The Sweet Saviour and the difficult turnaround............ - by Sethuraman M - CollectLo

The Sweet Saviour and the difficult turnaround............

Sethuraman M - CollectLo

Sethuraman M

Content Writer

5 min read . Aug 26

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It was an unusually chilly night in the otherwise hot and humid small town nestled in the southern part of India near the seashore. On the terrace of a small house, a man in his mid-twenties sat with his head between his knees, crying. He had just been rejected in a job interview he had prepared for tirelessly over the past year. Despite his hard work and sincere efforts, he couldn't secure the job. When he shared this news with his father, his father mockingly laughed, already knowing this would happen. He called his son useless and fit for nothing.

To add to his distress, his junior from college visited his house with sweets and his offer letter for the same job, seeking blessings from his father. Dejected, the man rushed to the terrace and leaned against the wall, feeling defeated. He called up his girlfriend in hopes of finding some sympathy, but upon hearing the news, she broke off their five-year relationship, citing no future with a man who seemed careless and jobless.

In that moment of despair, he wished his mom, who had been his pillar of strength and support, was still alive to comfort him. Sadly, she had passed away when he was still in secondary school. She used to tell him that the soul is eternal, and she would always be there for him among the stars whenever he felt broken and hopeless.

A small smile crossed his face as he looked into the dark sky with teary eyes. However, the pain was overwhelming, and he closed his eyes as tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Hey mate…" Suddenly, he heard a voice, as sweet as if someone were playing a flute and talking simultaneously. He opened his eyes in disbelief to see a man standing before him, whose skin was as blue as the ocean and whose eyes were remarkably beautiful. The stranger had a smile that could light up the entire universe.

The stranger continued, "Your mom asked me to come here and help you, as she couldn't bear to see you broken like this. How can I assist you?"

The man was shaken. He thought he might be hallucinating due to the sleepless nights spent preparing for the interview. Despite his skepticism, a part of his soul was drawn to the stranger, prompting him to strike up a conversation.

"Who are you? What is your name? Where do you come from? How do you know my mom, who passed away nearly a decade ago?" The man asked with curiosity.

The stranger smiled gently and replied, "People call me by many names. Some of my favorites are Vasudeva, Govinda, Krishna, and my most beloved, Govardhan. People call me God, claiming I oversee the entire universe and am its supreme being. However, I am formless and omnipresent. I belong everywhere, and this universe is mine. Your mom is one of my many favorite souls."

In that instant, the man realized that the Lord himself stood before him. He knelt before Krishna and poured out his heart, "Dear Lord, life seems so unfair and difficult. I prepared tirelessly for this job, passed so many exams and tests, yet I was rejected. My father mocks me, calling me useless. Why is life so unfair, dear Krishna?"

The Lord smiled warmly and replied, "My dear friend, life is always fair. You are receiving what you deserve. Ironically, by saying you don't want to complain, you are already complaining. If only you could see and remember as I do, you would realize it is only my mercy that you suffer so little, for you deserve much more."

With this, the Lord stopped and began to play his flute. The music was so enchanting that everything fell silent—even the snoring people seemed to hush, as if even the wind wanted to listen to this melodious tune.

However, the man was consumed by the desire to know why he deserved such suffering. Without uttering a word, the Lord understood his thoughts. He took the man's hand, and suddenly, the man's vision blurred, and he saw a bright white light and a vision.

He saw a man sitting under a tree, shockingly resembling himself. The man was eating an apple and overlooking a field where a farmer and his daughter toiled under the hot sun. As the sun set, the sweaty farmer approached the man with his daughter. The man arrogantly mocked them, saying they were useless and should have brought an ox and a cow instead of paying them wages. He dismissed them, refusing to employ them further.

The farmer and his daughter were devastated. The old man fell to his knees, begging for mercy, explaining that farming was their only means of sustenance. The daughter, holding onto the man's feet, pleaded tearfully, "Sir, my father may be old, but he works as hard as he can. Your field's flowers are the reason I wake up every morning. Please don't take that away from us. We promise to work even harder."

The man remained unmoved and walked away callously, laughing.

The vision faded, and the man on the terrace returned to reality, overwhelmed with shame for his past actions. "I'm sorry, dear Lord. Now I understand why I'm suffering. It's your mercy that I suffer less than I deserve."

"But what should I do now, dear Lord? Must I continue to suffer for my past mistakes?" he asked humbly.

The Lord smiled and replied, "Suffering is a choice. Everything is fair and predetermined, but man's ego refuses to accept this truth and remains in constant misery, trying to change what cannot be changed. Listen to me, and I will tell you a secret: Nothing can be changed, for everything is predetermined. The best approach is to sit back and watch life unfold. Remember, love is all you need. Love everything around you, including non-living things, and you will see how beautiful life can be. It's a blessing to be born as a human. By the way, wish me a happy birthday, for it is Janmashtami."

The man realized it was midnight, Janmashtami—the birthday of Lord Krishna. He asked what he could do for the Lord.

The Lord replied that he was hungry and would love to eat laddoos. He asked for ten laddoos and said he would be waiting outside a nearby temple.

The man hurried downstairs, picked up his wallet, and rushed to the nearby bakery, surprised to find it open at that hour. He bought ten laddoos with the only Rs. 100 note in his wallet and hurried to the temple where the Lord had directed him.

Upon arrival, he found ten hungry children who looked like they hadn't eaten in days. The Lord was not there, but the man gave each child a laddoo. As he handed the last laddoo to a very young child, their hands touched. The child's hand felt soft, and as he gratefully took a bite of the laddoo, he mumbled, "Happy Krishna Janmashtami."