EVEN IF YOU WISH TO RENOUNCE THE WORLD

MAN cannot renounce the world even if he

wishes, because he is thwarted by the karmas that

are bearing fruit in the present birth and by the

impressions of previous actions left on the mind

{Prarabdha and Samskara).

Once a Yogi asked a king to sit down near him and

meditate upon God. To him the King replied, "No,

Sir, it cannot be. I can remain near you, but still the

thirst for worldly enjoyment will be with me. If I

remain in this forest, perhaps there will arise a

kingdom within it, as I am still destined to enjoy."

THE KING AND THE PANDIT

THERE was a king who used daily to hear the

Bhagavata recited by a pandit. Every day, after

explaining the sacred book, the pandit would say to

the king, "O King, have you understood what I

have said?" And every day the king would reply,

"You had better understand it first yourself." The

pandit would return home and think; "Why does

the king talk to me that way day after day? I explain

the texts to him so clearly, and he says to me, “you

had better understand it first yourself”. What does

he mean?" The pandit used to practise spiritual

discipline. A few days later he came to realise that

God alone is real and everything else - house,

family, wealth, friends, name, and fame - illusory.

Convinced of the unreality of the world, he

renounced it. As he left home he asked a man to

take this message to the king: "O king, I now

understand."

AS YOU GO FROM NEAR TO NEARER

A MUSSALMAN, while saying his prayers,

shouted: "O Allah! O Allah!" Another person said

to him: "You are calling on Allah. That's all right.

But why are you shouting like that? Don't you

know that He hears the sound of the anklets on the

feet of an ant?"

When the mind is united with God, one sees him

very near, in one's own heart. But you must

remember one thing. The more you realize this

unity, the farther your mind is withdrawn from

worldly things. There is the story of Vilwamangal

in the Bhaktamala. He used to visit a prostitute.

One night he was very late in going to her house.

He had been detained at home by the Sraddha

ceremony of his father and mother. In his hands he

was carrying the food offered in the ceremony, to

feed his mistress. His whole soul was so set upon

the woman that he was not at all conscious of his

movements.

He did not even know how he was walking. There

was a Yogi seated on the path, meditating on God

with his eyes closed. Vilwamangal stepped on him.

The yogi became angry, and cried out: "What? Are

you blind? I have been thinking of God and you

step on my body!" "I beg your pardon" said

Vilwamangal, "but may I ask you something? I

have been unconscious, thinking of a prostitute,

and you are conscious of the outer world though

thinking of God. What kind of meditation is that?"

In the end Vilwamangal renounced the world and

went away in order to worship God. He said to the

prostitute: 'You are my Guru. You have taught me

how one should yearn for God." He addressed the

prostitute as his mother and gave her up

HOLD HARD YOUR SPADE

AT one time there was a drought in a certain part

of the country. The formers began to cut long

channels to bring water to their fields. One fanner

was stubbornly determined. He took a vow that he

would not stop digging until the channel connected

his field with the river. He set to work. The time

came for his bath, and his wife sent their daughter

to him with oil. "Father," said the girl, "it is already

late. Rub your body with oil and take your bath."

"Go away," thundered the farmer. "I have too

much to do now." It was past midday and the

farmer was still at work in his field. He didn't even

think of his bath. Then his wife came and said:

"Why haven't you taken your bath? The food is

getting cold. You overdo everything. You can

finish the rest tomorrow or even today after

lunch." The farmer scolded her furiously and ran at

her, spade in hand, crying: "What! Have you no

sense? There's no rain. The crops are dying.

What will the children eat? You'll all starve to

death. I have taken a vow not to think of bath and

food today before I bring water to my field." The

wife saw his state of mind and ran away in fear.

hrough a whole day's backbreaking labour the

farmer managed by evening to connect his field

with the river. Then he sat down and watched the

water flowing into his field with a murmuring

sound. His mind was filled with peace and joy. He

went home, called his wife and said to her, "Now

give me some oil and prepare a smoke." With

serene mind he finished his bath and meal, and

retired to bed, where he snored to his heart's

content. The determination he showed is an

example of strong renunciation.

Now, there was another farmer who was also

digging a channel to bring water to his field. His

wife, too, came to the field and said to him, "It's

very late. Come home. It is not necessary to

overdo things." The farmer did not protest much,

but put aside his spade and said to his wife, "Well I

will go home since you ask me to." That man could

never succeed in irrigating his field. This is the case

of mild renunciation