Amusement I enjoy, enlightenment I study, part 3
A son's sacred promise
There was once a prosperous villager. One day he said to his son, “When I die, I have made arrangements for you to have all my wealth. Please promise me that you will do two things: you will give money to charity, and also you will erect a monument in my memory. Only these two things I am asking of you. The rest of the money you can spend as you like.”The son said, “Definitely, Father, I will build a monument in your honour and I will give money to charity, the way you do. You have always been so kind and generous to the poor and the sick. Now let us not talk about it any further. It is such a painful topic.”
A few years passed and then the villager fell extremely ill. The best doctors were called in to treat him, but to no avail. They were able to keep the villager alive for three more months, but then he died. His possessions and money passed to his son, as he had planned. But when the son began to examine his father’s financial situation, he discovered that so much money had been spent on his father’s medical treatment that he died with next to nothing to his name.
The son felt very sad, but he wanted to keep the promise he had made to his father. He did not know how it would be possible now that he had no money, but he was determined not to break his sacred promise. Somehow he would fulfil his father’s loving wish.
A few days later the son went to a market where people were sold as slaves. He pinned a sign on his back that said, “I am ready to be a lifelong slave,” noting a certain wage that he wanted to receive each week. It was a very low amount, but he thought that if he could save the money, then gradually he would accumulate enough to erect a monument to his father. At the same time, he would be able to offer a little money to the poor on a regular basis.
A certain merchant saw the young man and agreed to his terms, so the young man went to work for him. He used to work very, very hard. With the little money that he earned, he helped the poor and kept something aside for his father’s monument.
One night the young man was not feeling well at all. Suddenly a beautiful lady appeared before him and began to treat him. After treating him, she gave him some money and then left. The lady gave him money again the following night, and then again the next night. In this way she was adding more and more to his meagre savings. One night he said to the lady, “I am a poor man, but I do not want to take any more money from you. Whatever money I receive from my master is more than enough for me.”
“No, no, no,” said the beautiful woman. “I want you to accept this money. You are a good man, a very good man.”
The beautiful woman continued coming to see him. One night she said to him, “I want to marry you.”
The young man was shocked. “Marry me? But I am so poor and you have so much money! What will people think? And I have promised my master that I will serve him all my life. I cannot break our agreement. It is impossible for me to marry you.”
But the beautiful woman would not accept his refusal. She said, “I have already dealt with everything. I asked your master how much money you would have to pay if you left him now. He told me a certain figure and I gave it to him, so you are not under any obligation to him. You are free to marry me if you wish. If you do not believe me, tomorrow you can go to your master and verify what I am saying.”
The next morning the young man went as usual to work for the merchant. When he saw the merchant, he asked, “Is it true that somebody came to see you concerning me?”
“Yes,” said the merchant. “I have received money for you. Now you are free to go home.”
So he married the beautiful lady and they went back to his village to live. When he arrived at his old house, he was unable to recognise it. It had become like a palace! His wife was so wealthy that she had transformed it in advance. He was very happy as he and his wife began their life together. Everybody appreciated the new couple. They were both kindhearted. Now the young man was able to fulfil his promise to his father most satisfactorily. His wife allowed him to draw as much money as he wanted from her bank account. He built a beautiful monument for his father and he gave lots of money to the poor.
A few years passed by and the young man and his wife were blessed with a child. The young man was filled with joy, but he noticed that his wife was a little sad, and he tried to reassure her. He said, “We have been so happy together. Now that we have a son, I promise you that my love for you will not decrease. Since you came into my life, I have been filled with joy. Nothing will change! My love will remain the same. Please, please, do not be sad!”
His wife said, in a very sad voice, “I know your love for me will remain, but my time is over. I am not an ordinary woman. I am a nymph. I came from a higher world because you are so kind and sincere. You wanted to keep the promise that you made to your father; you wanted to fulfil your dearest father’s wish. When he died, he could not leave any money for you. You were under no obligation to keep your promise, but you were prepared to undergo suffering and poverty all for the sake of your father’s wish.
“There is another world, an inner world. When human beings like yourself have very sincere and devoted wishes, we come from that inner world to try to help them fulfil their wishes so that they can be happy. That is why I came to you. Now I have played my role in your life. You have fulfilled your promise and I have given you a son who will love you the way you loved your own father. My time is over. Before I go, I will tell my maidservant how to care for the child properly so that you will not have to worry. Please, please try to be happy when I am gone. If you meet someone else and you would like to marry that person, I will have no objection. Your new wife will have my good wishes, love and blessings.”
