All for a loincloth - A tale by Sri Rama Krishna

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One of the tales Sri Ramakrishna used to tell is about a holy man who had

given up all his possessions. His teacher had advised him to make a little

hut thatched with palm leaves, in a solitary place away from the public.

This he did. He began to live there, meditating long hours and going out

only to beg his one meal of the day.

 

But there was one problem. After his morning bath, the sadhu (holy man)

would hang his loincloth on the limb of a tree close to the hut. When he

returned from the village it would be dry. It would also have some holes in

it! It turned out that rats were running up the tree and chewing holes in

the cloth. Rats will munch on almost anything.

 

One day he decided to dry it on the roof of his hut. That was worse. The

rats tore it into shreds, and he had to go and beg a new one in the village.

When the villagers heard of his predicament, they said, “Who is going to

supply you with cloth all the time? Why not keep a cat; that will chase the

rats away.” So someone in the village gave him a kitten, he brought it home

to the hut, and sure enough, the rats disappeared and the trouble stopped.

 

The sadhu became delighted and took great care of the cat. Not finding any

rats, it needed milk, so he went again to the village and begged for milk

for the cat. After some days, a villager said, “We can't go on this way. Who

is going to supply you with milk all year long? Why not keep a cow; that way

you too will have milk – you and your cat.”

 

It took a long time for the man to acquire a cow. Finally someone took pity

on him and gave him one. Of course the cow had to be milked. Moreover

eventually she ate up all the greenery for yards around. “What will the cow

eat now?” he thought. Going to the village to beg for some straw, he got

more advice. What do you think it was?

 

“Till the land around your place and grow your own grain!”

 

With great difficulty the sadhu was able to clear land, cultivate it with

borrowed tools, and sow a crop. His days were busy. His hut grew into more

of a house.

 

One day his teacher came that way. What he saw was a collection of

possessions. He inquired of a passerby, “An ascetic used to live in this

hut, a meditator with no possessions. Do you know where he has gone?” But

the traveler knew nothing. The teacher ventured into the place and found his

disciple.

 

“What! You went out to be alone, and to meditate. You were going to renounce

everything and be free. What in the world happened?” Shame-faced, the man

told his story.

 

And this is why Sri Ramakrishna used to say, “Be careful: ‘All for a

loincloth.’”

 

from Tales and Parables of Sri Ramakrishna

 

--

Om namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya

Prasanth Jalasutram