ALL FOR A SINGLE PIECE OF LOIN-CLOTH

A SADHU under the instruction of his Guru built
for himself a small shed, thatched with leaves at a
distance from the haunts of men. He began his
devotional exercises in this hut. Now, every
morning after ablution he would hang his wet cloth
and the kaupina (loin-cloth) on a tree close to the
hut, to dry them. One day on his return from the
neighbouring village, which he would visit to beg
for his daily food, he found that the rats had cut
holes in his kaupina. So the next day he was
obliged to go to the village for a fresh one. A few
days later, the sadhu spread his loin-cloth on the
roof of his hut to dry it and then went to the
village to beg as usual. On his return he found that
the rats had torn it into shreds. He felt much
annoyed and thought within himself "Where shall I
go again to beg for a rag? Whom shall I ask for
one?" All the same he saw the villagers the next
day and re-presented to them the mischief done by
the rats. Having heard all he had to say, the
villagers said, "Who will keep you supplied with
cloth every day? Just do one thing—keep a cat; it
will keep away the rats." The sadhu forthwith
secured a kitten in the village and carried it to his
hut. From that day the rats ceased to trouble him
and there was no end to his joy. The sadhu now
began to tend the useful little creature with great
care and feed it on the milk begged from the
village. After some days, a villager said to him:
"Sadhuji, you require milk every day; you can
supply your want for a few days at most by
begging; who will supply you with milk all the year
round? Just do one thing—keep a cow. You can
satisfy your own creature comforts by drinking its
milk and you can also give some to your cat." In a
few days the sadhu procured a milch cow and had
no occasion to beg for milk any more. By and by,
the sadhu found it necessary to beg for straw for
his cow. He had to visit the neighbouring villages
for the purpose, but the villagers said, "There are
lots of uncultivated lands close to your hut; just
cultivate the land and you shall not have to beg for
straw for your cow." Guided by their advice, the
sadhu took to tilling the land. Gradually he had to
engage some labourers and later on found it
necessary to build barns to store the crop in. Thus
he became, in course of time, a sort of landlord.
And, at last he had to take a wife to look after his
big household. He now passed his days just like a
busy householder.
After some time, his Guru came to see him.
Finding himself surrounded by goods and chattles,
the Guru felt puzzled and enquired of a servant,
"An ascetic used to live here in a hut; can you tell
me where he has removed himself?" The servant
did not know what to say in reply. So the Guru
ventured to enter into the house, where he met his
disciple. The Guru said to him, "My son, what is all
this?" The disciple, in great shame fell at the feet of
his Guru and said, "My Lord, all for a single piece
of loin-cloth!"

THE ROOT OF ALL TROUBLES

In a certain place the fishermen were catching fish.
A kite swooped down and snatched a fish. At the
sight of the fish, about a thousand crows chased
the kite and made a great noise with their cawing.
Which-ever way the kite flew with the fish, the
crows followed it. The kite flew to the south and
the crows followed it there. The kite flew to the
north and still the crows followed after it. The kite
went east and west, but with the same result. As
the kite began to fly about in confusion, lo, the fish
dropped from its mouth. The crows at once let the
kite alone and flew after the fish. Thus relieved of
its worries, the kite sat on the branch of a tree and
thought: 'That wretched fish was at the root of all
my troubles. I have now got rid of it and therefore
I am at peace.'
As long as a man has the fish, that is, worldly
desires, he must perform actions and consequently
suffer from worry, anxiety, and restlessness. No
sooner does he renounce these desires than his
activities fall away and he enjoys peace of soul

