There lived a little girl in Calcutta who was very fond of Holy Mother. The Mother too loved the child and often gave her sweets to eat. When the Mother was to leave Calcutta for Jayrambati, the girl became very sad. The Mother too felt equally sad.
She asked the girl: 'Do you love me?' The girl replied: 'Of course, yes.'
'How much do you love me?' asked the Mother. The little one stretched her arms to whatever width she could stretch and said with deep affection: 'This much.'
The Mother laughed and asked: 'Would you continue to love me even when I am away?'
The child replied zealously: 'Certainly I would.' 'How would I know that you continue to love me when I am away?' asked the Mother.
The intelligent girl thought for a while and asked:
'What should I do to make you aware that I continue to love you when you are way?'
Mother replied: 'If you really love me even when I am not physically with you, then you should love everybody equally, as much as you love me. Then I would know that you love me during my absence too.'
The child became thoughtful and said: 'What should I do to make you know that I love everyone equally as much as I love you?'
The Mother gently said: "Do not make demands on anybody whom you love, never expect anything from anybody who is the object of your love and affection. For, if you expected anything in return, or made any demands, then you would love that person more who would respond more, and that one less who responded less. In that case you cannot love everybody equally."
- This excerpt is taken from Vedanta Kesari-Nov-2005 issue.
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