Page 219 - Kailaspati: Paramhans Hansdevji Avadhoot

Seventh Taranga
One afternoon we requested our Baba to give us some advice. sometimes he used to advise us in the form of a ‘Doha’, sometimes in the form of a tale and sometimes by reciting a shloka
or two from the scriptures. how many of us have followed these pieces of advice, made by the great sages? But the fact is, one gets all the more pious by listening to the advice from holy sages. Many try their best to have those advices ensconced in their heart of hearts. On this context, Baba told us a tale:
Once a merchant, on having sold some goods in a foreign land, was returning home with a sum of Rs. 500/-. To cut his way short, the merchant took the path through a forest. a gang of three dacoits, on being informed of it, were ambushing him under the shade of trees. as the merchant got nearer, one of the dacoits said, leave your purse here and go home. The merchant, intelligent as he was, thought to himself that he was no match for three abled-bodied dacoits. so he gently said, “Dear brother, i am leaving my purse here, but i have a query, and will you answer it, please?”
Dacoit: What is your question?
Merchant: What is your caste?
Dacoit: i am a Brahmin, the second among us is a Kshatriya,
and the third a cobbler.
The merchant then took both the Brahmin and the Kshatriya
aside and said, “Dear brother, this is my hard-earned money. i have no problem to offer it to both the Brahmin and the Kshatriya, but i have a reservation to part with it for the cobbler. as for myself, i am a Vaishya. how is that my hard-earned money would be taken and enjoyed by a cobbler? i am the last person to tolerate it. so i suggest that you divide the money i have in my wallet between you two and cast aside that cobbler.”
Both the Brahmin and the Kshatriya readily accepted the pro- posal and went to the cobbler and said to him, this man is known to us. so we do not feel like robbing him of his money. so you
Fhftd Volum: Seventh Taranga 189