RADIO RUHANIYAT: 03-15-2014: Episode 345

WATER IN THE BASKET -The Holy Scriptures!   

Why do we read the Holy Scriptures, even if we can't understand or remember them?

This is beautiful story -

An old Farmer lived on a farm in the mountains with his young grandson. 

Each morning Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading his Holy Scriptures. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate him in every way he could.

One day the grandson asked, "Grandpa! I try to read the Hoy Books just like you, but I don't understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Holy Books do?"

The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied,

"Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water."

The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out before he got back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, "You'll have to move a little faster next time," and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead.

The old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You're just not trying hard enough," and he went out the door to watch the boy try again.

At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got back to the house. 

 The boy again dipped the basket into river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, "See Grandpa, it's useless!"

"So you think it is useless?" The old man said, "Look at the basket." 

The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket and was now clean, inside and out.

"Son, that's what happens when you read the Holy Scriptures. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read and understand it, you will be changed, inside and out. That is the work of God in our lives."

-Story Contributed by Jagjit Sandhu. (Improvised to suit listenership)

Our scriptures are the word of God which guides us on how to achieve God and live a meaningful life. Most people don’t consider them important enough to imbibe the teachings into their life. What God wanted to say to us, He wrote in the Holy Books through the Prophets and His messengers.

All the Holy Books: The Gita, The Quran, The Guru Granth Sahib, The Bible and many others…..give the same message of Oneness to mankind. But We, the people get side tracked and forget the goal. We need to get past the arguments of: “which book” and “which prophet”… and start focusing on the message that God wants us to understand. Let’s not fight about “my religion” and “your rituals”, let’s start focusing on what God is trying to tell us through all the Holy Scriptures.

When we start reading with an understanding and make genuine efforts to implement them into our lives, we will definitely transform our lives into what God had intended it to be.

We might not realize the changes that come about in our lives but eventually we will become what God had wanted us to be because after all: GOD MADE MAN IN HIS OWN IMAGE and understanding the scriptures is one way to graduation in Spirituality!