Reward of obedience

Long ago in a small village, there lived a hindu priest(brahman) called Narhari. He was the priest of the local temple. He was a devoted disciple of his Guru and used to do spiritual practice as instructed by his Guru. He had total faith in his Guru.

Unfortunately, one day Narhari fell ill with a grave skin disease. Due to this illness people avoided his company and asked him to leave the village. He then went to his Guru’s hermitage and participated in satseva (service unto truth) of performing daily chores at the hermitage. Despite his suffering, Narhari’s faith in the Guru was strong and he would spend days chanting (repeating the Lord’s name) and joyfully serving his Guru.

One day, to test Narhari’s faith, his Guru asked him to water a dried up twig of the holy fig tree (Audumbar). Narhari obeyed him without any questions. He watered the twig everyday. People would watch him water the dead twig and laugh at him. This did not affect Narhari at the least. This continued for four years. The Guru was pleased with Narhari’s devotion and obedience, and blessed him. Not only was Narhari cured, but soon after the dried up twig too sprouted leaves!

Moral: The above story shows how faith and obedience to the Guru cured Narhari of a grave illness. Regular spiritual practice helps us to build this kind of faith and obedience.