While the young man watched in stunned silence, his wife gave some instructions to her maid and held her child for the last time. Then, with a final farewell look at her beloved husband, she disappeared forever.
The farmer illumines the king
One day a king rode out through the main gate of his city to go hunting. As he passed through the gate, he noticed that the boundary wall around the city was crumbling. This boundary wall had been constructed many years before to protect the city from attack. Now, in some places, large gaps were beginning to appear.The king felt very sad that the boundary wall had fallen into such a state of disrepair. He said, “If I use all the funds in my treasury to repair the wall, how will I be able to keep my subjects happy? They are expecting me to be very kind and generous. If I have to pay for the wall, I will not be able to hold any special celebrations for my people. I do not know what is more important. Something has to be done soon.”
The king continued on, deep in thought. At last he came to a little farm. He saw that the farmer was busy putting a fence around his tiny plot of land. The king looked inside the fence to see what was so precious to the farmer. Here and there he saw a vegetable growing, but otherwise the plot of ground was filled with weeds.
The king asked the farmer, “What are you doing? You have not even removed the weeds! Is this the time to be putting up a fence?”
The farmer came over to the king and very respectfully said, “O King, forgive me, but I have to disagree with you. I feel I must do first things first. If I do not put up a good fence first, then stray cows and other animals can come and destroy my plants. I want to have many, many different kinds of vegetables. Without a fence they may all be ruined. If I put up a strong fence first, I can remove the weeds at any time and plant my vegetables. First I have to provide protection for my plants, and then I can think about when to remove the weeds and what seeds to sow.”
The king at once saw the wisdom of the farmer’s philosophy. He realised that he should also take care of his boundary wall first, so that his subjects would be safe, and then only should he think about how to make his subjects happy.
Wisdom came late
There was a cook who worked for a rich man and his family for many years. Because of his excellent food preparation, he was able to earn lots of money. When he had saved a considerable amount, the cook said to his employer, “I wish to leave your service and return to my own village. I have saved enough money to buy a nice house and live comfortably. Every week I shall give some money to charity. I have worked hard for many, many years and now I want to lead a simple life and share my money with the other villagers. In this way, I feel I shall be able to please them and also please God.”The cook put all his money in a bag and swung it over his back, along with another bundle containing all his belongings. Then he set off walking with his heavy load. His own village was quite far away and it would take him several days to reach it. After some time, he saw a man riding a horse. The man asked him, “Where are you going?”
The cook said, “I am going home to my native village. Now it is getting dark. I am planning to spend the night in my uncle’s house a few miles from here. Then in the morning I shall continue my journey. But if you want to do me a big favour, since you have a horse, you can take my bag and leave it for me at my uncle’s place. If you can do this for me, I will be so happy.”
The man on the horse said, “Am I a fool? Am I a fool? Such a heavy bag you are carrying and now you want my poor horse to bear it?”
The cook felt very sad that this fellow would not help him by taking the bag. His shoulders and back were really aching under the weight of both the bag and the bundle. But he could not persuade the man to change his mind. The horseman said, “You go your own way! I will have nothing to do with you!” And with that he rode off.
As the horseman was riding away, a sudden thought occurred to him. He said, “What a fool I am! Who knows, perhaps inside the bag that fellow had some valuables. He told me he was going home to his own village, so I am sure that bag contained all his savings. What a chance I missed! Perhaps even now it is not too late. Let me go back and tell him that I have changed my mind. I am ready to do him the favour of taking the bag to his uncle’s place. Depending on what I find in the bag, I may take away only some of the valuables and leave the rest for him, or I may keep the entire contents.”
So he turned his horse around and rode back in the opposite direction. At last he saw the traveller moving very slowly under his heavy burden. The horseman called out, “My friend, I am sorry I was rude to you before. You asked me to do you a favour and I refused. You must think that I am such an unkind person! Please give me a second chance. I shall gladly take the bag to your uncle’s place.”
In the meantime, the traveller had also had second thoughts. When the man on the horse rode away, he said to himself, “My God, I was such a fool! I have so much money inside my bag. What would I have done if he had stolen the bag? I took him to be an honest fellow, but I could easily have been mistaken.”
