I am starting this post with a story that I heard recently in a Satsanga that was organised in my hometown. I tried to translate it here as best as I could.

Like lots of the stories that are told in these setting, this too starts with the conversation of Lord Mahadeva and his consort Parwati.

Once Lord Siva, the auspicious one, was in hurry. Seeing that his wife Parvati asked, “ O beloved, destroyer of all evil, why are you in such a hurry?” The all seeing one replied with a beautiful smile, “O, my beautiful wife, I am in a hurry to go to Darbangha (A town in Mithila region of Bihar). There lives a Brahmin named Vidyapati. He is my supreme worshiper. He gets so immersed in my prayer that he doesn’t even know what happening outside. I want to meet him. Do take care of our beloved children.” Thus saying goodbye to his beloved wife, Trilokinatha (the lord of three realms) goes to Darbhanga in disguise.

In Darbhanga, a young man went to the Brahmin named Vidyapati asking for a job. The Brahmin, Vidyapati, asked him, “What do you ask in returns for your service?”. The young man replied, “O master, I will serve you with reverence for just food twice a day”. Brahmin hearing that became very happy and took him as his servant.

The young man served his master very faithfully. He executed all his master’s will and whims. His master has nothing else to do except faithfully worshipping the Lord.

One day, the Brahmin said to the young man, the servant, “Pack my things, we are going to Kashi”. The young man readied everything and they started their journey. After few days in journey they entered a long streach that was uninhibited. The day was hot. The Brahmin got parched. He said to his servant, “I am too thirsty. It looks like I won’t be able to travel any further unless I have water. Go fetch the Water.”

Young man knew that there is no water source nearby. So he went away from the sight of the Brahmin and opened his tresses (Ganga flows from the tress of Lord Shiva) and filled the pot with water coming out of it.

Then the young man goes to his master and presents the pot. When the Brahmin tasted the water he said, “This tastes like Ganga Jal (water from river Ganga) . Where did you find it? Ganga is far away from here.” As there was a value of words those days . The Young Man shed the disguise and revealed himself as the lord God himself.

With this story ended.

Stories are very powerful tool shaping social consciousness. Stories like the one above where God themselves goes to Brahmin’s home doing menial labour without any pay or where Brahmins(like Ravana) subdued Gods and forced them to do menial labour are powerful propaganda. With these type of stories Brahmins portrayed themselves as pious one that even Gods wanted to be their subservient. That gods were lucky to be in the company of the Brahmin. And hence it is the fortune of lower caste people who are subservient to them. That serving them, often in lieu of just food or with exploitative wage will benifit the subservient one in the next birth (or so goes the karma theory that accompanies these stories).

These stories are still circulated by people in saffron apparel at religious gatherings, where they portray themselves as the pious one. Beware of these stories and the storyteller.

Edit 1:

The stories like this also teach people to indulge in mindless religiosity, which also benefits Brahmins in lieu of ritualism, temple donations and pilgrimages.**

** Credit Ishmael