When Lord Rama decided to build the bridge to Lanka, a group of squirrels came forward to 'help Him'. Lifting boulders was definitely not their cup of tea. The best they could do was pick up small stones. They came up with a lovely idea. They decided that they were going to roll around in the sand and mud and get good and dirty. Then, they would find the cracks between the boulders in the bridge and shake the sand and mud off their bodies into the cracks to fill them up. As these little brown squirrels went about their task, Hanuman told the working army to be wary of the squirrels and ensure that nobody stepped on them. This was important because the squirrels would blend into the background and would be hard to see.
Rama watched the squirrels run about energetically, shaking dust off their backs, on to the bridge. He was very touched and he called out to one of them. Picking up the squirrel Lord Rama lovingly fondled it. Caressing its back, He said,
“Little one. I am very grateful to you for the service that you are rendering to me. I can only offer my heartfelt gratitude to you.”
When he let go of the squirrel, it had three white stripes on its back, coinciding with the three fingers of the Lord. It is said that those stripes improved the visibility of the squirrel and thus prevented thousands of them from getting trampled upon while building the bridge.
The gift of the stripes was the gift of life for the squirrels!!!!
Arun Kharidehal was blessed with for several years of his life when he got the chance to serve his God, his Swami, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. He would spend almost his entire day with Swami almost be among the privileged few who would almost live with Him in the name of security! It was the year 2003 and the then Deputy Prime Minister of India, Sri Lal Krishna Advani, was to be visiting Prasanthi Nilayam. At that time, Arun got the chance to do his own 'squirrel service' and won a similar 'gift of life' from his Swami.