God’s Will Ultimately Prevails

Embodiments of Love!
You are all the embodiments of the Trinity. You are the embodiments of the three attributes (trigunas). You must propitiate Lord Shiva to achieve the purity of the heart, for Shiva signifies the heart. Ultimately, His will prevails.

Following is a story to illustrate this. One day Parvati pleaded with Shiva, “O Lord, you roam the world without a house of your own. Since you have no house, how can I carry on my life with you? If you were to build a small house, we could live comfortably and it could also shelter the sages who frequently come to you.” Grihalakshmi (housewife) naturally wants griha (house). It is a natural desire of women.

Having heard the words of Parvati, Easwara said, “Parvati, it is not enough merely to build a house. We should have a cat to hunt the rats that will take shelter in the house even before we move in. We will then need a cow to feed the cat with milk. Following this, we will need a maidservant to look after the cow. Why go to all this bother? It is better not to have a house at all.” Easwara tried His best to dissuade Parvati from her pet project, but Parvati did not budge.

Finally, Easwara said, “It is not an auspicious time to build a house. Agni (the god of fire) will burn it to ashes. I know what is going to happen in the future.” But Parvati was determined to have her way. She said to Easwara, “The god of fire is your servant. You are the embodiment of all power and strength. All the gods and the five elements are at your beck and call. You have simply to order the god of fire not to touch our house and he will obey.”

Eventually Parvati prevailed upon Shiva. He agreed to go to the god of fire to get a promise from him not to burn down Parvati’s house. When Shiva was about to start His journey, she said, “I will be humiliated if Agni decides to burn our house. In case he does not honor your request, please play on the damaruka (Shiva’s musical instrument). I will instantly get the message and set the house on fire myself. I will not stand the mortification of Agni burning my house to the ground.”

Shiva went to Agni [fire God]. Agni saluted Shiva, saying, “O Lord, what has brought You here? What is Your command for me?” Shiva replied, “Parvati is building a house. Since she has started the work at an inauspicious time, there is a possibility that it may be burned to ashes. Hence, you should promise that you will not burn the house.” Agni promised that he would do as commanded. But he made a request of Lord Shiva:  “Master, for a long time I have been yearning to see Your Tandava nritya (cosmic dance). Bless me by answering my prayer.” Shiva obliged and started performing the cosmic dance to please Agni. During the course of the dance, Shiva played on His damaruka.

“Holding the damaruka, Lord Shiva performed the Tandava,
With Ganga coursing through His matted locks,
And the third eye flashing on His forehead,
As the crystal rosary sparkled and glinted,
Shiva danced the Tandava.”

(Telugu Song)

Meanwhile, listening to the sound of damaruka, Parvati thought that Agni had not yielded to the request of Lord Shiva. As she did not want to let the god of fire have a chance to burn her house down, she torched it herself. Meanwhile, Easwara came back to Parvati and was stupefied to find flames  leaping through Parvati’s house. He said, “Parvati, why have you set the house on fire? Agni promised that he would not burn your house.” “Then why did You play on the damaruka?” Parvati asked. “It was my will that there should be no house. But in order to please you, I went to Agni. I performed the Tandava dance to fulfill the wish of Agni who had been yearning to see me dance it. While performing the dance I played on my damaruka inadvertently,” Shiva said.

The moral of the story is that the will of Easwara prevails, come what may. The will of Lord Shiva is bound to be fulfilled for it emanates from the heart. The noble thoughts that arise from the heart are bound to find fulfillment without fail. The heart is Shiva Himself. Hence, one should cultivate a pure heart.

Source: Sanathana Sarathi