Saturday's Darshan in Belo Horizonte was fantastic! The setting was a school gym surrounded by lots of trees and great weather, really setting the tone for what was to be an evening of great joy and love.
Swamiji had originally said the day before that he would not give any speech before Darshan, since he would be hosting a Satsang the very next day. However, by the time he started to give Darshan, he had already spoken for over one hour!
Guruji told a beautiful story of Jagannath Mishra, a great Saint from India. As he was studying the Gita, he came across a passage that said "We are here on earth to serve God and He is on earth to support us (Vaham Yaham)". Jagannath Mishra was extremely surprised to read this and assumed that this was surely a mistake. So he scratched out the line 'He is on earth to support us' and replaced with 'He is on earth to be supported by us (Dadaham Yaham)'. Soon after there came a time when his family was running out of food. Such was their poverty that it had become very difficult for Jagannath Mishra to provide for his family and fulfill his duty as a householder. So he told his wife that he would be going out to take his daily bath at the river and then he would try to find a solution to their problem.
As he was out, a young boy came to his house to visit his wife with a basket filled with fruits and vegetables. He knocked on the door and Jagannath Mishra's wife answered the door and was shocked by what she saw. The boy's face was all scratched up and he looked like he had been beaten up. She asked him, "Who did this to you?!" The little boy answered, "It was your husband! I met him on the way to his bath and he told me to bring these fruits and vegetables to you here. However, he also did all this to me!" She was very grateful to receive the food at their time of necessity but she was very upset with her husband. The boy left and she awaited Jagannath Mishra's return home so that she could demand an explanation from him!
So finally, when Jagannath Mishra came home, his wife confronted him and asked him why he had beaten this kind boy who had brought them food, relaying the whole story to him. He was very confused because he had met no one on his way to his bath nor had he met anyone on his way home and he had most definitely not scratched and beaten anyone either! However, at that moment a great realisation dawned on Jagannath Mishra. That boy was none other than Sri Krishna Himself. He is the personification of the Holy Scriptures and here Jagannath Mishra understood the errors of his ways. Every mistreatment of the Gita is a direct offence and act against the Lord Himself as the scratches on the face of the boy proved. Yet the true meaning of this story lies in the fact that God is indeed here to support and carry us on our journey. The boy brought the food when they needed it most and this too despite the crimes committed against him by Jagannath Mishra. God is ever-giving and ever-caring even at His own cost for His Love is unconditional. From that moment on, Jagannath Mishra had a new-found perspective on life and the Lord!