The Story, as Bholenath Spoke It
O Goddess! There was a Brahmin in Janaki Nagar, one kos south of Ayodhya. He was corrupt in his Brahmacharya, a frequent drinker, and visited prostitutes daily. His wife was devoted to her husband and worshipped the gods daily. One day, a hungry and frail Brahmin came to this deceitful Brahmin and asked for food. The deceitful Brahmin spoke harsh words to the monk. Distressed by this, the frail Brahmin ended his life. After a long time, the deceitful Brahmin also died. Because of his wife’s devotion, he ascended to Satyaloka and lived there for many thousands of years. After this merit was exhausted, he was born again in the mortal world — but without a son or daughter, due to the sins of his past life. Because the beggar Brahmin died before him, and because of his drinking, he was afflicted with leprosy.
Bholenath then gave the remedy:
- Chant the Gayatri Mantra 100,000 times
- Perform one-tenth of this as Gayatri Homa
- Feed 100 Brahmins
- Donate a Kapila cow adorned with gold to a learned Brahmin
This will grant a son and remove illness.
Human Meaning of the Story
Pada 2 explores a different aspect of Bharani — the kind of karma created through everyday speech, habits, and moments of insensitivity. The deceitful Brahmin isn’t without intelligence or ability. He is someone whose life gradually shifted around appetite, indulgence, and cleverness.
His energies gather around:
- Mercury — intellect used casually, speech used sharply
- Venus — comfort, pleasure, sensory life
- Mars — appetite, restlessness, impulsive actions
Together, these create a person who is materially capable but drifting away from the purpose his knowledge once held. Into this life arrives a frail Brahmin — symbolically Jupiter in a weakened state: wisdom needing support, ethics needing acknowledgment, dignity approaching gently.
The harsh response the deceitful Brahmin gives is quick for him, but heavy for the one receiving it. And there’s another way to see this scene: the frail Brahmin is also his own inner Jupiter — his conscience, his wisdom, his better self — knocking softly, asking for attention.
His sharp words silence not just a hungry man, but the guidance inside him. When the frail Brahmin disappears, it reflects how his own inner wisdom goes quiet. The later karma — illness, isolation, childlessness — is simply the long journey of trying to find that lost inner voice again.
Leprosy in this context is deeply symbolic: an inner erosion of values slowly appearing on the outside, a breakdown of moral boundaries showing on the skin, and isolation mirroring the isolation he once caused.
Nothing here feels like punishment — it feels like continuity, the return of neglected parts seeking completion.
Modern Interpretation
This story mirrors patterns common today:
- someone educated, capable, or successful becoming consumed by lifestyle
- speech becoming careless or insensitive
- hurting someone vulnerable without realizing the impact
- ignoring a gentle inner voice asking for better choices
- convenience overshadowing conscience
The frail Brahmin can be: a stranger; an employee; a student; a family member or even a moment of inner clarity we don’t listen to.
When he returns in another lifetime and experiences:
- health issues
- blocked continuity
- emotional distance
- inner hollowness
These aren’t cosmic punishments — they are the echoes of earlier disconnection, echoes of the wisdom he once turned away from.
The Essence of Bholenath’s Remedy
Every part of the remedy restores something that went missing.
- Gayatri Mantra brings back clarity, grounding, and alignment — a mind steady enough to listen again.
- Gayatri Homa channels fire (creativity) consciously, balancing the uncontrolled fire of earlier impulses.
- Feeding 100 Brahmins restores nourishment to the Guru principle (Jupiter), which was denied the first time.
- Donating a Kapila cow with gold brings back: nourishment (cow), value and sweetness (gold), and respect toward knowledge/ethics (learned Brahmin).
These acts reconnect the parts of life that had slowly drifted apart.
Modern Equivalent of the Remedy
In today’s world, this looks like:
- repairing harm caused by harsh speech
- offering help to someone who is vulnerable
- supporting teachers, mentors, or those who carry knowledge
- contributions toward nourishment or welfare programs
- moderating addictive or indulgent habits
- practising steady, grounded communication
- spending time reconnecting with one’s inner voice
- rebuilding trust in relationships through small, consistent actions
These restore the same emotional spaces the original remedy aims at.
Closing Reflection for Pada 2
Pada 2 speaks to the subtle moments of life — the times when intellect works but sensitivity doesn’t, when we are too distracted to hear a quiet call for help, or too absorbed to notice that our conscience is asking for attention.
The deceitful Brahmin’s journey shows how a single moment with a vulnerable person can ripple far into the future when left unresolved. And how the wisdom we ignore outside often mirrors
the wisdom we ignore inside. Pada 2 leaves us with a soft understanding:
Sometimes the real loss is not the mistake we make, but the inner guidance we stop listening to along the way.
Quiet Reflections 