This is another story about Lord Krishna?s notorious son, Samba. Samba misbehaved
to such an extent that Krishna became extremely, extremely displeased with
him. He told his son, ?You have cast a slur upon our family. You have done
countless bad things. I cannot tolerate you anymore. The very sight of you
is repulsive to me!?<br>
<br>
Krishna went on scolding Samba and insulting him in this manner. Krishna?s
wife, Jambavati, was also present. Finally, Krishna?s anger reached its zenith.
He said, ?I am so disgusted with you that I am cursing you. You will contract
leprosy.?<br>
<br>
Lo and behold, Samba immediately started suffering from leprosy. His body
became disfigured overnight and he was in great agony from the disease.<br>
<br>
Lord Krishna?s wife could not endure seeing her son tortured in this way.
With tears streaming from her eyes, she approached her husband. ?What have
you done?? she said. ?I cannot bear to see Samba in such pain. He is, after
all, our own son.?<br>
<br>
Krishna relented and said to his son, ?All right, this is what you can do
to be cured. First, you have to pray to Surya, the sun god. Then you must
bathe in the river Chandrabhaga. When you immerse yourself in the water,
you will be cured.?<br>
<br>
By this time, Samba could not even get up. He asked pitifully, ?How can I
go there in this condition, Father??<br>
<br>
?You have to go to the river,? answered Krishna in a stern voice.<br>
<br>
Samba began pleading with Krishna. ?I know that you have the capacity to
cure me right here. Please lift your curse.?<br>
<br>
?I am not going to cure you,? said Krishna.<br>
<br>
Jambavati appealed to her husband. ?You are the cause of his disease. Therefore,
you must either take him to the river or cure him here.?<br>
<br>
Finally, Krishna agreed to take his son to the river. Because Samba could
no longer walk, Krishna carried him the entire way. When they arrived at
the banks of the river, Samba prayed to the sun god and then entered into
the river. Krishna bathed his son in the water and, when Samba emerged, he
found that he was completely cured. Krishna?s curse had been nullified.<br>
<br>
In those days, a curse was something to be feared! Nowadays, people curse
each other at every second, but their curses do not have any power. Otherwise,
so many serious calamities would have taken place. With all the mistakes
that we make in our daily lives, we would have died long ago if we had really
been cursed. Fortunately, there is no fire inside the words as there was
in those ancient times.<br>
<br>
Sri Chinmoy&nbsp;