When the man on the horse asked for a second chance, the traveller said, “Oh, no, no, I have changed my mind. I can manage by myself. Now I do not need you at all!”
The man on the horse began cursing himself. “Wisdom always comes too late!” he said.
In both cases, wisdom came late, but in the case of the traveller, he was still able to prevent his bag from being stolen. If the horseman had immediately agreed to carry the bag, then he would have been able to take all the traveller’s money.
How stupid they both were!
"I do not want to be anybody's slave"
This story is about a farmer. He himself was illiterate, but he wanted his only son to be well educated, so he kept aside all the money that he earned and sent his son to school and university. The son was a very brilliant student, and eventually he got his university degree.After receiving his degree, the son came back home to his father’s farm. The father was extremely pleased with his son. He said, “I am so proud of you! You did so well in all your examinations, and you have earned a university degree. But now I would like you to do some agricultural work.”
The son was surprised and shocked. He said, “Father, what are you saying? You made so many sacrifices to send me to university so that I could do higher studies, and now you want me to do simple agricultural work? You yourself did not go to school, but you valued education so much that you spent all your money on the best schooling for me. And now you want me to do farming like you? What is the reason, Father?”
The father said, “All right, all right, I am sorry. I made a mistake. Since I spent so much money on you, please go and get a good job. If you do not want to help me at all, I will not mind, as long as you are happy. You may go. I wish you good luck.” Then the father added, “I have a rich friend who works for the king. You can go to his place and ask if he can help you to get a job at the king’s palace.”
The young man returned to the city and went to see his father’s friend. The friend was very, very kind to the young man and invited him to spend the night there. He promised to take the young man to the king’s palace the following morning and help him get a job.
The young man was so happy and excited. He liked his father’s friend and he was looking forward to working at the palace and utilising all the knowledge that he had acquired. Perhaps, eventually, he would even become the king’s minister!
The night was still quite young, and so the older man said, “Let us play a game of dice to pass the time.” They began playing and for some time they were enjoying themselves immensely. All of a sudden, quite late at night, a messenger came from the king. He said to the older man, “The king has summoned you. You must come at once.” The man dropped his dice then and there and immediately got ready to leave. He apologised to the young man and said, “This is what happens.”
The young man could not understand at all. He said, “Where are you going at this hour? Can you not go and see the king tomorrow morning?”
His father’s friend said sadly, “Oh, yes, tomorrow morning! If I do not go now, not only will I lose my job — that I do not mind — but the king may chop off my head! I have no choice but to go immediately. This is what happens when you work for a king. One moment the king may be nice to you, but the next moment he may be very strict. He may even punish you mercilessly. I do not want to lose my head for the sake of a good night’s sleep.”
The young man realised he was not meant for that kind of life. Before the friend returned home the next morning, the young man went back to his father’s farm. He said to his father, “You encouraged me to go to the king and get a job, but I do not want to be anybody’s slave. The best thing is for me to stay here and help you with the farming. I want to follow your profession so that I can enjoy freedom. If I work at the king’s palace, I will be at his beck and call. Here I can do everything in my own time.”
Needless to say, the father was extremely happy and deeply relieved that his son had given up his ambition to work for the king.
The king's secret examination
Once a king and his minister went out of the palace incognito to visit the subjects of the kingdom. When evening fell, they approached a cottage and knocked on the door. The owner came to the door and the king said, “My friend, we are travellers and we would like to take rest here overnight. Will you allow us?”The owner asked, “How many are in your party?”
“Only we two,” answered the king.
“All right, you may stay,” said the owner. So the king and his minister entered the house and spent the night with the owner and his family. In the morning they thanked him for his hospitality and went on their way.
The following evening they stopped at another cottage and asked, “May we spend the night here?” This time the owner immediately said, “Yes, come in, come in, come in! You can definitely stay with us. By the way, how many of you are there?”
“We are two,” replied the king.
“Very good, come in,” said the owner. The king and the minister passed the night in the cottage and, in the morning, they returned to the palace. Then the king asked his minister to go back to the second cottage and bring the owner to the court. The king wanted to give him a very large amount of money.
“Both of them gave us shelter, your Majesty,” said the minister. “Why are you rewarding only one of the householders? What about the other one? Kindly tell me the reason.”
