Page 130 - Kailaspati: Paramhans Hansdevji Avadhoot

of mosquito-bones, the merchant, as per the conditions in the Will, got back his ships, loaded with musk, saffron and sandal-wood. To add to this, they were forced to give him a bag of metals, by way of punishment. On having had the ships back, the merchant returned home with a good frame of mind. Vivek on learning that his master was returning home, went out in company with some aristocratic people to receive his master and accompanied him home.
On having told this tale, Baba elucidated its underlying meaning. he referred to the name ‘Maniram’. ‘Mani’ means ‘mind’. This mind is his master, while the conscience is his minister. When the mind asked the conscience, “Which trade is worth going for?” in reply, the conscience said, “Better to deal in musk, saffron and sandal-wood.” here ‘musk’ is, devotion to God; ‘saffron’ symbolizes detachment, while ‘sandal-wood’ stands for contentment. That means, one has to be contented at every stage. Detachment means a state of mind that shuns every kind of luxury. But desire, anger, greed, attachment and ego—these five things, cheats as they are, were all out to do harm to the man (Maniram). Lest the mind should prefer the good things, they in guise of cheats tried to make him forget all about those things. When the mind, knowing little about them, took them to be sages and offered them regards in the form of devotion, detachment and contentment, then those evil agents got those good things burnt into ashes. The mind quite naturally felt very sad. They then, pretending to be sages, began advising that they burn every valuable article daily. That means, devotion, detachment and contentment are being killed daily in this worldly life. These things are of no use in worldly life, and hence they are sold at no cost. On hearing these words, the mind took it for granted that they were really of no value. and the very thought made him think that he had already been cheated and hence began to cry. he had been cheated only because he was so suggested by the conscience and for that reason, he began to severely scold the conscience. Later on, when the conscience had him duly convinced i.e., when the mind got stable enough to listen to the words of the conscience, his heart longed for devotion, detachment and contentment. The conscience then suggested to him, “Play the role of a mad man”
108 Kailashpati