<p>We live in a world riddled by wars, terrorism and thoughtless violence. Our constant exposure to extreme crimes against humanity has altered our thinking about other essential human values. Our minds have become so numb that we do not seem to be perturbed by some of the negative qualities like dishonesty, lying, cheating or stealing unless it affects us personally. This changing mindset can pave a very<br> dangerous path to our collective downfall over time.</p>.<p>A story from the Shiva Purana speaks about how a very prosperous and powerful king, took it upon himself to trap a petty thief who stole from his personal garden to establish Dharma in his kingdom.</p>.<p>King Vahu was an ardent devotee of Shiva. He had planted a garden which populated all the plants that bore the fruits, flowers and leaves exclusive to the worship of the lord. His thriving garden attracted the attention of a Gandharva. The demi-god could not resist helping himself to the horticultural produce. Vahu and his attendants started noticing the missing flowers. They kept a vigil on the garden. They could not spot the culprit because Pushpadanta turned invisible to purloin the blooms. </p>.<p>The foxed king mulled over the queer problem. One morning, when he was dropping the sacred flowers and leaves of the previous day’s Pooja in a specially dug pit for it, he came up with an idea. He decided to strew them about the garden that night. As expected, the nocturnal visitor turned up as usual. He stepped on the consecrated castoffs carelessly. He immediately lost his divine powers. The king’s men arrested him and brought him to book.</p>.<p> The ashamed Gandharva repented sincerely. He composed the Shiva Mahima Stothram speaking about the supreme nature of Shiva as a sign of his penitence. At the outset, it will appear as if Vahu wasted too much time and energy over a couple of missing flowers. However, a closer study of the case will reveal that the king decided not to be lenient or negligent because he knew that if he did not nip it in the bud, it could come back as a bigger blunder belatedly.</p>.<p class="bodytext">If every lapse, big or small, is subjected to constructive criticism and then corrected or punished according to the degree of its intensity the world will certainly see better days in the future.</p>
<p>We live in a world riddled by wars, terrorism and thoughtless violence. Our constant exposure to extreme crimes against humanity has altered our thinking about other essential human values. Our minds have become so numb that we do not seem to be perturbed by some of the negative qualities like dishonesty, lying, cheating or stealing unless it affects us personally. This changing mindset can pave a very<br> dangerous path to our collective downfall over time.</p>.<p>A story from the Shiva Purana speaks about how a very prosperous and powerful king, took it upon himself to trap a petty thief who stole from his personal garden to establish Dharma in his kingdom.</p>.<p>King Vahu was an ardent devotee of Shiva. He had planted a garden which populated all the plants that bore the fruits, flowers and leaves exclusive to the worship of the lord. His thriving garden attracted the attention of a Gandharva. The demi-god could not resist helping himself to the horticultural produce. Vahu and his attendants started noticing the missing flowers. They kept a vigil on the garden. They could not spot the culprit because Pushpadanta turned invisible to purloin the blooms. </p>.<p>The foxed king mulled over the queer problem. One morning, when he was dropping the sacred flowers and leaves of the previous day’s Pooja in a specially dug pit for it, he came up with an idea. He decided to strew them about the garden that night. As expected, the nocturnal visitor turned up as usual. He stepped on the consecrated castoffs carelessly. He immediately lost his divine powers. The king’s men arrested him and brought him to book.</p>.<p> The ashamed Gandharva repented sincerely. He composed the Shiva Mahima Stothram speaking about the supreme nature of Shiva as a sign of his penitence. At the outset, it will appear as if Vahu wasted too much time and energy over a couple of missing flowers. However, a closer study of the case will reveal that the king decided not to be lenient or negligent because he knew that if he did not nip it in the bud, it could come back as a bigger blunder belatedly.</p>.<p class="bodytext">If every lapse, big or small, is subjected to constructive criticism and then corrected or punished according to the degree of its intensity the world will certainly see better days in the future.</p>
