Two stories-parables by Swami

[Guest guest]

Light and Love

 

1. A wicked man once went to a Guru (preceptor) for initiation into

spiritual life. The Guru asked him to give up at least one of his bad habits;

he gave up uttering falsehood. That night, when he went to the Royal palace to

commit theft, he found on the terrace another person, who said, he too was a

thief. He too announced that he was a thief and both broke into the treasury

and divided among themselves the diamonds found there. The other person was

none other than the king; he pretended to be a thief and he knew where the keys

of the treasury were. While the diamonds were shared, the honest thief felt pity

for the King of the realm who was losing his entire stock; he asked his

companion to leave one diamond behind, in the safe. And, it was done.Next

morning, when it was discovered that the treasury was looted, the Minister was

sent by the King (who had acted as thief the previous night) to assess the

loss. The Minister found the diamond, that had missed the eyes of the thieves.

He quietly transferred it to his own pocket and reported at court that all the

diamonds were gone!

The King had got from the honest thief his address, the previous night,

while they partedcompany, with their separate bags. So he sent for him and when

stood in court before the King, he confessed that all but one of the diamonds

were stolen by him and his unknown associate. The diamond was discovered in the

pocket of the Minister and the King dismissed him for the lie.

The honest thief was appointed Minister, instead, and he gave up his other

evil habits too and pleased his Guru, by his fame as a virtuous administrator.

 

It is a pictorial example how one step in the right direction led to

another.

 

2. A King once announced that he will honour with a big gift any Brahmana

who will agree to do any one of three evil things: (1) He must aver that the

Vedhas are false, or (2) He must drink liquor, or (3) He must elope with

another's wife. For a long time, no one within the seven seas came forward to

do any one of theseatrocious things. At last a poor Brahmana on the verge of

starvation came into court and offered to drink liquor, an evil which he

considered the least reprehensible of the three. But, as soon as he got drunk,

he began to swear and in the excitement of intoxication, he shouted in the

streets that the Vedhas are a tissue of lies; he entered the house of his

neighbour and assaulted the lady of the house, like the worst criminal of the

land.

 

One evil habit, if acquired, will lead to a whole gang of them taking

possession of the mind.

 

(Extracts-compilation from, Sathya Sai Speaks.Vol. 11. "Prahlaadhas for the

present age," Chapter 2)

Namaste - Reet