Marathon of Life

Lata Bhagwan Kare, a 66 year old woman, is a resident of an small village in Buldhana district in Maharashtra.

She lived with her three daughters and husband. She and her husband worked very hard throughout their lives and got their daughter married. All their life's savings were spent on the marriage.

After daughter’s marriage, Lata tai and her husband started working as daily wage workers in the nearby farms, they used to make enough to survive.

One day her husband felt uneasy and was diagnosed with some serious infection.

With no money in hand, Lata tai couldn’t understand what to do. She took him to the nearby government hospital, doctors recommended her to take him to the hospital in Baramati as a few tests had to be conducted.

Lata tai was in tears, she cursed her own misery. She couldn't see her husband dying in her arms. She felt helpless and sorrowful.

As a last resort, she begged her neighbours, relatives and every possible person she could and gathered a small amount and left for Baramati for the further tests of her husband.

Doctor moved her husband to the check-up zone. She discreetly sat outside the room with the teary eyes, praying god to save the only relative in her life.

Fate had some other story written for them. Doctor advised further costly tests and medications, which were going to cost them a fortune. Lata tai's world collapsed as she has nowhere to go, and no money to treat her husband. Her world was shattered, her heart ached, overwhelmed by emotions, she cried with helplessness.

The wife and husband came out of the hospital heavy-heartedly, stopped by nearby samosawala, had two samosas.

The samosas were served on a piece of newspaper. Her eyes stopped on the bold Marathi headline in the newspaper; her eyes lit, heart skipped.

The headline was about the ‘Baramati Marathon and it's prize money'.

Next day, Baramati Marathon was about to commence, everyone geared up in their sports shoes, cozy shorts and tracks, sweat absorbing tees.

And here she comes, the 66 year old Lata Bhagwan Kare, wearing torn saree (lugda), bare footed, tears in her eyes. She argued with the organizers, as they weren't ready to let her participate in the marathon.

She pleaded, she begged, she convinced them to permit her to participate.

Marathon started, she hitched her saree just above her ankles, she ran like a wizard, like a 16 year old teen.

She didn't think of anything else, she could just see nothing but her husband's agony and the prize money.

She didn't care about the hard hitting road and pebbles hurting her feet. Her feet bled, but she ran and ran.

Crowd cheered her, streets of Baramati clapped for her. People were flabbergasted, they saluted her and applauded her.

Finally she won the Marathon and got the prize money. It meant a lot to her as she can now save her husband.

She collected the winning amount and made sure her husband received the proper medication.

This is love, this is devotion. She didn't blink in the most trying circumstances, she never thought about how she is going to win the marathon, or how is she going to run barefooted. Her only motive was to save her husband.

Salutes to Lata Bhagwan Kare, for her courage and fortitude. In the world full of excuses, she just proved to be an extreme exception.

Google her name to watch her clips on YouTube on how she won the marathon.

Service to Lord

The wicked demon king Ravana had carried away Sita, the wife of Rama, the great prince who was in exile. Along with his brother Lakshmana, Rama went in search of his wife, and enlisted the help of the Vanara king, Sugreeva. Learning that Sita was kept at Lanka, the kingdom of Ravana, which lay across the ocean, Rama, along with the Vanara army, arrived at the seashore.

To reach Lanka, they had to cross the vast ocean, and after much discussion, it was decided that a bridge would be built across the ocean. The multitudes of monkeys and bears which formed the Vanara army were asked to bring stones and boulders to the seashore, so that a bridge could be built.

Shouting with excitement, and happy at the prospect of helping Rama, who was a form of Lord Vishnu, the monkeys and bears ran around, looking for the biggest stones they could find. The Vanaras were a strong race, and they carried huge boulders, and even hills, on their shoulders easily, and dropped them in the ocean to help build the bridge.

The other animals at the seashore too wished to help Rama, and each of them helped him in his own way – the fishes and the other sea creatures did their bit by helping the boulders rest at the right place, while the birds flying overhead brought small stones to fill the gaps.

A small squirrel was seeing this huge effort, and he too wished to help. He thought for a moment, and then started collecting small pebbles lying on the shore, and dropped them in the ocean. After a while, he was too tired to even carry those pebbles, but still wanted to participate. He ran to the edge of the water, and, after rolling in the sand, ran to the water and washed himself. He ran back to the shore and rolled again, and more sand got stuck to him, since he was now wet. Again he ran to the water to wash himself. The small grains of sand which stuck to his body were all he could contribute to the massive task of building a bridge across the ocean!!

However, the small squirrel rushing to and fro on the shore was now getting in the way of the monkeys who were carrying huge boulders, and they started shouting at him, asking him to get out of the way.

“Brothers, I too want to help you. These small grains of sand are all I can throw into the ocean as my contribution to the bridge. Please do not shout at me”, said the little squirrel.

The monkeys laughed out aloud, and shouted, “Of what use are these tiny grains of sand, which can scarcely be seen among the huge boulders and hills we are bringing. Get out of the way and let us do our work!”

  

The squirrel was unperturbed, and continued its work calmly. Finally one of the monkeys, in his anger, picked up the squirrel and flung him far away from the shore.

Rama, who was watching this, caught the squirrel before it fell, and set it down carefully. He then addressed the Vanara army, “O Vanaras, you are brave and strong, and are doing a wonderful job bringing all these huge boulders and stones from far and dropping them in the ocean. But did you notice that it is the tiny pebbles and stones brought by this small squirrel and some of the other smaller creatures which are filling the small gaps left between the huge stones? Further, do you not realize that the tiny grains of sand brought by this squirrel are the ones which bind the whole structure and make it strong? Yet you scold this small creature and fling him away in anger!”

Hearing this, the Vanaras were ashamed, and bowed down their heads. Rama continued, “Always remember, however small, every task is equally important. A project can never be completed by the main people alone. They need the support of all, and however small, an effort should always be appreciated!”

Rama then turned to the squirrel and said softly, “My dear squirrel, I am sorry for the hurt caused to you by my army, and thank you for the help you have rendered to me. Please go and continue your work happily.” Saying this, he gently stroked the back of the squirrel with his fingers, and three lines appeared where the Lord’s fingers had touched it.

Thus did the squirrels get the 3 stripes on their backs, as a blessing from Lord Rama, to remind us that no task, however small, is unimportant! Every task should be looked upon as service to the lord, and his blessings will always be with us.

Happy Ramnavmi to all...