The Real wealth of a Great man
There lived a munificent trader in Pandharpur. He would donate his money (coins), wealth etc. equal to the weight of his body to beggars. He was very proud of his wealth, affluence and charitable nature. Once he thought, “Why shouldn’t I give something to Namdev. In any case, he is so poor and chants the name of God day and night.”
The trader called Namdev and told him about his intention, to which Namdevaji replied, “I am not a beggar and hence I don’t desire to receive a donation from you. So far as my poverty is concerned, let me tell you that whenever I am hungry God fulfils my needs. I have got such a transcendental wealth by His grace that your wealth is nothing in comparison to That.”
Visibly annoyed at this the trader said: “How is this possible?”
Namdevaji said, “It can be judged by comparing our respective stocks of wealth.”
The trader placed some articles of his wealth in one pan of the balance and Namdev ji wrote the first letter “Ra” of the divine Name ‘Rama’ on a leaf of basil and placed it in the other pan. The pan with the basil leaf went down while the other pan got suspended in the air. The trader brought all of his wealth and added it to his pan, but still the pan with the basil leaf did not move. The rich man then made a Sankalpa (resolve) and added all the merits he had earned through charities, meritorious acts and pilgrimages to his pan. Yet it remained steadily up.
This put down the trader’s conceit. His eyes were filled with tears. He fell prostrate at Namdev’s feet and became overwhelmed with repenting emotion. He said with folded hands to Namdevaji, “O Beloved of God! I considered myself to be a great donor, and thought diamonds, pearls and jewels to be the most valuable; but today, my egotism has been reduced to ashes by your compassion and grace. Now, please have mercy on this slave of yours, so that I may spend the rest of my life earning the Spiritual Wealth that you have earned.”
Saint Namdevaji has given guidance about how to earn the Spiritual Wealth in His own words compiled in the “Guru Granth Sahib”:
“One who realizes Supreme Brahman, the Supreme Lord, dislikes other worldly desires. He who focuses his consciousness on the Lord’s devotional worship, will find his mind steadied. O my mind, how will you cross over the world-ocean, if you are filled with the water of corruption? Deluded by the falseness of Maya, you have gone astray, O my mind. Though born in the house of a calico-printer, I have come by the Teachings of the Guru. By the grace of saints, Namdev has met the Lord.”
