoped you could give me a job as a servant to you.”
“I’m not used to giving orders,” said Eknath truthfully, “but I don’t want to refuse your earnest offer. The problem is, I don’t have any work for you to do, nor do I have the money to pay you for it.”
“Many people come to your house seeking to meet you. I could do seva for them. And I do not wish to be paid. If you give me the tulsi water after your puja, I shall be very happy.”
Eknath, without further objection, took in Kandiya as a servant from that day onward.
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The death anniversary of Eknath’s father, Suryanarayana, had arrived, and the proper rites and rituals had to be performed for it. Kandiya toiled tirelessly, scrubbing the house until it shone like a polished mirror, cutting all of the vegetables, fetching water from the well, and cooking a wide variety of dishes as ordained by the Sastras. Now, one must know that when the Lord Himself cooks, the food made with such love and joy has an utterly divine aroma to it. Through the work of maya, the smell wafted to where a Harijan family lived behind Eknath’s dwelling.
“Ahh,” said the wife to her husband, taking a deep inhalation, “if that is how the food smells, imagine how it would taste! But I doubt we shall ever taste such divine food in our lives.”
Well, it so happened that the same maya that brought the scent of food to the Harijans brought back their conversation to Eknath’s ears. Eknath absolutely would not stand for it. He immediately called Kandiya, who promptly came with his dhoti shortened and tightened at his waist, a towel in his hand, and beads of perspiration glistening upon his forehead. For a moment Eknath was dazed by Kandiya’s beauty before he remembered why he had summoned him.
“Kandiya, I would like you to give the food you have prepared to the Harijan family. Then you must clean the house and cook the full meal once again. This shouldn’t be a problem for you with your ability to whip up a meal in a few minutes.”
Kandiya served the Harijans himself, who agreed that they had never tasted such heavenly food in their lives. Though Kandiya had smiled and obeyed his orders, Eknath could not tell how pleased he was. Eknath had generously given the food to the Harijans without second thought. Moreover, he had still observed the Sastras by asking for the house to be cleaned once again. The Lord was very glad to see Eknath’s personal victory.
However, the Brahmins who had come to perform the death anniversary rites heavily disapproved of Eknath’s decision. They firmly believed that nobody ought to be fed before the rituals, and left in protest without performing them or eating the food Kandiya had once again prepared. Eknath was distraught at seeing them leave. Kandiya smiled.
“What is the problem, Eknathji? You can chant the mantras yourself and serve the food.”
“But then who will eat in the banana leaves for Lord Vishnu and for Pitru?”
“Why of course Lord Vishnu Himself and your father will come to eat the food you serve them!”
Eknath was surprised by the resolve in Kandiya’s tone, but trusted that his words would come true. When Suryanarayana and Mahavisnu sat down to eat, Eknath could barely believe his eyes, but thought it to be the powers of the mantras which brought them to him.
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Still, Eknath’s heart was not at peace. He felt very bad that the Brahmins had left in anger and protest, and so requested them to help him make a sankalpa, which would involve taking a bath in the Ganges as prayaschita karma. As he was about to commence his journey, an old Brahmin crippled and mangled by leprosy arrived at his house.
The Brahmin said, “I am Lord Krishna’s ardent devotee. I have been praying to him for a long time now so that I can be cured. Just a few days ago, He came in my dream and informed me that your punya would relieve me of my condition. He advised me to ask you whether you would be so kind to give me the punya you have accumulated from feeding the Harijans.”
Eknath was anguished by his words. “I have never done anything for the sake of punya. Why would the Lord ever doubt that I would be more than willing to give it to him?” he thought dejectedly.
He poured a little of the sankalpa water into the old man’s open palms. In that moment, Eknath’s sorrow transformed into astonishment as bangles and piccholai appeared in the water. His ordinary water had miraculously turned into the holy Ganges! The old man’s leprosy instantly disappeared. Eknath returned home because he had already obtained the grace of Ganga, and found that the Brahmins’ pride had been washed away as well.
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For 12 years Kandiya Krishna worked for Eknath as a servant. Back in Pandaripur, Kandiya’s dwelling place, his wife Rukmini was growing restless and wanted her husband back where he belonged. She sent word through one of his devotees to bring him back.
When the devotee arrived at Eknath’s doorstep in search of Kandiya, he was informed that Kandiya had gone out to the river.
“Why do you need him? Nobody has ever come seeking him before,” said Eknath.
“Oh, but Eknathji, he is everything to me.”
Something was beginning to dawn upon Eknath. In that moment an inexplicable feeling was rising in him, a sort of excitement tinged with apprehension. His heart was a bud, stirring, waking, and slowly but surely starting to open up its petals.
Kandiya emerged into the household then, with a long stick across his two shoulders balancing two pots full of water. He advanced rapidly into the puja room.
“Kandiya! Kandiya!” called the devotee, scrambling after him. A thought suddenly occurred to Eknath. He looked after Kandiya with newly opened eyes, filled with wonder and ecstasy. His heart blossomed.
“He’s gone!” breathed the devotee as he retreated from the puja room. “Nowhere to be found!”
“He isn’t to be found?
Then, “Can he ever be gone?
“Isn’t everything seen and unseen him only?
“I am no different from him,” realized Eknath. Thus he, fulfilling the true meaning of his name Ek-nath, became one with God.
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