The Sadhu with the lamp

Omkareshwar (Madhya Pradesh, India) is an ancient Hindu pilgrimage centre from the reign of king Mandhata. Here, you can visit the famous temple of Lord Omkareshwar and Lord Mamaleshwar on the banks of the sacred river Narmada. During 2008 we went to Omkareshwar. Everyday in the evening we have seen a Sadhu is going to the temple of Lord Omkareshwar with a lamp for vesper services. All the arrangements were his own. He was silent and went to the temple exactly at the same time.

This is called `sincerity`, which is a quality of human character. If we are sincere in every respect then only we can expect success in our own destination. Genuine love must be there for the causes, otherwise sincerity will not come. `Sincerity` saved the life of famous Persian poet Hafez. This is an interesting story. Once Swami Akhandananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, told this story to the devotees in the presence of Swami Shivananda. Interested reader may please read from the Bengali book ` Swami Akhandanandake jerup dekiachi- compiled by Swami Chetanananda, Udbodhan Office, Kolkata. (Page: 10-13).

Swami Vivekananda wrote in a letter to Alasinga Perumal: ``Be pure, staunch, and sincere to the very backbone, and everything will be all right. If you have marked anything in the disciples of Shri Ramakrishna, it is this – they are sincere to the backbone.