The unique birthday gift

                     Sri Ramanuja Acharya was one of the greatest Vaishnava saints in the south. One year, just on the eve of SRI RAM NAVAMI, Ramanuja was highly agitated. Ram Navami being the birthday of SRI RAMA, Ramanuja desired to present some gift to SRI RAMA but it was to be such an item which Rama did not possess. He was racking his brain throughout the night and he could not think of a suitable gift.

Early in the morning when he got up there was a flash in his brain. He went to the puja room, prostrated before Lord Rama’s idol and said: ‘‘Oh Ram, please accept my loving greetings today, your birthday. I have a birthday gift to offer to you. Lord, I offer you as a gift all my ignorance (ajnana) which is a commodity you do not possess but is available with me in plenty.’’

Lord Rama was delighted with this gift.
Satyam Bruhyat Priyam Bruhyat Na Apriyam Bruhyat

A Sadhu was sitting in meditation in his hermitage situated at the junction of four roads. He happened to see a cow running away in fear by one of the forking roads. Within twenty minutes or so a butcher also came running and asked the Sadhu by which way the cow had gone away. If the Sadhu were to tell the truth the butcher was sure to catch up with the cow and kill it in due course. Nor could he lie being a Sadhu who had vowed to tell only the truth at all times. He was in a dilemma. He told the butcher “The one who saw cannot speak. The one who speaks has never seen. The one who was controlling both of them was sitting at the feet of the Lord.”

What he meant was that the eyes which saw could not speak. The tongue which spoke was not capable of seeing and so there was no authenticity in it. The person who controlled the eyes and the speech was himself meditating on Lord. The butcher was perplexed and could not understand what the Sadhu said. He thought that the Sadhu was a mad man who was babbling meaningless words. He went away. Even if one apprehends that telling the truth will harm someone, one can always find a way of escape without telling a lie.