Based on The Faith Book by Kadamba Kanana Swami
The Pilgrim on the Road
An elderly man, bent with age and time, walked slowly along the dusty road that led to the sacred town of Vṛndāvana. His feet were swollen, his bones ached, and the blazing sun burned his skin. Yet, he smiled with every step, for his heart beat with only one desire—to have darśana of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
Clutched in his trembling hand was a single stick of sugarcane—his only offering to the Lord.
It wasn’t much. He had no ghee, no ornaments, not even fruits. Just this sugarcane, bought with the last of his coins, saved carefully as a gift for the Supreme.
The Guards at the Gate
When he finally arrived at the temple gates, he was stopped by the guards. “Old man,” they said, “where is your offering? Do you bring silver? Gold? Ghee or grains?”
He held out the stick of sugarcane with a shy smile.
The guards frowned. “You call this an offering for the Lord? Go back, beggar! This is unfit!”
The old man’s eyes filled with tears. “It is all I have,” he whispered. “But it is for Him. Every step I took was for Him.”
The Lord’s Response
That night, the head pujārī of the temple had a dream. Śrī Kṛṣṇa appeared, His eyes glowing like moonlight, His voice tinged with playfulness.
“Where is My sugarcane?” the Lord asked.
The priest bowed in confusion. “Your sugarcane, My Lord?”
“Yes,” Kṛṣṇa replied, “a very old man came today—dusty, tired, but full of love. He brought Me a stick of sugarcane, the sweetest gift I have been offered in a long time.”
The priest awoke, stunned.
The Redemption
The next day, the priest rushed to the gates. He found the old man sleeping beneath a tree, still clutching the sugarcane.
He embraced him and brought him before the Deity. With trembling hands, the old man placed his gift on the altar. As he bowed, tears fell from his eyes—and something miraculous happened.
The temple filled with an exquisite aroma—sweet, fragrant, and otherworldly.
The sugarcane had been accepted.
A Lesson in Bhakti’s Power
This story reminds us that the value of our offering is never in its price—but in its intention. The Lord sees not the sugarcane, but the heart that carried it through blistering miles of surrender.
Even the smallest gift, when carried with love and sacrifice, becomes divine.
A Verse to Remember
patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ
yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam
aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.”
— Bhagavad-gītā 9.26
Bhakti turns simple things into sacred treasures. The Lord does not see what we offer—He sees how we offer.
