The story of Sudama

Sudama came from a very poor Brahmin family. Since ShriKrishna Himself was his friend, Sudama’s wife would constantly ask her husband to ask Krishna for help. She would say, “You say you are Krishna’s friend, then why don’t you ask him to change your financial condition? He is a wealthy king, if he gives you a few thousand gold coins, it will not make any difference to his treasury.” But Sudama would not listen to it.

One day, Sudama’s wife sent him to Krishna’s palace and told him not to return until he had talked to Krishna about their financial problem. So, Sudama left for the palace. The guards at the palace gates were difficult, but finally, they let him meet Krishna. Krishna was very happy to see Sudama and treated him with utmost love and respect. Sudama, who was Krishna’s devotee, could not bring himself to ask Him for money until the very end. When it was time for Sudama to leave, ShriKrishna asked if there was anything Sudama wanted from Him. Sudama replied, “No.”

Sudama then left the palace empty-handed. On his way home, he started feeling a bit nervous, as his wife would be angry with him for not bringing back anything from the palace. However, as soon as he entered the village, people ran up to him telling him that his house had been transformed while he was gone! Krishna had transformed Sudama’s house into an opulent palace and showered him with a lot of wealth while Sudama was visiting him.

Moral : Dear children, often times we have expectations of others, like our parents, teachers, family and friends. To not have expectations of others, let alone God, is indeed very difficult. From this story we can see how Sudama’s devotion without expectation (nishkam) to ShriKrishna not only got his worldly wishes fulfilled, but also won him God’s love and grace.