Virtue called Compassion

In a small town in South India lived a young man called Govind. Govind was a honest, kind and good hearted person.
A holy man who was visiting the town, discoursed in a temple in the town. Being a devoted person by heart, Govind happened to attend the discourse. During the discourse, the holy man spoke on the glory of Varanasi. He spoke at length on the sacredness of the Ganges and the merits that one would accrue taking a dip in the Ganges. He elaborated on the glory of Lord Vishwanatha – who takes unto his lap, every person who breathes his last in Varanasi and liberates them by chanting the Rama Nama in their right earl He also talked in detail about Bindu Madhava Swami, Annapoorni Devi, Kala Bhairava and other deities in the holy town of Varanasi as also the glory of Triveni Sangam – the point of convergence of the three holy rivers – Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati
The wonderful exposition of Varanasi left an indelible impression in the heart of Govind. Having heard from the holy man that a Hindu should visit Varanasi and take a dip in the Ganges at least once during his lifetime, Govind nurtured a desire to visit Varanasi.
He heard from others that it is advisable to go go to Varanasi on a pilgrimage with like-minded devotees. He then enquired with the local tourism authorities and learnt that a gentleman routinely arranges for the round-trip to Varanasi as a travel package at a set cost. Govind met the gentleman and enquired him about the cost of the trip.
The very thought that he was going to be heading for Varanasi soon, excited Govind. Night and day, the thought about Varanasi occupied his mind. He longed for the moment when he would take a dip in the Ganges and have the darshan of Lord Viswanatha.
He created a hundi at home and saved a few rupees everyday towards the pilgrimage. After two years, he had substantial money in his hundi, enough to cover the expenses of his trip. That very evening, he met the tours-person and registered his name for the next trip, along with a few others from his city who were planning to undertake the pilgrimage.
Govind narrated about his proposed trip to every person he met on the road. Indeed, it was a lifetime goal! He met his relatives and informed them about his trip. In doing so, he decided to meet a relative in the next town.
Govind reached the next town and headed for his relative’s home. This relative was a poor man. He had four daughters, two of who were of marriageable age, waiting to get married, and the other two were of a school-going age. The head of the family had a meager income, barely enough to make his ends meet, leave alone getting his daughters married or educated. The house was drowned in poverty and the inmates wore rags.
Govind was accorded a warm welcome by his relative and given a seat. In the course of his talk, Govind happened to learn the true state of the family. Govind’s eyes were brimming with tears. He was a true devotee indeed, and a devotee is never hard-hearted, is he?
Govind kept thinking about his relative all through the night. He forgot all about his pilgrimage. ‘What a miserable state!’ He thought, ‘How mean it would be of me, if I did not help them’.
Thinking so, he decided to give the money he had gathered for his pilgrimage to his relative. The next morning, Govind took the money from his purse, and handing it over to his relative, said, ‘I have this money with me. I know that this amount is but a paltry sum, when compared to what you require. But I can only afford so much. I am sure the Lord will fill you in for the rest.’ Having handed over this money to his relative, he whole-hearted prayed to the Almighty to take care of this poverty-stricken family.
Govind couldn’t make it to Varanasi. Yet, the Lord’s divine grace fell on him! How?
Those folks who made it to the trip from the same town, on their return enquired of Govind, ‘Oh Govind! We met you in Varanasi! You took the dip in the Ganges and had darshan of Vishwanatha along with us! But, why is it that you did not accompany us during the to and fro journey?’ Govind understood the Divine play of the Lord.
The quality of compassion that had taken a firm place in his heart, gave the merits of a pilgrimage to Varanasi to the already good-mannered and devoted Govind. Indeed, the Lord resides in the heart of every devotee. Does he not?
Truly, the Almighty is easily accessible when approached with love and affection.