There is an ancient story. Maharshi Narad set out on a journey round the planets. Wandering from place to place he reached Heaven. With the help of the spiritual powers that ha was blessed with, he could move about freely in any part of the space. He reached the Lord (God) directly. The Lord noted his presence. Maharshi Narad bowed in reverence and sat down in front of Him. Sitting be side Him was Dharmpal, who was busy turning over the pages of some volumes. Narad remained quiet for a few minutes and then said to the Lord, “Lord! What’s the serious problem, that is engaging your attention?” The Lord replied, “I am preparing a list of my devotees.” This added fuel to the fire of his curiousity. He found it irresistible. He asked, “Your Grace! May I know the name of the person at the top of the list?” The Lord said, “Maharshi! Why are you so eager to know about it? It will be of no use to you. It is enough for you to know that your name is not there.”

 

Narad was amazed at the reply. He had not even imagined that there was a more dedicated devotee than himself in the world. A feeling or restlessness crept over him. He grew uneasy to know the name. He made many attempts to get an inkling of it from the Lord but it was all in vain. Ultimately he became calm and sat beside the Lord. The Lord noticed the signs of sadness over his face. He took pity on his plight. Narad, while sitting before the Lord, noted a sudden change in the expression of His face. It had turned pale with a hidden sense of anxiety. Narad inquired of the Lord about its cause. The Lord said, “I am in need of the flesh of a man’s heart. I am anxious as to how I shall be able to get it. Can you solve my problem?” Narad said, “I will fly at once for the mission. I am sure, I shall succeed in getting the flesh of human heart for you.”

 

The Maharshi lost no time and flew straight to the world. He spotted a throng of devotees at They were chanting hymns in praise of God. They were doing it with an utmost sense of devotion. The Maharshi seized the opportunity. He was in their midst. As soon as the devotees saw him, they all stood up to welcome him. They inquired of him about the place he was coming from.

 

Narad- I am coming from Heaven.

 

Devotees- Have you come here with some specific purpose?

 

Narad-  The Lord is in need of the flesh of a man’s heart. I have come here to get it. As you are all devotees of God, I hope that someone from among you will come forward to offer the flesh of his heart.

 

There was a pin-drop silence for a moment. Narad repeated the purpose of his visit. One of the devotees broke the silence. He said, “I am ready to give the flesh of my heart for the sake of the Lord, but as I am engaged in an act of prolonged meditation I am unable to do it right now.

 

The second devotee also expressed the similar feelings. The third devotee said that he was busy doing penance for the realisation of God, hence to oblige the was not possible for him to accede to his request for the time being. Thus every one advanced some or the other reason in favour of his argument But none of them came Maharshi by offering him the flesh of his heart forward Narad was highly disappointed. He saw that a huge crowd of devotees had thronged the banks of the sacred confluence of the Ganges and the Jamuna. They were exceedingly happy to have the Maharshi in their midst. They welcomed him and asked him about the purpose of his sudden visit, The Maharshi disclosed the purpose of his mis- sion. They said, “Yours is an untimely demand. So far we have not even had a dip into the holy Ganges. We beseech you to extend your stay here by a few days. As soon as the ceremonies connected with the holy bath are over, we shall give thought to your proposal. But the Maharshi was in a hurry. Therefore he did not agree to the proposal of the devotees.

 

He soon left that place and undertook the tour of almost all the shrines of the world. The devotees welcomed his proposal with unusal promptitude but no one expressed willingness to sacrifice his life. Narad began to repent of the failure of his mission. Thus in a state of abject dejection, he returned empty handed. When he was passing through a forest, he happened to meet a Bhil (an aboriginal). The Bhil noted that the Maharshi looked sad. It was for the first time that he saw melancholy sitting upon his face. He came close and fell prostrate before him. He thenspoke in an humble voice to the Maharshi, “May know the reason of your sadness ?” But the Maharshi would not say anything about the cause of his sadness. He thought that if the noted devotees had failed to comply with his wish, how could a Bhil be expected to do so? He did not wish to waste his time any more. But the Bhil would not let him go till he knew the cause of his sadness. He blocked his path. The Maharshi yielded to his desire. He disclosed the reason due to which he was unhappy. The Bhil was beside himself with joy. He said, “God needs a man’s heart’ and you are so upset. I cannot bear it any longer. I am going to offer it to you.” With these words he took out his ‘heart’ with the help of his arrow and placed it in the hands of the Maharshi.

 

The Maharshi flew to Heaven with it. He placed it before God. The Lord said, “Narad! You are very late. You failed to turn up with it when I needed it most.”

 

Narad replied, “I was helpless. No devotee was prepared to part with his heart. I went from one end of the universe to the other visiting various shrines and pilgrim centres and asked the people I met if there was any man who was willing to offer his “heart’ to God but I was totally disappointed. At last 1 met a Bhil incidentally in a forest. He came to my rescue. He readily offered his heart’ to the Lord and I have brought it you without losing time.”

 

The Lord “Narad! Why did you wander about so much? Did you yourself not possess the thing I needed?” The Maharshi was taken abackat the reply. The Lord said, “He who has learnt to sacrifice his own life finds his name at the top of the gave the Narad. He was astonished to see the name of th Bhil at the top of the list.

 

The edifice of a 1 nation is built with the tiles of self-sacrifice. The man who has not learnt to sacrifice his own interests only adds to the burden of his nation. He will never be able to upliftin soul. The history of the world is replete with unique examples of self-sacrifice.

 

Greatmen like Maharana Pratap, Shivaji and Bhamashah have become immortal characters on account of their lofty deeds of sacrifice.