THERE ARE MEN AND MEN

MEN may be divided into four classes: those
bound by the fetters of the world, the seekers after
liberation, the liberated and the ever-free.
Among the ever-free we may count sages like
Narada. They live in the world for the good of
others, to teach men spiritual truths.
Those in bondage are sunk in worldliness and are
forgetful of God. Not even by mistake do they
think of God.
The seekers after liberation want to free themselves
from attachment to the world. Some of them
succeed and others do not.
The liberated souls, such as the Sadhus and
Mahatmas, are not entangled in the world, in
'woman and gold.' Their minds are free from
worldliness. Besides they always meditate on the
Lotus Feet of God.
Suppose a net has been cast into a lake to catch
fish. Some fish are so clever that they are never
caught in the net. They are like the ever-free. But
most of the fish are entangled in the net. Some of
them try to free themselves from it, and they are
like those who seek liberation. But not all the fish
that straggle succeed.
A very few do jump out of the net, making a big
splash in the water. Then the fishermen shout,
'Look! There goes a big one!' But most of the fish
caught in the net cannot escape, nor do they make
any effort to get out.
On the contrary, they burrow into the mud with
the net in their mouths and lie there quietly,
thinking, 'We need not fear any more; we are quite
safe here.' But the poor things do not know that
the fishermen will drag them out with the net.
These are like the men bound to the world.

THERE IS NEED FOR EVERYTHING

Wicked People are needed too.
At one time the tenants of an estate became unruly.
The landlord had to send Golak Choudhury, who
was a ruffian. He was such a hard administrator
that the tenants trembled at the very mention of
the name.
There is need for everything. Once Sita said to her
husband: "Rama, it would be grand if every house
in Ayodhya were a mansion! I find many houses
are old and dilapidated." "But, my dear," said
Rama, "If all the houses were beautiful ones, what
would the masons do?" God has created all kinds
of things. He has created good trees and poisonous
plants and weeds as well. Among the animals there
are good, bad, and all kinds of creatures - tigers,
lions, snakes, and so on.

ELDER, THE PUMPKIN CUTTER

You must have seen the sort of elderly man who
lives in a family and is always ready, day and night,
to entertain the children. He sits in the parlour and
smokes the hubble-bubble. With nothing in
particular to do, he leads a lazy life. Now and again
he goes to the inner court and cuts a pumpkin; for
since women do not cut pumpkins, they send the
children to ask him to come and do it. This is the
extent of his usefulness - hence his nickname,
'Elder, the pumpkin cutter.'
He is neither a man of the world nor a devotee of
God. That is not good.

A WORLDLING IS A POOR EXPONENT OF THE SASTRAS

A MAN wanted to engage a Bhagavata pandit who
could explain the Bhagavata to him. His friend
said: "I know of an excellent pandit. But there is
one difficulty; he does a great deal of farming. He
has four ploughs and eight bullocks and is always
busy with them; he has no leisure." Thereupon
the man said: "I don't care for a pandit who has no
leisure.
I am not looking for a Bhagavata scholar burdened
with ploughs and bullocks. I want a pandit who
can really expound the sacred book to me."

HOW THEY QUARREL!

IT is not good to say that what we ourselves think
of God is the only truth and what others think is
false; that because we think of God as formless,
therefore He is formless and cannot have any
form; that because we think of God as having
form, therefore He has form and cannot be
formless. Can a man really fathom God's nature?
This kind of friction exists between the Vaishnavas
and the Saktas. The Vaishnava says, 'My Kesava is
the only Saviour', whereas the Sakta insists, 'My
Bhagavati is the only Saviour.'
Once I took Vaishnavacharan8 to Mathur Babu9.
Mathur welcomed him with great courtesy and fed
him from silver plates. Now, Vaishnavacharan was
a very learned Vaishnava and an orthodox devotee
of his sect.
Mathur, on the other hand, was a devotee of the
Divine Mother. They were engaged in a friendly
discussion when suddenly Vaishnavacharan said,
"Kesava is the only Saviour." No sooner did
Mathur hear this than his face became red with
anger and he blurted out, "You rascal!" He was a
Sakta. Wasn't it natural for him to say like that? I
gave Vaishnavacharan a nudge!