A tale of a stone that’ll give you a hope for a COVID free world: Light the 24th candle of belief

Once upon a time, there was a slow-witted man in a remote village in India who was harassed by people and afflicted with name callings, such as, scatterbrained, nutty and woodenhead. But he was called with one name consistently, Pagal (mad).  It seemed that misery was teasing him too- he was an orphan and was like a puppy in the street, just looking for two things in life- refuge and food, since love was an alien concept for a life that had tough row to hoe. On one cold night of winter, Pagal entered the village temple for a warm shelter in a quiet corner but the priest had him thrown out. The superstition held him as a cursed soul and a bad omen for others. The temple priest told everyone that only the blessed souls can enter the temple and he didn’t want a deranged soul to cast a shadow on the holy idols of their favourite deity, Vishnu, who is believed by Hindus to be the god of preserving life and protector of the universe. So, Pagal was banished from the village.
A few days had passed when an elderly man passing by saw Pagal sleeping in a warm cuddle with a dog in the street. The old man smiled and put his hand on Pagal’s shoulder, which woke him with a shudder, afraid that another cruel hand might want to cause him pain again. But when he saw a friendly glance emitting a loving glow on him, he sat up in total shock. No one had ever smiled at him with kindness. The old man said to him, ‘ Son, don’t be afraid I am not here to hurt you.’ With these words he took out a rolled paper pack from his pocket and unwrapped a few rotis ( kind of pancakes) with pickle and offered it to Pagal, who accepted the roti and tore it into two parts- one for the dog and one for himself. They both savoured every morsel and while Pagal thanked the old man for his kindness, the dog wagged his tail in appreciation. The old man asked the poor outcast his name and said, ‘ I can feel pain in your eyes and I also know that you are a brave person to have endured so much for so long, and still hold no malice in your heart. You have not forgotten gratitude and kindness. You are not the pagal, it’s the villagers who are mad. From today your new name is Himat ( courage) and I’ll give you your very own god, who’ll save you from all perils so long you believe in it. When you want to call him, just think about him with closed eyes and he’ll help you.’ Pagal was very excited when the old man took out a stone and handed it to him. ‘Always keep it with you. This is your God now. You don’t need to go in to the temple as your Deva (deity) has come to you.’ With this the old man went away and Pagal kept the stone pressed close to his heart. He built a tiny heap of mud as a  temple and placed the stone on top. Every night after the village would go to sleep, he would sneak in to the village hunting for food in the waste bins and whatever he could get he would share with his dog and thank his god before eating.
It wasn’t long before the villagers came to know that Pagal had built his own temple with a mound of earth and he even has a magical stone that he calls his Vishnu. The villagers marched behind the priest to confront him for his blasphemy but saw him in deep meditation besides the holy mound of earth. The priest thought of a brutal plan. He asked villagers to get straw and arranged it around Pagal before setting it ablaze. The whole village stood there with heinous expectation and the sky suddenly changed – dark clouds roared and lightening struct down many villagers including the priest while the rain smothered the fire. Just then Pagal opened his eyes and saw many villagers dead around him, which brought a tear to his eye. Seeing this, the villagers asked Pagal for forgiveness and protection. He smiled and said, ‘ That Pagal has long gone, what you see here is Himat now. My Deva has taught me the essence of life- don’t lose your belief or compassion as god exists only in an honest heart. I am a mere servant of my master, Vishnu. Only he can protect.’  They all  prayed to the stone, the god, for mercy and the sky became clear again. On that day, Himat was made the priest of the temple and only the old man’s stone was worshipped as the true image of Vishnu.
I don’t need to deduce the moral of this story as it’s clear. The stone is not important but it’s your belief that makes it the God, Belief gives us courage, Belief brings compassion, Belief invokes blessings and only Belief can protect us. May I conclude by saying that the message of  Law of Vibration is exactly the same- Believe in your desire and that will raise your vibration to a frequency where anything can be manifested.
Let us all put our belief in the Universe and the protection for all humanity will emerge from this faith. I’ll light the 24^th candle in hope.