The king said, “There is a great difference between these two subjects of mine. The first one asked us how many we were. After he found out that there were only two of us, he invited us to come inside and stay with him. The second one immediately welcomed us to stay and only then did he enquire how many of us there were. He offered us shelter first, before asking any question. Therefore he is much more hospitable than the other fellow, and I would like to reward him for his kindness. Do you see the difference?”
Now the minister did see the difference and he was very grateful to the king for illumining him.
The king's clever new recruit
A young man went to one of the king’s ministers and begged, “Please, please give me a job at the king’s palace!”The minister said, “I will give you a job tomorrow, on one condition.”
“What is that condition?” the young man asked, a little nervously.
The minister explained, “A few months ago I gave a job to a young man like you, and now that fellow has become the king’s confidant. He has gone so high in the court that he does not care for me at all. He is so ungrateful! Now, I want you to become dearer to the king than this fellow is, so that you can get rid of him. If you can get rid of him, I will be very, very happy. That is my condition!”
“I am sure I will easily be able to get rid of him,” said the young man. “I am quite clever. I will definitely find a way to make him lose the king’s favour.”
So the minister fulfilled his promise and gave the young man a job at the palace where he would attract the attention of the king. The young man immediately began looking for an opportunity to discredit the minister’s previous protégé who no longer cared for him.
One day the king was engaged in a serious battle. Somehow it happened that the young man, the new recruit, saved the king’s life. The king was so pleased with him that he said, “Today you have done me the greatest service: you have saved me from death. Please tell me what you want. I will give you anything you want.”
“I can ask for anything?” said the young man.
“Anything at all,” said the king.
The young man immediately declared, “I would like to marry the minister’s daughter. She is so beautiful! I would like to have her hand in marriage.”
“That is so easy!” said the king. At that very moment he ordered the minister to give his daughter in marriage to this young man.
Afterwards, when the minister and the young man were together in private, the minister said, “I am so puzzled. You could have asked for anything. You could have asked to marry the king’s own daughter. Then you would have become a member of the king’s family. Why did you ask to marry my daughter?”
The young man smiled at the old minister and said, “I want to marry your daughter because I know that if I marry her, you will not be able to bring in someone else to throw me out of the king’s inner circle! Otherwise, now that I have become so close to the king and the king is so fond of me, you may be tempted to appoint somebody else to get rid of me. You gave me my job on the condition that I get rid of another of the king’s favourites. So far I have been unable to fulfil my promise because this fellow has such high standing in the court. He is the king’s confidant, and he does a very good job. Indeed, I do not think I will be able to get rid of him. Seeing that I did not keep my word, you may try to introduce someone new to bring about my disgrace. That is the thing I want to avoid. Only by marrying your daughter will I escape your punishment!”
The right prayer, the wrong goddess
In a particular village there were two very wealthy families. The wives were close friends. The husbands believed that it was their wives who had brought prosperity to their families, so the husbands were very pleased with their wives and proud of them. Before they married, these two men had not been at all rich. Then, when they got married, all at once their circumstances changed for the better.There was another woman in the village who was extremely curious to know the reason behind the sudden material prosperity of these families. One day the two wives invited her to come and have tea with them. She took the opportunity to ask them to explain what had made them so wealthy.
The first wife said, “In my case, it is very simple. I prayed and prayed and prayed to the goddess of poverty. I begged this deity not to come near me. I said, ‘O Goddess, I really want my husband to become rich, so kindly do not visit our house.’”
The second wife said, “I prayed and prayed and prayed to the goddess of wealth. I said to her, ‘Please, do come and abide in our house.’ I had a special mantra which I repeated over and over. This goddess did listen to my prayers, and she blessed my family with her prosperity.”
The first wife added, “I also had a special mantra, which I repeated for the goddess of poverty. She heard it and she very compassionately stayed far, far away from our house.” Each wife was more than happy to teach her special mantra to the woman, and the woman was very happy and grateful.
The woman returned home and started praying and praying, using both the mantras together. Unfortunately, after repeating the mantras thousands of times, sometimes she got a little confused and mixed them up.
