Father's Blessings

*Father's blessing*

As he saw his death nearing, a father called his only son, Dharampal, and said, “dear son, I have not been able to amass any wealth to leave you as inheritance. But I can assure you that I have always been true to my work - honest and authentic, my whole life. And so, I give you my blessing, that you will always remain happy and successful in life. Whatever you touch will turn gold my son!” Dharampal bowed gratefully and touched his father’s feet in reverence. The father lovingly placed his hand on the son’s head, and then peacefully breathed his last in contentment.

Now, it was the son Dharampal’s responsibility to take care of the household expenses. He started a small business on a handcart, and with time when the business took off, he bought a small shop. Gradually, he expanded further, and was soon being counted among the wealthy and affluent of the city. He truly believed that this was all a result of his father’s blessings. It was because his father had never given up patience despite all his suffering, and never lost faith or his credibility, that his words had such power and his blessings came to fruition. Dharampal would always keep saying this to everyone, and attribute his success to his father’s blessings.

One day a friend asked, “if your father was so powerful, then why did he not prosper himself, why couldn’t he himself lead a happy life?” Dharampal said, “I am not saying that my father was a powerful man, I am saying that his blessings are very powerful.” And so, as he used to keep talking of his father's blessings, people gave him the name 'father's blessings'. Dharampal did not mind this though, and said it would be an honour if he could become worthy of his father's blessings.

Years passed by, and now he had expanded his business to foreign countries as well. Wherever he did business, he would earn great profits. Once, he got curious and thought, I’m always making profits, I should experience making a loss once. So, he asked a friend to suggest a business in which he would make a loss. The friend thought that he has become very proud of his success and money, I should suggest such a business in which he is sure to suffer losses. So he advised him to buy cloves from India, and ship them to Zanzibar in Africa to sell them there.

Dharampal liked this idea. He thought, Zanzibar is known for its cloves. They are imported in India from Zanzibar, and sold here at 10-12 times the cost. If they were to be bought in India and sold there, it would surely result in a loss. So, Dharampal decided that he would try this out, to see how well his father's blessings supported him. To experience the loss, he bought the cloves in India, filled them in the ship, and took them to the Zanzibar Island himself.

Zanzibar was a Sultanate. Dharampal got off the ship and started walking on a long sandy road, to meet the merchants. Soon, he saw a person who looked like the Sultan, coming from the other side on foot, along with soldiers. He asked someone who that was, and was told it was the Sultan himself. When they came across each other, the Sultan asked for his introduction. He said, “I am a trader from Khambhat in Gujarat, India and have come here for business.” The Sultan started talking to him with due respect, considering him a businessman.

Dharampal saw that there were hundreds of soldiers with the Sultan, but none of them had swords or guns. Instead, they were all carrying huge sieves with them. He was very surprised and curious. He humbly asked the Sultan, “why are your soldiers carrying such sieves?” The Sultan laughed and said, “actually, I had come to visit the beach this morning, and a ring fell off from my finger somewhere around here. Now, it’s difficult to figure out where exactly in the sand it fell, so I’ve brought my soldiers along. They will filter out the sand and find my ring.”

Dharampal said that the ring must be very expensive. But the Sultan said that wasn’t the case. “I have countless rings worth much more than that, but that ring is a saint's blessing. I believe that my sultanate is so strong and happy due to the blessings of that saint, so in my mind the value of that ring is more than that of the sultanate!” Then, the Sultan again started talking about business. He asked, “So, what goods have you brought this time?”

Dharampal said, cloves. The Sultan was astonished to hear this. “This is the country of cloves, good man! And you have come to sell cloves here? Who gave you such advice? Surely, that person must be your enemy! Here, you can buy a handful of cloves in one _paisa_. Who will buy cloves from you here, and how will you earn anything?”

Dharampal said, “this is what I wanted to check Sir! I want to see whether I can make any profit here or not. With the blessings of my father, whatever business I have done till date has only been profitable. So, now I want to see whether his blessings continue to work here as well.”

The Sultan asked, “father's blessings! What does that mean?!” Dharampal then explained him, “my father worked with honesty and integrity all his life but could not earn money. At the time of death, he placed his hand on my hand and blessed me, that even the dust in your hand would turn into gold.” And while speaking those words, Dharmapal bent down and took a handful of sand from the ground. As he opened the fist in front of the Sultan, letting the sand slip between his fingers, both Dharmapal and the Sultan were left wide-eyed. After all the sand dropped, what was left was a diamond studded ring in his hand.

This was the same ring that the Sultan had set out to search. He was very pleased to see the ring. He said, “This is amazing! Thank you so much great Lord, you make father’s blessings come true!” Dharampal said that the same God gives power to the saint’s blessings too. The Sultan was even more pleased on hearing this. He hugged Dharampal and said, "Ask for whatever you wish dear, I shall give you whatever you ask for today."

Dharampal said, “may you live for a 100 years and take good care of your subjects! I just wish for people to be happy, I want nothing else.”

The Sultan was elated to hear this and said, “I will buy all your goods today and will give you whatever price you wish.” And so, his father’s blessings did not let Dharampal fail there as well.

*Moral*

It is an undeniable truth that there is immense power in the blessings of parents, and there is no greater wealth than their blessings. Every moment spent in their service bears fruit. And our greatest service to God is to respect our elders.

This world is the world of possibilities. There is, of course, every possibility of a possible event, but the most wonderful thing is that there is also the possibility of an impossible event becoming possible. writing...