There is a very famous and suggestive story of a Asura (demon) called Bhasmasur. He was very ambitious person, and wanted great powers, specially to destroy anyone he wanted. He worked very hard for it too, performed severe austerities, and appeased Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva became happy to see his dedication and intensity of his wish, and asked him what he wished for. He requested for a boon wherein anyone will be turned to ashes (bhasma) the moment he kept his hand on their head. Even though Lord Shiva was surprised to hear such a strange and negative wish, yet hoping that the devotee will use the boon for some good cause, he granted the boon. The fellow was highly elated at getting this fantastic power, and he started dreaming of conquering everyone. No one could stand in his way now to rule the world, no matter who the opponent was, they could be destroyed in a second. He had already dreamt about the various consequences of this boon so much that his joys knew no bounds, and in this elation he lost all sense of discrimination & sense. It was too good to be true for him, so a doubt too become obvious. He wondered whether Lord Shiva has really granted him this boon. He wanted to test, and as no one else was around, he thought why now try the boon on Lord Shiva himself.
The deluded ungracious fool started walking towards Lord Shiva, who was indeed surprised. He knew the power of his boon, and he is now the one who gives a boon at one moment and then takes it back the next moment. ANyway the fellow wanted to know whether the boon has really been given, so he turned and started walking away, and to his surprise this Bhasmasur (named after the boon) started coming after Lord Shiva with a sly smile of a conqueror. Lord started running and he also ran after him. However, Lord Shiva ran very fast and went over to Lord Vishnu and told him the whole story and asked for his help to handle this nuisance. Lord Vishnu assured Shivji that he will sort out the matter. He will use the power of Bhasmasur against him. Man alone can become his greatest enemy, and he alone can become his greatest friend too. Just as a huge elephant is tamed by the intellect of man, so also such thoughtless ferocious demons needed to be handled intelligently rather than by brute force.
Lord Vishnu took a form of a very beautiful angelic damsel and came near the asura. He was taken back by this extraordinary beauty and got attracted to her. Lord Vishnu as Mohini started seducing Bhasmasur, and as expected he fell for this beautiful damsel. Bhasmasur thought that today his luck is rught on the top and he is getting the best things he can dream of. The running of Lord Shiva, had confirmed to him that he had indeed been given the boon, so now there was some complacency about the boon, specially when there was someone like Lord Vishnu himself seducing him. So much so that he shortly proposed to her. Lord Vishnu as Mohini said that for her to accept his invitation, he will have to dance with her. Bhasmasur accepted and started dancing with the woman. While dancing, the woman kept her hand over head, Bhasmasur – lost in the intoxication of extreme power and lust, in an attempt to copy her, kept his hand over his own head and lo, he himself got burned and that very moment turned to ashes. The boon did not even last a day.
The moral of this story is that power, without self-control and self-poise leads to one’s own destruction. Think!
The deluded ungracious fool started walking towards Lord Shiva, who was indeed surprised. He knew the power of his boon, and he is now the one who gives a boon at one moment and then takes it back the next moment. ANyway the fellow wanted to know whether the boon has really been given, so he turned and started walking away, and to his surprise this Bhasmasur (named after the boon) started coming after Lord Shiva with a sly smile of a conqueror. Lord started running and he also ran after him. However, Lord Shiva ran very fast and went over to Lord Vishnu and told him the whole story and asked for his help to handle this nuisance. Lord Vishnu assured Shivji that he will sort out the matter. He will use the power of Bhasmasur against him. Man alone can become his greatest enemy, and he alone can become his greatest friend too. Just as a huge elephant is tamed by the intellect of man, so also such thoughtless ferocious demons needed to be handled intelligently rather than by brute force.
Lord Vishnu took a form of a very beautiful angelic damsel and came near the asura. He was taken back by this extraordinary beauty and got attracted to her. Lord Vishnu as Mohini started seducing Bhasmasur, and as expected he fell for this beautiful damsel. Bhasmasur thought that today his luck is rught on the top and he is getting the best things he can dream of. The running of Lord Shiva, had confirmed to him that he had indeed been given the boon, so now there was some complacency about the boon, specially when there was someone like Lord Vishnu himself seducing him. So much so that he shortly proposed to her. Lord Vishnu as Mohini said that for her to accept his invitation, he will have to dance with her. Bhasmasur accepted and started dancing with the woman. While dancing, the woman kept her hand over head, Bhasmasur – lost in the intoxication of extreme power and lust, in an attempt to copy her, kept his hand over his own head and lo, he himself got burned and that very moment turned to ashes. The boon did not even last a day.
The moral of this story is that power, without self-control and self-poise leads to one’s own destruction. Think!
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