"You must go to India!" King Vibhishana said to one of his men.
"How will I cross the ocean?" the man asked.
Vibhishana took a leaf, wrote Rama's name on it, and tied it up in a knot in the man's robe. "Have faith, and you will walk on the water," Vibhishana told him.
The man set forth, walking on the water as Vibhishana promised. This made him curious about what Vibhishana had done, so he untied the knot. "But it's just a leaf!" he exclaimed.
And as soon as he said that, he sank beneath the waves and drowned.
Inspired by: Tales and Parables of Sri Ramakrishna
Notes: This is story 75 in the book. Rama had appointed Vibhishana to rule over Lanka after defeating Vibhishana's brother Ravana in battle. In order to bring his army of monkeys to Lanka, Rama had built a bridge, the Rama-Setu (Rama-Bridge), and there is a legend that the monkeys who built that bridge wrote Rama's name on each stone to keep them afloat. Vibhishana is employing a similar ritual with the power of the Rama-nama, the name of Rama. You can find out more at Wikipedia.
No comments:
Post a Comment