Once upon a time a man was walking on the beach in Los Angeles. 171229 www.jayarama.us

When his dog found something buried in the sand

It was a strange brass lantern.

He rub it and . . . A genie appeared! !

The genie looked a little confused for a moment and then he rubbed his eyes and said…

O.K. Look it’s Kali-yuga. You only get one wish, and you can’t wish for more wishes!

The man was a little confused and said, “Do you mean I can ask for anything I want??’

The genie said, “Hey, come on. I’m a genie. Think big!”

The man thought for a moment and then he said, “You know, all my life I’ve wanted to go to Hawaii, but I’m terrified of flying and a get terribly, terribly sick on boats.

Do you think you could build and elevated causeway from here to Hawaii? ?

The genie begins to think: So much cement., so many pylons…

Then he looks a little humble and says, “Actually that would be really hard. Could you ask for some thing else!”

The man thinks again and then says, “You know I’ve been married for 15-years and I never really been able to satisfy my wife. Do you think you could arrange thngs so she would be satisfied with me??”

The genie thinks about the request for a few moments and then looks at the man very seriously and says …

… now, how many lanes did you want on that causeway.

The moral of this story is, that marriage is an austerity undertaken by husband and wife together for their mutual spiritual advancement. Canto Three, Srimad Bhagavatam, www.vedabase.com, “The Marriage of Kardama and Devahuti”.