Bhava Sharma was born in a brahmin family in the town of Aamardaka. In spite of his birth in a noble family, his actions were all ignoble. Wine, women and gambling were his only occupation in life. One day he got a special liquor- the palm-toddy. He had not tasted its 'kick' before. He lost his heart to it, and was completely immersed in its intoxicating sweetness. He drank it that day beyond his limits
Too much of the toddy could not be tolerated by his system. His liver failed and in due course he died; but till his last breath he was a sworn drunkard. Thus he, whose mind centered around the thoughts of palm toddy even in his death bed, was born as a palm tree carrying the toddy on its head — a tall black palm tree.
On that palm-tree a Brahma Rakshas couple happened to take up their abode. (Brahma Rakshas is the ghost of a brahmin who had died a cruel or tragic death such as through accident, murder etc Though all those who die such tragic deaths are supposed to become ghosts those who are well-versed m scriptures like the Brahmins, when they turn into ghosts they become more aggressive and difficult to control They are called Brahma Rakshas Such ghosts do not yield to the exorcists of ordinary powers They am generally bound down by mantras and installed in the vicinity of temples in the outer circumambulation paths in some remote corner.)
They were Kuseebala and his wife Kumati in their previous lives. Though born into pious brahmin families, they were not interested in doing noble deeds in keeping with the cultural standards of their families
Kuseebala used to wander about, in his previous birth as human being, in all such places where he had chances of receiving charities. He would gather them all and hand over to his wife Kumati for safe keeping. The wife would chide him: "Bring more, and more and more." They buried the wealth so accumulated by them in their house.
One day Kuseebala had a doubt. "Is Kumati fettering away the wealth that he was gathering up so laboriously?
The wife had another doubt "Is the husband keeping away part of his money somewhere else without her knowledge?"
Greed for money gradually brewed misunderstanding between the couple.
"Tell me the truth", said the husband one day. "What are you
doing with all the money?"
"So that is it?" retorted the wife. "You are manipulating the
income without my knowledge. That is why you are harbouring
suspicions about me".
Husband: "lt is you who are manipulating the money".
Wife: "lt is your nature, not mine".
Husband: "Don't ever utter a word about my character?"
Wife: "And if I do so?"
Husband: "I will finish you off".
Wife: "Don't think that you can thereafter live happily with some other woman. You surely have someone in mind, isn't it?"
Days passed into months and months into years. They became disgusted with their existence as ghosts.
"Darling, I hate this kind of existence", said the wife. "How long shall we have to carry on like this?"
"What to do, my dear! "said the husband with an air of despair. "I don't see any way out. We don't have either Brahma Vidya (Knowledge of Brahman), Adhyatma Gyana (Spiritual Knowledge) or Karma Anushtana (Performance of noble deeds enjoined by the scriptures.) . Without these, how do we expect to get liberated?"
The wife wanted to know what was meant by these terms. So she sought clarification from the husband thus:
"Kim Tat Brahma, Kim-adhyaatmam Kim Karma, Purshottama?"
Lo! A great miracle happened there at that very moment when she uttered the above words.
That big palm tree got uprooted and fell headlong on the ground.
From inside the palm tree a brahmin emerged, dressed in beautiful clothes, and stood out from the wreckage, amazed and afraid.
In front of the couple, there stood a celestial chariot, brought down by the angels from the world of Vishnu.
And the couple found themselves to have discarded their ghostly apparelment and instead they were shining with silken clothes and golden ornaments.
The couple could not believe their eyes.
"Come on, please get into this chariot", the angels told the couple. "We have come to take you to the world of Lord Vishnu".
"The world of Vishnu for such base sinners like us? How do we deserve it?' asked the couple.
The angels replied: "Kuseebala! While asking clarifications about Brahma, Adhyatma and Karma, your wife unwittingly chanted the opening stanza of the eighth chapter of Bhagawad Geeta. The very chanting of those words destroyed your sins, though it was done by your wife without knowing the significance of the words. And as you both happened to sit on this palm tree and chant it, the soul of Bhava Sharma, which was entombed in this tree got liberated by the glory of the eighth chapter, and he has regained his human existence."
"What shall I do now?" asked Bhava Sharma.
"Retire to a holy place, and start the study and daily chanting of the eighth chapter of Geeta. By this you shall overcome all your negativities and will never fall again into the pits of despair."
To the couple, the angels said: "You gained so much merit by chanting half of a sloka of the Geeta, though unknowingly, that you have been granted abode in the world of Vishnu. Please get into this celestial chariot."
The couple got into the chariot. The vehicle lifted up and roared higher and higher and disappeared from the sight of the human beings.
Days passed by.
In the Ocean of milk, Lord Vishnu was reclining on the coiled up bed of Adi Sesha. He was wakeful and absorbed in some mysterious music. It was well past midnight.
"Lord, why are you not sleeping?" enquired Lakshmi, the Mother of the Universe.
"O Noble One!" said Vishnu. "Listen to the chanting of the Geeta by Bhava Sharma, sitting on the banks of Ganga! How sweetly he chants! And with what devotion! I am so enthralled by it."
Sree Lakshmi smiled.
In due course Bhava Sharma and his ancestors also attained the world of Vishnu.
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