How Saint Ashe Used His Wits to Teach a Lesson on Faith and Self-Reliance

Here is that nice story for you...

There used to be a village in which a Saint fondly called Ashe used to live. He was famous for his discourses on faith and beliefs. One day, a man named Gustav visited him in his Ashram, "You always say God will take care of us, He is always there to protect us, is that true?" he asked. His face showed that he was irritated with the idea. For the last few days, he was fed up with the popularity of Saint Ashe, I suppose.

"Yes, it is..." Saint Ashe smiled.

He took no time in taking out a dagger from his pocket, "Then be ready to die," he said. He bought this dagger from a thief. It was a very large-sized dagger, a rare piece of art, decorated with some Arabic words. He knew this was the ultimate chance to kill him as the whole village was busy in preparation for the coming festival...

"I am," the saint again smiled.

"Don't run, don't fear, your God will come and save you." He was laughing sarcastically. He knew in his heart that God could never come to save his ultimate enemy.

"Hmm...OK," Ashe had a calm face.

He ran towards the saint... but wait, what is this???

Saint Ashe just kicked him straight in the face. Oh, he started bleeding; he was beaten black and blue by the saint.

He, in his whole life, had never borne such a beating; he was beaten up to the brim.

"Why did you beat me?" he asked, his eyes were swollen and black. "You always said that God will save, God will protect, then why the hell, this beating..."

"I think you don't have faith in God," he blamed Saint Ashe.

"I have full faith in God," Saint Ashe replied calmly. "But why bother God in the things for which we are perfectly capable?"

Moral of the story:

Faith in destiny is a good virtue to have. But you need to use your own capabilities to make your dreams come true.

Entertaining story and a nice lesson on taking the initiative. However, I'm still not clear on how it delivers the message of "having faith in God" despite doing your part.

I understand your query, "not clear how it delivers the message of 'having faith in God' despite doing your part."

This is not just a motivational story but an entertaining story with a nice lesson on taking the initiative. It's a Zen, mystical, and philosophical story with very deep meaning. It points out and tries to explain karma, destiny, and free will, and underlines their significance in our lives.

We should keep performing our karmas (actions) based on free will and consider it as our destiny, i.e., having faith in God and accepting it as His Will, and thus forfeiting any claim on the result.

I agree, these are complex concepts and not easily understood or grasped when one is in the "worldly" mode. Relinquishing one's ego and meditating, even for a short while, would be helpful.

Warm regards.

Kalam once said, "Believe in God, but tie your horse." This means that just believing in God and refusing to do one's own duty will not yield any results. Hence, it is undeniable that there is a supreme force above us, watching us, guiding us when in need, and of course helping us when we are in despair. However, this doesn't mean that we should ignore our duties and sit idly. We should always put in our efforts and leave the results to God. As the saying goes, "What you sow, so you reap."

Best wishes.