What’s your laddu?

 Let me tell you a story, a fictional one – a figment of my imagination.

Once it so happened that the lord decided to incarnate on earth and so he summoned some of his close confidants. He conveyed his wish to them and asked them to join him in this venture. He said, “children, I am planning to incarnate on earth to redeem some of my devotees who have been yearning for my darshan (sight of a holy man, god, holy place), and want all of you to accompany me to earth in human form.”

Hearing this from God, all the astral beings declined this proposal at once, saying, “No baba, why should we go to that mortal world and suffer. Lord, it’s your wish to incarnate and you are free to undertake this journey and suffer on earth at your own risk, but please spare us, we will not make this mistake.”

The lord wasn’t pleased with this response and therefore, to allure them, he made an offer, and said, “See my children, if you agree to come with me, I will give you all the opportunity to live with me, speak with me, and touch my holy feet. Not only that, some of you will even get a chance to be my students.”

Bang came reply, “Lord, as far as your holy company is concerned, we are already enjoying those benefits here itself and why do we need to become students, after all we are Gyanis and full of wisdom. Sorry lord, we are not game for it. You please continue with your plans all alone by yourself. You will have to excuse us.”

Now the lord was in a fix and so he shot the last arrow and it indeed hit the bullseye. The lord said, “I will also give you each a laddu (Indian sweet ball) to eat.” That’s it! The moment they heard this word, they began to salivate and thought to themselves, “Wow! Not only will we get to live with the lord, but we will also have the opportunity to enjoy the earthly laddu, which we can never enjoy in this astral plane.” And without much ado, all of them agreed to this grand proposal without any further discussion.

The lord, with a mischievous smile on his face, said, “Ok, now that you all have agreed, you cannot go back to your words and I will make sure that you all come down to earth in a human form and be part of my mission.”

Some time later, the lord incarnated in a human form and thus began his pastime and the mission he had planned even before this earthly journey. Meantime, all those astral beings also appeared as per the schedule decided by the lord.

Time passed and all these beings did get a chance to live with the lord, have conversation with him and could touch his feet whenever their turn came. Some of them, as promised, were also fortunate enough to become the lord’s students.

So, all the promises were fulfilled, but one. One fine day, as they were sitting for the lord’s darshan, they decided to ask for the last promise, the laddus to be delivered to them. As the lord arrived for darshan, they made bold and conveyed their wish, “Lord, you have fulfilled all the promises you made, but what about the last one?” The lord appeared puzzled and repeated their question, “What about the last one?”

Taking a pause and trying to remind the lord, they said, “Lord, we haven’t received our laddus yet.”

“O, you want laddus,” saying this, the lord called on some volunteers to bring laddus from the South Indian canteen and distribute them among these devotees.

As commanded, the laddus were brought and distributed. As soon as they received the laddus, these beings were shocked and kept staring at the laddu for a while. Unable to contain their disappointment, they looked at the lord and in a loud voice spoke, “Lord, but this is a LADDU!” The lord replied, “Yes, that’s exactly what I had promised, hadn’t I!” and with the same mischievous smile on his face, he just walked away. At this, these chosen ones felt duped, victimised like a sacrificial goat.

But the story doesn’t end here. As time passed and as per the divine plan, lord decided to give up the physical form and he did at the right time. Many hearts were broken into pieces at the sudden loss of this dear human form of the lord that had walked this earth for decades and now it is all over. Many could not come to the terms with the loss for years.

But you know, it is the human nature to forget and move on, no matter how painful the loss is. And so was the case with these devotees too. As the intensity of the pain caused by the demise of that beautiful divine form subsided, in their hearts they were reminded of the promised “LADDU” once again.

The desire to find their laddus was getting intensified day by day. They reached a point when they could ignore it no more. In the background of their minds there was a constant nagging thought. They were thinking, “we took such a big risk to come down in this human form trusting the lord to fulfil his promises. In the process, we have suffered so much having gone through all the suffering that one is subjected to in a human life – mental, physical, emotional and what not!” Thus, they resolved to find their promised laddu, no matter what. They will not leave this world without having received and eaten their laddu to their fullest satisfaction.

But the big question was, “What was this laddu they were dying for?”. Let’s go back to the time the lord promised them the laddu. When all of these astral beings said yes in one voice, each of them had a different understanding of the laddu. It is not that all had a common definition of the laddu.

Some of them realized that the lord has built this organization with so much love and therefore, they must find a job in this organization and serve the lord till their last breath. This was their laddu and they found it in this form.

Some others thought that the lord has given us so much education and taught us spirituality and scriptures without having charged a single penny and, therefore, it is our duty to have a family and create similar environment for our children. When these children grow up, they will help in transforming the world and pass on the divine message to the future generations. This was their laddu and they found it in their family life.

There was yet another group of devotees, who thought that they cannot be satisfied by leading a normal family life with 9 to 5 job. They felt that they should do something big in life. Again, every individual has their own definition of becoming big. So, according to their choice, they began their journey and chose the field of their interest, such as politics, business, world travel, film, etc. This was their laddu and they went for it.

There was also a group of devotees, who thought if they lived only to fulfil their needs then what kind of life would that be. So, they decided to live for others and went into social service fulltime. This was their laddu.

There was a handful of devotees who were of the opinion that if the lord has promised a laddu, it cannot be an ordinary one and it has to be special. While considering all the previous options chosen by others, they felt that even those who are non-devotees are doing pretty well in these fields, so what’s so special about them. Finally, they concluded that all they wanted was nothing less than, “Mukti” or self-realization, or enlightenment or liberation. This was their laddu.

What’s yours?

I am not here to judge, which laddu is better than the other. That’s not my job!

I wouldn’t want you all to compare your definition of the laddu with that of others and decide which is better. I wouldn’t even want you to suggest others what should be their laddu. Each one of us has the equal right to find or discover our definition of laddu.

Mind you, I said, “find or discover” and not “create”. The definition is already hidden in your heart and the lord knows it. He doesn’t care what you think or say about your laddu. The real definition is already present in your heart and you cannot bluff the lord about it by mincing your words based on your imagination or logical mind. He only sees your heart and delivers what you truly feel within.

Therefore, do what it takes to find out what you truly desire in your heart, because, at the end, that’s the laddu you will receive from the lord irrespective of your expectations. Else, you may feel extremely disappointed by what you receive and blame the lord for it. And having identified your true desire, if you feel that it’s inappropriate, then you can change it by seeking the lord’s help through your sincerity and faith.