One day, while the woman was praying, the goddess of poverty and the goddess of wealth both came to her at the same time. She did not realise that she had invoked both of them. They came to find out what she actually wanted. They both looked most beautiful and radiant. Even though the goddess of poverty was not dressed as elaborately as the goddess of wealth, her face was full of light. The goddesses asked the woman to choose which one should stay and which one should depart. The woman looked from one to the other, mesmerised by their beauty. Finally she said to the goddess of poverty, “You look more beautiful to me. I want you to stay with me and bless my family.” To the goddess of wealth she said, “You are beautiful, true, but your beauty is not as deep, so I would like you to go. By going, you will make me happy.”
Then the goddesses asked the woman, “Do you wish us to obey you immediately?”
“Oh no,” said the woman. “Now we have talked for so long. Let us start from tomorrow.” To the goddess of poverty she said, “Tomorrow please come back and stay with me.” And to the goddess of wealth she said, “From tomorrow on, please do not come to me again. I do not need you.”
So the goddesses disappeared and the woman was very happy because she had resolved everything to her satisfaction. Within a short space of time, she thought, she and her family would become extremely prosperous. She did not realise that she had made a terrible mistake. She simply had no idea that she had banished the goddess of wealth from her house forever. It had not occurred to her that the goddess of poverty would also be very beautiful and compassionate, so she had not thought to ask their names. She assumed that the more beautiful one would be the goddess of wealth.
Alas, alas, the following day the goddess of poverty came and blessed the woman by making her poorer than the poorest. When the woman saw how everything in her life was being transformed for the worse, she asked the goddess, “What happened?”
The goddess said, “I am the goddess of poverty. It was I whom you invited to stay with you. The other being was the goddess of wealth. You asked her never to come back again. This unfortunate mistake was all due to your greed. Now your family will be forced to suffer from poverty. This time, if you really want to help them, you can start praying again, but instead of praying for outer prosperity, you can pray for inner prosperity. If God is pleased with your sincerity, He will shower upon you His infinite Peace, Light and Delight.”
The miserly zamindar
There was a village zamindar who was very, very rich and, at the same time, very, very miserly. He would not give away any money, even for a good cause. Others who were infinitely poorer than he was would give money to improve conditions in their village. They would always raise funds for a special project. But they never dared to ask the zamindar to contribute because they knew in advance that he would refuse.One time the villagers were trying desperately to gather enough funds to repair the village school. A young man who was a teacher at the school said, “I will compel the zamindar to give a donation. He is the richest one among us. He should set an example.”
All the other villagers told him, “It is impossible, impossible! You will never be able to bend him. We have tried in so many ways. We have flattered, we have begged, we have demanded — nothing has worked. He does not care for others. He is determined to hoard all his wealth.”
The young man said, “Let me try. I will take up the challenge.”
The young man went to the zamindar’s house and knocked on the door. The zamindar opened the door just a little and said in a very rough and rude manner, “Why are you here? I have told people not to bother me.”
The young man said, “I have come here for a special purpose.”
The zamindar barked, “If it is a question of money, I can tell you now that I will never, never give money to any of your village projects.”
In a very sympathetic voice the young man said, “You are absolutely right to keep your money, and I have made it very clear to the villagers that they must not expect you to give money here, there and everywhere. I told them that you are not an ordinary man. Ordinary people, like them, give money only for one reason: to be flattered. They want everyone to appreciate and admire them because they feel they have given such a large amount. They give only for their own glory. But I know that you are far, far beyond name and fame. You are the zamindar of our village. Nobody can be more important or powerful than you are. That is why you do not need to get name and fame by doing charitable work. The others badly want name and fame. They feel that just by giving a little money, even an insignificant amount, they will become extremely popular. But, in your case, you do not have any wrong motives. To me, you are like a great sage. You are above worldly flattery, and that is why you do not give money.”
The zamindar was so surprised and pleased by the young man’s speech that he came out and stood in the open doorway. All his hostility had vanished. He said, “Can you tell me once again why I do not give money?”
The young man replied, “You are far, far better than the villagers because they give with a purpose, a motive. They are dying to be appreciated, admired and adored. You do not give money because you do not want to go down to that level. You are beyond name and fame, far beyond it. I wanted to come here to tell you that I have realised your true height, your true goodness.”
The zamindar said, “You have understood me perfectly! I do not care for the adulation of the villagers. That is why I do not give money. Since you are the only one to arrive at the truth, let me give you a little money. Do whatever you want to do with this money. If you want to give it to your friends for the development of the village, you can, but remember, I am far beyond name and fame. If you give them this money, you must also tell them the truth that you have realised. Unlike them, I am not giving this money to you with any ulterior motive. I do not want to glorify myself. I am just giving the money unconditionally. Go and tell them this truth.”
