Lord Rama went into a 14-year exile during which he stayed in the wilderness. Many yogis meditated there in search of God. Along with them lived Shabri — a woman from the bhil community. When she heard that Lord Rama was exiled into the forest, she was elated. She thought, “What if Lord Rama comes to my hut? What shall I offer him to eat?” So she searched for berries growing in the forest and as she wanted him to eat only the sweet ones, she personally tasted each of them. In the meantime, the other yogis received news of Lord Rama’s arrival. Each one of them was sure that Lord Rama would choose to live in his hut. But Lord Rama went straight to Shabri’s hut and ate the berries.
The yogis in the forest were upset since Lord Rama had not visited them. So they requested him to visit. On the way, there was a lake filled with dirt and insects. The yogis said, “Lord Rama, we have been living here, but we do not have any fresh water to drink. This lake is so dirty. Could you kindly dip your feet into the lake to purify it for us?” Lord Rama could read what was in each of their hearts and knew they were each filled with ego. He replied, “You are all yogis. You have been doing penances for so many years. Why don’t you put your own feet in the water and cleanse it?” They each put their feet in to clean the lake, but it remained dirty.
“O Lord Rama,” they said. “Please put your feet in the lake so it can be cleaned.” But he wanted to teach them a lesson in love and so even after immersing his feet in the lake the water remained dirty. Lord Rama said, “I think that if you want the lake clean, you should ask Shabri to dip her feet in the lake.” Everyone was outraged. “How could such a low-caste woman be pure enough to clean the lake?” they thought. But they had to obey Lord Rama. Shabri was called and the moment she dipped her feet in the lake, the dirt cleared. This was a lesson for the yogis in curbing the ego, which separates us from the Lord. We should remind ourselves that ego is the biggest hindrance in the path of the Lord.
Sant Rajinder Singhji, head of Sawan Kirpal Ruhani Mission, works towards promoting inner and outer peace. He can be contacted at www.sos.org
