God, the Merciful Giver

This is a story from my flying days in Indian Air Force, a transport squadron folklore.

A set of aircrew was flying a tiring transport routine popularly known as the ‘milk run’. You go from one place to another, loading and unloading small loads of cargo. You return after flying many mission segments during the day. The task is boring and you spend much time waiting on the tarmac, under the shadows of aircraft wings waiting for ground crew to do the needful for cargo and fuel. In summers, it could be a killing tour.

One such crew landed at a remote airfield on a Sunday, where everyone else seemed to be on a weekend. They were at the end of their tether and rather baleful about the world in general. Cursing their fate for living such a life, said one “Even the Lord cannot do anything to change our luck”

Suddenly, there was soft music, a whiff of cold air and they heard “Yes I can”

There was a circle of light and in the midst, Lord Vishnu appeared in all His glory; and said “Make three wishes and you shall have them”

Immediately the most harried of them blurted out “Hang the ‘ bloo..’ flight commander. He is the cause of all our troubles”

And there the ‘flight commander’ was, right in the middle of the tarmac, hanging on a stake, wriggling and begging with the crew to understand his constraints. Said he ‘Please don’t blame me for your travails, it is the ‘local commander’, who should be blamed for this situation today”

The crew immediately seized on the cue and cursed, “Hang the local commander too”

And now there were two stakes side by side.

Soon the crew was aware of follies of their thoughts and actions.

Unable to bear the pain of their comrades, who had just been trying to do their jobs, they invoked the third wish. “O Lord, let these gentlemen go”

And gone they were in a jiffy. And so were the three wishes.

Moral of the Story: The almighty always gives without fail.

But do we know what to ask”

There is the transport crew in all of us. Would you agree?

Let me just look up a few recent demands

1. We want candidates from our community to be our leaders. The almighty grants that. But it so turns out that they are not the ones who knows how to bring in prosperity or improve administration.
2. We pray to God for more money. We seldom ask for happiness. We get loads of money and much more unhappiness.
3. We seek the blessings of the almighty for getting ahead of others and not being with others.
4. We seek hegemony over others for boosting our egos. The rebound aggression causes conflicts that go on between nations, societies or individuals for generations.

How about asking for,

Peace

Happiness

Wisdom

Brotherhood

Kindness