Kevat the Boatman

Dadi: "Guddu beta, do you know that Lord Rama was once refused a boat ride?"

Guddu: "Someone said NO to God?! Who would dare?"

Dadi: "(laughing) A simple boatman named Kevat! And his reason will make you smile. When Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana reached the river Ganga during their exile, they needed to cross to the other side."

Guddu: "And Kevat wouldn't take them?"

Dadi: "He said, "First, let me wash your feet.""

Guddu: "Wash their feet? Before a boat ride?"

Dadi: "Here's why, beta. Kevat had heard the famous story of Ahalya - how she had been cursed to become a stone, and how the dust from Lord Rama's feet had transformed her back into a woman."

Guddu: "So?"

Dadi: "Kevat looked at his wooden boat and got worried! "My lord," he said, "if your foot-dust can turn stone into a woman, what will it do to my wooden boat? Each plank might turn into a lady! I'm already struggling to feed my family - I cannot afford more mouths!""

Guddu: "(laughing) He was worried his boat would become women?!"

Dadi: "Silly logic, but beautiful devotion, beta! He wasn't really worried about that - it was his way of expressing how powerful he believed Rama to be. His faith was so complete that he thought even Rama's foot-dust could create miracles."

Guddu: "So what happened?"

Dadi: "Lord Rama was touched by this innocent devotion. He sat down and allowed Kevat to wash his feet! The boatman took the water, touched it to his head, and then happily ferried them across the Ganga."

Guddu: "Did Rama pay him?"

Dadi: "When they reached the other side, Mother Sita removed a ring from her finger and gave it to Rama to offer as payment. But Kevat refused!"

Guddu: "He didn't want a RING? That must have been expensive!"

Dadi: "Kevat said something profound, beta. "We are in the same profession, my lord. People in the same vocation don't charge each other.""

Guddu: "Same profession? Rama was a king! Kevat was a boatman!"

Dadi: ""I ferry people from one bank of the river to the other," Kevat explained. "Lord Rama ferries people across the ocean of material existence - from birth and death to liberation. We are both boatmen. How can I charge a fellow boatman?""

Guddu: "Wow... that's such a beautiful way to see it!"

Dadi: "Lakshmana was surprised too! But Kevat wasn't finished. He made one request: "When my time comes, please take ME across the ocean of birth and death. And give me eternal devotion to your lotus feet.""

Guddu: "What did Rama do?"

Dadi: "Lord Rama was so moved that he embraced this simple boatman. He granted him moksha - liberation from the cycle of rebirth. Kevat, who wanted no gold or jewels, received the greatest gift of all."

Guddu: "All because he washed Rama's feet?"

Dadi: "Because his faith was pure, beta. He didn't want payment - he wanted connection. He didn't see a customer - he saw God. And he didn't see himself as a servant - he saw himself as a colleague!"

Guddu: "That's funny and beautiful at the same time!"

Dadi: "The best devotion often is, beta. Kevat teaches us that status doesn't matter - a king and a boatman can be equals in service. What matters is the sincerity of your heart."

Guddu: "And that it's okay to have funny reasons for devotion?"

Dadi: "Absolutely! God loves honest, innocent faith more than complicated philosophy. Kevat's worry about his boat turning into women made Rama smile. Sometimes love expresses itself through laughter."

Guddu: "Dadi, I want to be like Kevat - helping people cross over!"

Dadi: "You can be, beta. Every time you help a friend with homework, you're ferrying them across confusion. Every time you cheer up someone who's sad, you're taking them from darkness to light. We're all boatmen in our own ways."

Guddu: "Goodnight, Dadi. I'll dream about sailing the Ganga!"

Dadi: "May Kevat's pure heart guide your journey! Sweet dreams, beta!"