Sitting in the forest Parvati, who had been Sati in her previous life, swore she would not let her mind shift away from the lotus feet of Lord Shiva for even an instant until he appeared before her. "If my mind should waver, may I lose him forever!" she vowed. So there she sat through monsoon rains, elephant stampedes, and just about every other form of botheration you can picture. Parvati kept her mind fixed on God alone.
Then one day, she heard a small child screaming in terror. Immediately she jumped up and raced to help. But there wasn't any child. Instead Shiva materialized in front of her. " You promised you wouldn't let anything distract you from meditating on me"! Shiva complained. " I created this illusion to test you". And then he smiled. " Just now you showed that you give up even what you want most in the world, union with me, to help the helpless. I see now that you really are fit to be my wife"!
Shiva and Parvati are living happily ever after at their mountain retreat in Tibet. But Parvati has shown us the way back to God : continual loving meditation on his divine form, and self-sacrificing service to our fellow humanity.
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