The higher form of sacrifice

The Saints have wonderful ways of delivering the spiritual message. At times their acts and their talks seem unusual, but all of those are motivated by compassion and goodwill for the benefit of the true seekers.

Once, a prince was riding his well decorated chariot towards the outskirts of his kingdom. Suddenly he saw a small hut, outside which a saintly looking old man was sitting in peace. A few young men were also sitting there surrounding the old man. As he came closer, he recognized the old man who used to be rich minister in his father’s ministry and turned into a Saint a few years ago. Out of respect, he stopped the chariot and stepped closer to the Saint. While touching the holy feet of the Saint, he said, “Dear Sir, I bow to you and your great sacrifice. You have sacrificed your worldly comforts and are living in such a small hut in solitude.”

To the surprise of the prince, the Saint got up and while approaching the feet of the prince, he said, “No prince no, I bow to you as your sacrifice is higher than mine.” 

Astonished, the prince stepped backward and pleaded, “No Sir, I haven’t performed any sacrifice in my life. Your sacrifice is highly adorable.”

The Saint replied, “No son, in my opinion your sacrifice is much higher than mine.”

In the confused state of mind, the prince sat down near the Saint. After a moment of silence, he asked, “Dear Sir, I know that you have donated your hard earned wealth a few years ago and since then, you are living in seclusion. But I haven’t performed any sacrifice in my life. Please explain to me the deep purport of your words.”

Even other people who were watching this incident gathered around the Saint curious to know the reasoning of the Saint. With a compassionate smile on his face, the Saint said, “Son, I give importance to the higher form of peace and blissfulness that I achieve by devoting time in the remembrance of God, chanting his holy name and in meditation. While doing so, I gave up the lower form of worldly pleasures. So, giving up lower for the sake of something higher is not sacrifice. Real sacrifice is yours - who devote all the time for the sake of worldly achievements and worldly pleasure while giving up the higher form of peace and inner happiness. You are the one who has given up higher for the sake of lower. So, real sacrifice is yours only.”

Everyone listening to the Saint nodded in affirmation. From that day on, the prince became his disciple and his life took a turn towards spiritual peace and inner happiness.