Once upon a time, in a serene village nestled between rolling hills, there lived a woman who found immense joy in reading and singing.
Her devotion was unmatched, having completed 108 parayanas of the sacred Dnyaneshwari. Every verse, every word of the Dnyaneshwari was etched in her heart. She could compose her own padas and devotional songs with ease, and her voice, oh, her voice was like a river of melody that drew people from far and wide to listen to her sing and speak.
One day, a revered Sadhu arrived in the village.
The woman, eager to receive his blessings, went to seek his darshan. Her heart pounded with anticipation as she approached him, her hands trembling slightly. She humbly requested the Sadhu to listen to one of her padas. With a kind nod, he agreed, and she began to sing.
Her voice soared, filled with raw emotion and devotion. The pada was a heartfelt plea to God:
"O Lord! I am Yours. I offer all that I have at Your feet. You are my master. I will remain as You will keep me. I do not wish for anything else. All that I wish for is to always remember You."
As the final note hung in the air, the Sadhu’s eyes glistened with tears. He gazed at her with a depth of feeling that made her heart skip a beat. "How long have you been singing this pada?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
She swallowed hard, her voice shaky, "It's been over ten years now that I have been performing this pada."
The Sadhu sighed deeply, his words heavy with significance, "You have done enough performances of the pada. Now all that remains is to implement what is written in the pada."
His words struck her like a bolt of lightning. She stood there, stunned, as the realization washed over her. "No one had ever said this to me," she murmured, her eyes wide with newfound understanding.
"Until now, all I have done is sing these devotional songs without acting on any of the teachings," she continued, her voice breaking.
Tears streamed down her face as she declared, "From now on, I will stop these performances and focus my attention on Namasmaran."
Learning: We must indeed deploy the skills that we are blessed with in the service of God. However, we must be cautious that devotion does not fall to the side and only the empty shell of actions remains. As our skills manifest through our mental association with our physical body and this material world, our ego could get inflated if we do not consciously make an effort to remember God.
