Panduranga

Janabai was a poor lady who lived in South India. She had kept a cow in her little courtyard and used to sell cow’s milk to earn a living for her. As a matter of habit, Janabai would chant the name of the Lord Panduranga all day, while conducting her household chores. One day Janabai complained to Saint Namadev that some one had stolen some cow dung cakes (small mounds made from cow’s dung to be burnt as fuel in the kitchen), from her backyard. The Saint asked her if she would be able to identify the ones made by her. She quickly handed over to him a cow dung cake made by her and asked him to place it close to his ear. The words, “Ranga, Ranga, Panduranga” were ensuing from it, due to the continuous chanting of the Lord’s name that went into the making of it.

Saint Namadev was baffled. He asked her to bring some fresh cow dung and make another cow dung cake. She continued her chanting softly while she made the cake in a few minutes. The Saint bent down to the ground to put his ear next to the still wet cake and was astonished to hear the name of the Lord, emanating sweetly from it. “Panduranga, Panduranga” could be heard.

Yes, such is the power of the name of the Lord. Sound, they say is never lost. It merges into space. That is why, we are always taught to speak good words. The cumulative effect of good speech from more and more people can surely have a purifying effect on the space. If we chant shalokas, mantras or simple words in praise of the Lord, we would be doing our bit to sanctify the atmosphere, besides cleansing our own body, mind and soul of bitterness, harshness and ill-will.

Remember God with every breath that you take. Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breaths away.