Nothing is useless – The Hindu

Nothing in God’s creation is useless, said Akkarakkani Srinidhi, in a discourse. Because of our arrogance, we think that we are superior to others. A student came to a sage for lessons. The student was very proud to study under such a great scholar. When his gurukulavasam ended, he asked his guru what he should offer as guru dakshina. The guru knew of his student’s pride. He said to the student, “Bring me something that is absolutely useless.”

The student went in search of something useless. He decided to offer his guru a fistful of mud. But the mud spoke to him! “Am I not responsible for all the beautiful things you see on this earth? Things that are fragrant, tasty, flavourful — none of them can exist without me. How did you come to the conclusion that I am useless?”

He then decided to pick up some clay. Surely such mushy soil had to be useless, he told himself. “Stop,” said the clayey soil. “Have you ever noticed the soil in a rice field? You will find that it is kept slushy, because this is good for rice cultivation. Now tell me, am I useless?”

The student came to the conclusion that God created with a purpose. How could he think of anything as useless? He realised that the only useless things in this world were ego and pride. He discarded his idea that except he, all others were unworthy of respect. He went back to his guru empty handed. The guru had anticipated this, and when the remorseful student fell at his feet, he told him never to think of anything as useless, because everything had been created by Bhagavan. The Supreme One who creates is great — Purusham Mahantham, as the Vedas say. He is present in everything, and therefore nothing in the world should be treated disrespectfully. If we surrender to him without pride and arrogance, moksha can be attained.