The young man thanked the zamindar profusely and rushed to tell the other villagers the good news. On the way, he counted the money and discovered that the zamindar had in fact given him a very large amount. When he showed the villagers, they were astonished. The young man said, “My method of flattery worked! By giving me this money, the zamindar wanted to prove that he was above name and fame, but he made me promise to tell everybody where the money had come from. Indeed, he is above name and fame!”
The value of a dhoti
There was a businessman who owned a secondhand shop where he used to sell clothes, mostly dhotis and punjabis. He would buy secondhand clothes and then re-sell them at a higher price. One day a man came to sell him a dhoti. The dhoti was all wrapped up in a towel. Before taking the dhoti out of the towel, the man said, “Please tell me how much you charge for a new dhoti.”The businessman said, “Did you not see the sign above my shop that says ‘secondhand’? I can sell you a very nice secondhand dhoti, but I do not know the price of a new dhoti. If you are looking for a new dhoti, you have come to the wrong place.”
The customer said, “I find it very hard to believe that you do not know the price of a new dhoti. You may not buy or sell them, but are you sure you do not know?”
The shopkeeper said, “Actually I do know.”
“Then how much does a new dhoti cost?” asked the customer.
The shopkeeper said, “It is 20 rupees for a new one. When I buy a secondhand dhoti, I usually pay 5 rupees and then sell it for 10 rupees. I have a very good selection of secondhand dhotis, but you will not find a new dhoti here.”
The customer said, “As a matter of fact, I have not come here to buy a new dhoti. I asked you the price just out of curiosity. And I am very glad that you have told me that the cost of a new dhoti is 20 rupees.”
“So what have you come here for?” asked the shopkeeper, who was beginning to grow a little suspicious.
“First, let me clarify what you have told me,” said the man. “You buy dhotis for 5 rupees and you sell them for 10 rupees?”
“Yes,” said the shopkeeper uneasily.
The man said, “All right, then can you give me 5 rupees for this one?” He unwrapped the dhoti that he was carrying in the towel and placed it on the counter.
The shopkeeper cried, “Five rupees? I cannot give you 5 rupees for this ancient relic! The border has completely faded! You do not have to unfold it. I can see at once that it is not in good condition at all. Had it been in good condition, I would have handed you 5 rupees immediately. And I could have sold it for 10 rupees without any difficulty. But in this case it is impossible. For a dhoti like this, the most I can give you is 2 1/2 rupees.”
The man said, “Two and a half rupees! Oh no, it is worth much more than that. Look at it carefully and see for yourself.”
The shopkeeper unfolded the dhoti and held it up, only to discover that worms had enjoyed a feast on this garment. There were a number of places where the worms had eaten right through the fabric. Furthermore, it was quite stained. “This kind of dhoti I do not want!” he exclaimed. “I am prepared to offer you 2 rupees, but no more. If you do not want to sell it for 2 rupees, then get out of my sight. Do not waste my time anymore!”
The customer did not seem at all upset. He continued to remain very calm. “Only 2 rupees?” he asked.
The shopkeeper said, “Yes, 2 rupees,” and he took the coins out of a small bag and handed them to the man.
The man said, “The money from the sale of the dhoti is yours, not mine.”
“How can it be my money?” the shopkeeper asked. “I have agreed to buy your dhoti, even though it is in such bad condition. Now, for God’s sake, just take the money and go. All this talk is only confusing me!”
The man said, “Listen to me. You have a big shop. This particular dhoti was hanging near the door. On the way in, I just grabbed it and wrapped it in a towel. I stole it from you. If I had not stolen it, you would have sold it to some innocent person for 10 rupees. Now you are prepared to offer only 2 rupees because you see for yourself that it is stained, the border has faded and worms have eaten into the fabric. The true value of this dhoti is 2 rupees, not 10 rupees. You are such a rogue! For years and years you have been deceiving people, but you cannot deceive people forever. Sooner or later, you are bound to be exposed. In this case, it was you yourself who said that this dhoti could not be worth more than 2 rupees. So, you keep the money. You deserve it!”
The thief's illumination
There was a confirmed thief who used to steal every night. His wife was very, very honest. She used to beg him, “Please do not steal, do not steal!”Her husband would reply, “If I do not steal, if I do not practise my profession, I will not be able to support you.”
