Skip to main content

CHANGING THE WORLD FOR ONE PERSON


To reach our ashram at Chodan island, we need to cross the Mandovi river by the government run ferry service. As the ferry vessel was docking the other night, it scooped a tiny little fish out of the water onto the ground. The tiny fish was flapping desperately to live. I somehow managed to put the fish back into the river. The fish was happy to have got to live more and I was happy to be of some help to this small friend. I remembered a quote I had read long ago - "Helping one person might not change the world, but it could change the world for one person." How true it is. Whenever we get opportunities to be of help to someone, we should immediately grab it and try to do the best we can. Who knows, we may just save a life.

Whenever, the ferryboat docks I try to be alert to look out for any fish that needs my help. Whether you travel in ferry or not, remember, there are always "fishes" out there who will need your help. Be watchful, be helpful.

- Achyut Gopal Das

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

When O When

When O when will I become a Vaishnava... Who is humbler than a blade of grass and more tolerant than a tree, Free from any sense of hatred and animosity. When O when will I become a Vaishnava... Who is free from lust and greed, And from unwanted wants and needs. When O when will I become a Vaishnava... Who is free from pride and envy, And from wrong company. When O when will I become a Vaishnava... Who is ready to embrace other's sorrows as one's own, And not bother about sorrows of one's own. When O when will I become a Vaishnava... Who is ready to forgive and forget, And not be caught in Maya's net. When O when will I become a Vaishnava... Who is eager to offer respects to all, And expect none at all. When O when will I become a Vaishnava... Who chants the Holynames incessantly, With love, devotion and humility. When O when will I become a Vaishnava... Who considers everyone better than himself, And loves everyone more than oneself. When O when will I become a...

EVERYTHING COMES IN A CIRCLE

"Life is a full circle. Everything comes back the way it is handled." - Elsie Mathew Once, I was drinking some fruit juice in a stainless steel glass in our ashram. I had to leave for some place in a hurry. I left the glass thinking that someone would wash it. I came back after two days and saw that the glass was there in the exact place I had kept it, as if waiting for me. The irony is that not only I had to wash it personally but it took me more time and energy because by now the juice particles got dry and stuck to the glass. I had to do a lot of scrubbing. I realised the fallacy of procrastination. If I had washed it as soon I had drunk the juice, the job would have been accomplished in seconds. Small incidences like this have happened time and again, teaching me that in life everything comes in a circle. What goes around, comes around. That's the law of karma in action. We can't avoid responsibilities in life - what we are supposed to do, we will have to do - t...

MAKE IT A POINT TO MAKE THE POINT

A few days ago, as I was traveling on the ferry that takes us to our ISKCON Center at Chodan island, a relatively young man approached me and started to talk to me. My Vaishnava (devotee) attire probably attracted him to me. He was asking me if I was a preist in a temple. To which I said "Yes". I asked him where he stays and what he does. He told me that he stays in Panjim and runs a chicken shop in Porvorim. I asked him his name and as I guessed, he happened to be a Muslim. I could see marks of dried up blood stains in different places in his shirt. I at once told him to try to switch his profession to one which involves less violence. I suggested to him to start a vegetable or a grocery shop.  He seemed to be taken a little aback by what might have appeared to him to be a stange suggestion by a stranger. I told him that killing innocent animals is not right. They too have life and feelings like us. He was hearing me out. He then asked me, if one can eat chicken ...