I found some really cute pictures of baby deers.They are so delicate and tender.
Forgive me if I enter a sober subject in a light hearted way.
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The King and the deer
This is a Vedic story meant to fix our minds in spiritual thoughtfulness.
Just as we read in Bhagavad Gita how Arjuna, became compassionate towards his kinsman, before the Battle of Kuruksetra, and found himself unable to perform his duty and fight, similarly another great man, Maharaja Bharat, became distracted from his intentions by compassion for a helpless baby deer.
Maharaja Bharat was the Emperor, but he chose to leave his post, wealth, wife and family. He decided instead that worshiping the Lord should be his only goal in life. Living in a secluded place, he was gradually becoming more and more elevated in his practise.
He was alone, when one day he saw a newly born deer about to die and he saved it's life. Practically this little deer then became his only companion. Day and night he lovingly fed the deer, played with it and slept by it's side. More and more his attachment grew.
Then the deer went missing. Maharaja Bharat was beside himself with anxiety. Fearful that it may have been attacked by a wolf and eaten, he went out searching for it. Wandering here and there, he called it's name. Suddenly he fell down about to die.Hearing his cry the small baby deer came running to his side and began to lament. The King reached out for the deer and while embracing it to his heart, he died. Due to being absorbed in the deer at the time of his death, Maharaja Bharat aquired the body of a deer.
Devotees are always protected, even when they forget the Lord. Although now in the body of a deer, Maharaj Bharat could remember everything that had happened, therefore without wasting a moment, he returned to the place where he had formerly lived and remained there for the rest of his life.
What happened next?
When telling this story, I often wonder how it would feel to fall so short of your goal. The king gave up everything to become spiritually enlightened, yet now he possessed the body of a deer.
He lamented like anything. He regretted what had happened. He went over and over it in his mind, and he became so determined not to ever make the same mistake.
Then in his next birth, after he had given up the deer's body, he was born into a very religious family. His father loved him so much, and wanted to give him a good education.
But Jada Bharat, as he was now called, wasn't interested in anything!!! He wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. In order to remain aloof from the world, he pretended to be mad, deaf and dumb.He avoided external influences by internally always praying and thinking of the Lord.
His life moved onwards. His father died. His brothers hated him for being so stupid and threw him out of the house. But nothing disturbed him.
One day while Jada Bharat was wandering like a retarded fool, one of the King's servants saw him and decided to engage him in carrying the King's palanquin. Although he agreed to do so, he kept stepping here and there to avoid killing ants.The resultant jerking upset the King to the point of anger.
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At that moment Jada Bharat decided to speak. Situated as he was on the platform of self realization, his words were capable of destroying the King's false pride. Immediatly the King got down and bowed to the disguised saint. He begged pardon from him and sought further enlightenment.
Jada Bharat spoke at length to the King about the nature of worldly dealings. He enlightened him about the miserable results obtained through karmic work and convinced him that life's true goal should be to reestablish our forgotten relationship with the Lord. After speaking, he began to wander the earth as before.
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Well, I began my story with a cute baby deer and ended on a very sober point,for, like the King, we urgently require spiritual enlightenment. One may ask what Maharaja Bharat should have done when he saw the dangerous situation of the deer.
Should he have ignored it?
Not necessarily. One response is that naturally an advanced spiritualist will be sympathetic to the suffering of others, yet while showing compassion they will not sacrifice their spiritual practises. Both should be there.
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This story is told in full in the pages of the Srimad Bhagavatam
