Our Divine Nature

This is a story of a scorpion and a sage and helps us to look in to our own nature. Even though the story itself may sound unbelievable, lesson we can learn is profound.

Once a few saints were walking on the banks of river Ganga and they noticed a scorpion struggling to get out of a whirlpool formed out of foam from a big water fall. Every time it tried to get away from the thick foam, it went back deeper. Seeing this one saint got into the water to save the scorpion from the foam trap and with his bear hands took it and kept away from the foam. While holding it, as a scorpion would do, it stung him on his hands and he wriggled with pain. 

But soon after saving it from the foam, it some how went back  to the same place and started struggling for it's life. Again the saint tried to save it and he was stung several times. Finally he held it and brought it in his hands and left it on the bank. It happily crawled to safety. 

Other saints were watching this and they were surprised to see him catching it again and again even though he was stung by it several times. So they asked him why he kept on holding it in spite of it's stinging him. 

He calmly replied: "Respected saints, scorpion showed it's natural tendency to attack anybody who comes near. That is his natural instinct.  As human being, I should also act according to the divine nature hidden in me. In pain or pleasure, our nature is to help others. The scorpion does not know that it is also a manifestation of Paramathma chaithanyam, but we human beings are blessed with the power of discrimination and we  should always go beyond the instincts and do good to not only other human beings, but also to all forms of life. We should be able to think that the same Paramaathma chaithanyam in the scorpion is shining with in us too, bright enough to illuminate everything around us!"

May Bhagavan bless us to see His divine presence in the animate and inanimate things of the world!