Athithi devo bhava

Courtesy: Sri.Ravishanckar Gopal

Radhe Krishna All,

We saw in the first part of this series that an Upanishad saying goes,

"Maatru
devo bhava, Pitru devo bhava, Aachaarya devo bhava, Atithi devo bhava"
(Mother is verily God, Father is verily God, Master is verily God, the
Guest is verily God), while in Tamil language a similar proverb goes,
"Maata, Pita, Guru, Deivam" (Mother, Father, Guru and God).

Earlier,
Sri Swamiji had also pointed out that in the hierarchy, an ordinary
guest cannot take a place above the Guru, as seemingly
indicated by the Sanskrit saying above. Therefore, here the term guest
(atithi) must actually denote God Himself.

Please read on…

Once
there lived, in holy Pandarpur, a poor couple who had taken up the vow
of serving a sadhu or two with few dry chapatis before they took their
meal on Dwadasi (the twelfth day of the lunar fortnight). They had been
following this practice for years. On one Dwadasi however, a wealthy man
arranged for a sumptuous meal for all the sadhus of Pandarpur. Hence
not a single sadhu came to this poor couple's doorstep. They stood
outside and invited the sadhus who passed by their home. But none paid
heed to their call. The couple was in tears, as it seemed that their
life-long vow was about to be broken that day. They did not have their
meal. They were at a loss to know what to do. Just then, to their joy, a
sadhu came to their doorstep and demanded dry chapatis! They invited
the sadhu inside and served him with
utmost humility and love. After eating the ‘love-stuffed’ chapati, the
sadhu showed them his real Form! Lo! Their atithi that day was not a
bhakta but the Bhaktavatsala â€" Lord Panduranga Himself! Indeed it was
Bhaktavatsala who had come eagerly to their home!

'Atithi devo bhava'! When we see God in every guest who comes home, God becomes eager to meet us at our home!

There
once lived a divine couple at Puri Jagannatha Kshetra (Orissa). Their
doors were always wide open to all holy men. Sadhus were offered food in
their home. One day, the husband found a leprosy patient at his
doorstep and without any hesitation invited him in for food. The wife
was naturally aghast at this move and tried her best to stop him; but
the man was firm.

"Kalyani! Atithi devo bhava! Have you
forgotten this?" he said, softly yet firmly, to his reluctant wife. His
next
move horrified her all the more! He addressed the guest, "Respected
sir! Please take this humble seat and make yourself Comfortable."
He then turned to his wife and ordered, "Kalyani, bring a pot of water." The lady of the house went in and returned with a pot of water. What happened next filled her with greater horror!

The
guest sat on their simple wooden chair. Her husband held the dirty feet
of the guest that were infected and dripping with pus, and
reverentially placed them on a brass plate. The wife shivered from
head to toe as she thought, "Good God! He is going to do Paada puja
(washing the feet with water, etc. in an attitude of worship) to this
leper. The stench is unbearable! I cannot remain here any longer. This
husband of mine will next instruct me to sip the water that washed the
disease-stricken dirty feet of this man! I cannot accept it!"
Thinking thus, she ran away to the backyard of the house, out of her
husband's sight.

The husband, with his heart full of love and
with great reverence and compassion, washed the feet of this unique
guest. He then took a little of that water from the brass plate with
utmost respect, sipped it and sprinkled a little on his head. He then
led the guest inside the house and served him food with immense love.

When
the guest had partaken of the food, the man fell at his guest's feet
and said softly, "Namaste atithi deva."A bright flash of blue light
dazzled his eyes! With wonder he looked up and what did he behold?
Verily the Lord of the Universe! The very spirit of all Vedas and
Shastras! The one rare to attain even through toughest sadhana! The man
found himself standing right in front of the smiling Lord Jagannatha
Himself!

'Atithi devo bhava'! When we serve the guest who comes to our door as
verily God, God comes to our door to enjoy our loving service!

A
lady once came to see Yogi Ramsuratkumar. She said to him, "Bhagavan, I
am a simple woman. I am not capable of doing great work. Please
instruct me with some simple work that is within my capability. I will
carry it out sincerely."

Yogi Ramsuratkumar said to her, "Feed every beggar who comes to your door."

The
lady was very happy. This was an easy job that she could carry out
without difficulty. Days passed and she fed every beggar who came to her
door. One night a beggar knocked at her door. She offered him
twenty-five paise and closed the door. The beggar accepted the paltry
sum without any complaint and left. After a month or two this lady went
to Tiruvannamalai to have darshan of Yogi Ramsuratkumar. On seeing her,
Yogi Ramsuratkumar, fanning himself with the hand fan that he usually
held, said, "Dear lady, which hotel in Chennai offers food for
twenty-five paise
?" He went on uttering this over and over again.

The import of Yogiji's words dawned on her like a thunderbolt!

The lady was taken aback and felt ashamed. She fell at the great saint’s feet and sought his forgiveness.

'Atithi devo bhava'! When we serve every guest as verily God it certainly reaches Him and Him only!

Therefore, here guest (atithi) does not refer to an ordinary man but verily God Himself!

!!! Will continue !!!
--------------------------
Regards,

Who is a Guru..and what quality should Guru Posses and many more.......

http://youtu.be/_JDaZDilW1k
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UPCOMING PROGRAMS

January
1 2012: Mass Prayer with Mahamantra Kirtan by H.H Sri Sri Muralidhara
Swamiji at Coimbatore (Sastry Maidan, Suburban School Grounds, Ram
Nagar, Coimbatore)

January
7, 2012: Students Mass Prayer for success in Examinations at Kamarajar
Hall, Chennai by Sri MK Ramanujamji and Sri. A. Bhagyanathanji

Jan
13-22,2012:"Traditional Treasures" - a unique tribute to our rich
traditions by GOD India Trust at Narada Gana Sabha, Chennai: 6:30-8:30
pm
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Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
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