The two pilgrims

Some spiritual seekers were deeply interested in undertaking a pilgrimage. They planned to go to some sacred places that were far away. Along the way, two young men joined the group. The pilgrims were walking and walking and walking a long distance to their destination. They were in a very spiritual consciousness, and they passed their time praying and meditating in silence. But these two newcomers started chatting to each other about mundane matters.

The first one asked, "Where do you come from?"

The second one answered, "I come from East Bengal."

The first one said, "East Bengal? I also come from East Bengal. Where in East Bengal?"

"Dhaka," the second one said.

The first one said, "I also come from Dhaka!

Which place actually? Which subdivision?"

The second one said the name.

"What a coincidence!" the first one said. "Mine also is the same. Do you come from a village?"

The second one said, "Yes, I come from a village."

"Please tell me the name," the first one said.

The second one told him a particular name.

The first one said, "That is very strange. I also live in that village. Which house do you live in?"

The second one described the house.

The first one said, "I also live in the same house!"

The other pilgrims could not help overhearing the conversation. They were so curious to know how these two strangers could be living in the same house.

They asked, "Can you tell us your surnames?"

The first one said, "My surname is Das."

The other one said, "My surname is also Das."

The pilgrims asked, "How can it be?"

The first fellow confessed, "We two are brothers. We are going to the same destination as you are. We joined you for some company on the way, but you walked for miles and miles without uttering a word. It was so boring for us. So we started saying absurd things to keep ourselves happy and cheerful. Otherwise, your company is so boring!"

From:Sri Chinmoy,The jackal’s punishment, Agni Press, 2002
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/jp