Page 127 - Kailaspati: Paramhans Hansdevji Avadhoot

if one willingly wants to cast aside things, they will entangle him. Baba said, “Vishay chintan viparit phal, swarup chintan sukhadāyā.”
Tenth Taranga
Once sitting at the feet of our Baba at the Kailash, we liked to hear him tell a story. The ever-happy Baba told us the following story. Once there lived a businessman, named Maniram. One day he called his attendant Vivek and asked him, “What trade should i do to mint more money?” The attendant suggested, “You may deal in musk, saffron and sandal wood and they will earn you more profit. They being really very precious, they are adored by everyone.” On hearing such a suggestion, Maniram became very glad at heart. he went to the place where those things were easily available, purchased them and got his ships stuffed with them and desired to import to his country. But a gang of five tricksters conspired to loot his merchandise. They, in disguise of sages, set fire to a pile of wood before them and sat around it. Very often they took to opium and those who visited them were entertained with opium. in the process, their fame spread everywhere. and by the time the ships of the merchant got to the port, their fame had travelled far and wide. On hearing about their fame, Maniram went to visit them. With a view to making an offering to them, he took with him musk, saffron and sandal-wood. On reaching there, Maniram took all the five to be sages, offered his regards in the form of those costly things and paid his obeisance. But soon after they threw those valuable things into the fire to burn, and began to puff in opium to their heart’s content. seeing it, Maniram felt
exceedingly sad.
he then began to think, that those people knew nothing about
the value of the invaluable things. had they known the value of
Third Volum: Tenth Taranga 105