Dormant, Active, and Potential Karmas - Pandit Rajmani Tigunait

Part III

There once was a Brahmin couple. They were learned but quite poor – their only property was a horse. They did not own any land, so the only way they could feed the horse was to cut grass with the permission of the landowner or try to get some from the overgrazed public lands.

Every day the wife searched for grass for the horse while the husband went from door to door looking for a tutoring job – usually to no avail. Poverty and hunger aged the couple rapidly, although the horse was healthy and strong, due to their kindness and care.

One hot summer day the great sage Narada visited the village and stopped at the couple’s door for alms. Even though they were embar-rassed at not being able to provide a meal, they greeted him warmly, offering him salt and water, which was all they had. When the couple explained their situation, Narada looked into their prarabdha karmas and found that the only property their destiny held for them was this one horse. He also checked their dormant karmas and saw there were hundreds of horses lined up, although none would manifest until the current horse was gone.

So Narada told them to sell the horse. They were reluctant, but they knew Narada wouldn’t advise them to do anything not in their best interest. The sage also told them that since the husband was a learned Brahmin, his first duty was to disseminate knowledge. He should start a school so that he could house and teach students right in his own home. In this way the couple would free themselves from the burden of caring for a horse and knocking on doors looking for students to tutor.

© "From Death to Birth" by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, published by the Himalayan Institute press, Honesdale, Pennsylvania 18431, USA. Website: www.himalayaninstitute.org. Part II of tis article appeared in Splendour, March, 2006 issue. Reprinted with permission.

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