4 Gift from God| salemsundar

Spoken English Through Story series
Gift From God
Gift from God
Grandfather was a very pious man. He said his prayers several times a day. He visited temples and made offerings to Gods. He often went on pilgrimages to sacred places in the country.
There were many temples in our village and places around it. Grandfather arranged pooja in several of these for the good and prosperity of our family. Every Friday he arranged a special pooja in one of the big temples for my benefit. So, I had to go with him that day to the temple to pray.
I liked to visit the temple. There were many nice things to see there. The building was beautiful and different from all other buildings. There were hundreds of oil lamps, all lit in the evening. There were flowers and flower garlands. There was music. There was blowing of conches and ringing of bells. And there was the image of God with a lovely dress and beautiful ornaments.
The special pooja was late in the evening. When it was time to say our prayers, we went in and waited at the closed door of the inner shrine. Soon the bells rang, conches blew and the temple door opened. This was the time for us to pray. Grandfather bowed in all humility and reverence. He prayed to God to give all his blessings to his grandson that was me.
I also said my prayers. But I did not ask God to give me anything big. I asked Him only for some small things which I liked to have at that time. But I did not get any of the things I prayed for. Sometimes I prayed for some pocket money and once I thought God gave me that.
One evening Grandfather and I were going to the temple. On our way we had our bath in the temple tank. While leaving the tank I noticed something bright lying in the sand. I picked it up. It was a silver rupee. I was happy. I thought that it was a gift from God.
I told Grandfather about the gift when we reached the temple. He asked me where I got it from and I told him that God had left it for me in the sand. Grandfather did not say anything more.
We went inside the temple and said our prayers. When the prayer was over, Grandfather turned to me and asked for the rupee. I did not want to give it to him. Then he ordered me to give it and I had to part with God's gift. He took the rupee and gave it to the temple priest.
I felt rather angry with Grandfather. I did not speak to him till we reached home. At home he turned to me and said: "What is the matter with you? You look sad. Is it because of the rupee?" . I did not say anything
Then he said: "The rupee you found was no gift from God. Someone had lost it. God does not give away gifts like that. If you work hard He will help you to earn many rupees. You should not touch money that you have not earned."
==============================================================