The wife’s answer was, “I will be able to support both of us. I can go out and work. I can clean old ladies’ houses. We shall easily be able to manage. Please give up this dishonest life!”
But the thief said, “No, no, it is beneath my dignity for you to go out and do maid’s work.”
“It is beneath my dignity to have a husband like you who steals!” said the poor wife.
Then the husband threatened his wife. He said, “If I hear you say once more that it is beneath your dignity, then I shall thrash you. It is a husband’s duty to support his wife by any means.”
So the situation continued. Every night the thief used to steal, and every night his wife used to cry and beg him to give up that kind of work. Finally the husband thought of a solution that would bring a little peace into their marriage. He said to his wife, “From now on, I shall keep whatever I steal someplace else so that you do not have to be reminded of the stolen goods. I will tell you that I am just visiting my friends when I come and go at odd hours. Then you can imagine that I am living a different kind of life.”
His wife said, “Why are you trying to fool me? I shall never forget for a moment what kind of life you are leading.”
But the husband was determined to put his brilliant plan into effect. For a few weeks he kept all his loot at the house of one of his friends. This fellow’s wife did not mind at all. Her husband was also a thief and she did not find anything wrong with his calling. Sometimes the two thieves would work alone and sometimes jointly. Then, after a few months had elapsed, they would resell the stolen property and make lots of money.
One morning the first thief returned home full of sadness. He told his wife that when he went to his friend’s house that evening to store some things that he had stolen, he discovered that his thief-friend and his wife had left the village. And they had taken with them all the things that the two thieves had stolen for the last few weeks! This fellow was left with nothing.
His wife said to him, “Now you can see how much people suffer when their valuables are stolen from them! In your case, these things were not even yours to start with, but still you feel so miserable. Surely those who have had their own things stolen feel infinitely more miserable that you do at this moment!”
Suddenly the thief saw that his wife was right. He had not even thought about the suffering his actions would cause others. He touched his wife’s feet and said, “You have illumined me. I shall give up this life of stealing. But do not worry. You will not have to work as a cleaner. I am going out to look for a job as honest as you can ever imagine!”
The money-lender and his rogue-friend
There was a money-lender who loaned the sum of 100 rupees to one of his friends. The friend said that in one month’s time he would, without fail, return the money. But when the time came, this friend did not return the money. He insisted that he did not have 100 rupees.Actually, this friend had a reputation in the village for borrowing money and never repaying it. But, since the money-lender happened to be one of his close friends, the money-lender had thought that this time the fellow’s promise was sincere. Unfortunately, it seemed that his friend had no intention of returning the money. No matter how many times the money-lender begged him to return it, he simply refused.
Now that the rogue-friend had accumulated a considerable amount of money, he decided to go to the market and buy a cow. He did not know that the money-lender was following him secretly. He examined all the cows at the market but did not find any cow that satisfied him. He said, “Bad luck, bad luck! Some other day,” and began walking back to his village.
The money-lender continued to follow him. All of a sudden, from behind a bush, a bandit appeared with a knife. He grabbed the rogue-friend and said, “You look like a wealthy man. Drop your wallet here! Otherwise, I will stab you without any hesitation!”
The fellow cried, “Do not kill me! I am dropping my wallet right here where you can see it.” As he turned to run away, he saw the money-lender behind him and screamed, “Here is your money! Now come and take it.”
The money-lender said he did not want to fight with the bandit, so he, too, ran away.
The bandit grabbed the wallet and disappeared into the bushes.
The following day, the money-lender wrote a note to his friend who had not returned the money. The note said, “You borrowed 100 rupees from me on the condition that you would return it in one month. Now four months have passed, so I have added the interest to the original amount. It was I who hired the bandit to steal your wallet. There was no other way for me to get back my money, so I have added his fee to what you owe me. You had more than enough money in your wallet to cover everything. The money that is left I am returning to you. I have taken only what is justly mine. What a rogue you have turned out to be! You had so much money in your wallet, but you could not return the amount that you borrowed from me four months ago. I am sorry our friendship had to come to an end in this way.”
If this friend had kept his promise and returned the money on time, there would have been no interest and no robbery, and his friendship with the money-lender would have been preserved. Because of his insincerity, he was compelled to suffer such heavy losses.