A MATTER OF DESTINY

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A MATTER OF DESTINY - SANJOG

"Whatever is bound to happen must happen; even great men have failed, man

proposes one way, but God disposes the other (contrary) way. Brush aside your

cleverness; pride or egoism won’t help you." – Sri Sai Satcharitra, Ch. II.

There was a Raja and there was a Rani and they had a daughter – a Rajkumari of

marriageable age. One day the Raja sent for a Brahmin and asked him to find a

suitable boy for the Rajkumari.

The Rani on her own despatched another Brahmin to fix a suitable boy for the Rajkumari.

Both the Brahmins found bridegrooms for the Rajkumari and gave them the shagun

of a coconut and a rupee each. An auspicious date for the marriage was also

fixed. Preparations for the wedding started – women started singing suhaag

songs.

Gods and goddesses sitting in Devalok were watching keenly the preparations of

the forthcoming wedding. They asked Bidhimata – the goddess of destiny, "How

come? The girl is only one but boys who are going to marry her are two. Which

one of the two will get married to her – the one fixed by the Raja’s Brahmin or

the one fixed by the Rani’s Brahmin?"

Bidhimata replied, "Neither of them."

"Then whom shall she wed?"

"The one who has been destined to marry her. This boy is studying scriptures at

Kasi. He will come this side with his guru and he will marry her."

"But how will that happen?"

"You’ll see for yourself. Have some patience," replied Bidhimata.

The day of marriage arrived and two marriage parties with two bridegrooms

dressed for the wedding ceremony also arrived. People in the city wondered what

would happen. The Raja was also in a a quandary. He asked his minister, "How to

save our honour now? How to send back one of the two?"

The minister said, "Don’t worry, Maharaj. I have two daughters, quite grown up.

I will give one of them in marriage to one of the two."

The Raja was relieved.

On the other hand, the Rani thought that Raja will give our daughter to the one

fixed by his Brahmin. "I cannot allow this. Never," she said to herself. She

decked her daughter with the bridal dress, called for a large sized box and all

the things required for the marriage ceremony, put her and things in the box and

locked it from outside. She asked her servants, "Go and place this box in the

jungle. Leave the key in the lock."

The hour of wedding ceremony was near. The Raja went in to bring the girl to the

marriage pandal but there was no girl. He looked around and asked his ministers,

"What shall we do now? My honour is at stack. Rajkumari has disappeared."

The minister said, "Don’t get upset, Maharaj. My other daughter is there."

The minister’s two daughters were got ready for the marriage ceremony with two

bridegrooms who had arrived with their respective parties.

On the other side, on the outskirts of the jungle, a Brahmachari from Kasi was

camping with his guru. He felt an urge to answer the call of nature. He entered

the forest and reached the place where the box containing the Rajkumari was

lying. He saw the box stopped by it. At first he thought that some decoits must

have stolen it but if that was so, why should the key be left in the lock

itself. He approached the box, opened it and raised the lid. As he did so, the

Rajkumari emerged out of it. Coming out, she bowed to the Brahmachari and said,

"Swami, Pranam."

The Brahmachari was nonplussed and kept looking at her in surprise. The

Rajkumari said, "The auspicious hour is here. All the things for the ceremony

are there. Let’s perform the wedding ceremony."

"No, no. How can I do that?" said the Brahmachari.

In the meantime the Rajkumari had put the varamala around his neck and pressed

the other varamala in his hands. She said, "Marriage is a matter of Sanjog. My

mother told me that whosoever opens the box will be my husband."

She took out the things required for the marriage ceremony from the box and

asked him to recite the appropriate mantras. "You know them. Don’t you?"

The gods and goddesses in heaven were telling Bidhimata, "You look very happy,

as though it’s your won wedding."

"Why not? A wedding ceremony is taking place down there in the jungle where

neither the bride’s parents nor the bridegroom’s parents are present. I am

singing suhags for the women of the bride’s side and ghoriyan for women on the

side of the bridegroom."

The gods were not quite convinced. They asked Narada Mini to go down to the

world of mortals and check up if a wedding ceremony was really taking place

there.

Down on the earth, the Rajkumari and the Brahmachari had performed the ceremony

and tied their hands together in what is called hathjaoli but there was no

Brahmin around to separate their joined hands. They were looking around when

suddenly Narada Mini arrived there in the grab of a Brahmin. They were

delighted to see him and requested him to perform this bit of the ceremony.

Narada Mini untied the hathjaoli. They tied the sacred thread Khammani on his

wrist. He collected his daan-dakshina from them and went back to the heavens.

He reported to the gods, "Bidhimata was right. The play of destiny is surely

strange." Then he showed them the thread tied on his wrist and the fee he had

got for his labour. All the gods spoke with one voice – "Destiny is all –

inevitable and irrevocable. One may do what one likes, but one will have to

accept what Destiny ordains."

Tamaso Ma Jyotirgamaya.....

Just like a son and father—the son may forget, he may become a crazy fellow and

go out of home, but that does not mean that his relationship with the father is

broken. No. That is not possible. Even if I am a crazy fellow, when the father

dies the sons have still the right to inherit the property of the father. The

relationship is so strong. Similarly, we may try to forget God due to our

craziness, but the relationship cannot be broken, and still God is so kind, He

comes Himself, He sends His bona fide servants, He sends his son. In so many

ways He is always canvassing, "My dear sons, do not suffer in this abominable

condition of material existence. Come back to Me. Come back to home. You enjoy

life, eternal life, and blissful life, and life of knowledge." That is God's

business. Therefore He is all-merciful. In spite of our being disobedient, in

spite of our forgetting, he does not forget. He says, "Whenever there is

discrepancy in religious processes, and when

there is predominance of irreligiosity..." What is religion and what is

irreligion? That is stated in the Bhagavad-gita. Krishna says, "I come to

establish religion," and again He says, "Give up all sorts of irreligion." That

means surrendering to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

- Srila Prabhupada, San Franscisco, 1969

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