Page 250 - Kailaspati: Paramhans Hansdevji Avadhoot

a seat of stone. he took her to be the daughter of the owner of the garden. as he drew forward to address the lady, she left that place. and he followed her. The more the sage tried to get closer to her, she maintained an equal distance from the sage. The sage then walked faster after the young lady. The very luscious grace and her exquisite beauty seemed to rouse a storm in the heart of the sage. he hurried forward to catch hold of one end of her sari, being wafted by the wind. The young lady looked back. With a smile, she said, “You need nothing to rope you in, you only run after me only to catch hold of me.”
On having heard the tale, the King smiled and said, “a weak- willed man may go off his feet, but not a strong-willed man like me.”
The intelligent Queen, without allowing the King to complete the last sentence, feigned to be senseless and fainted. The King lost no time in putting her on his lap and began to nurse her. The Queen began laughing, sat up and said to the King, “What a ‘Mayamukta’ man is here!”
The King said, “This is nothing but a show of kindness to a person in need or distress.”
The Queen said, “Who are you to show kindness? Better you call it service. Besides, you have not done it right to touch me because you are going to renounce me.”
The King said, “had some other been in such a state of swoon, i would have served him in the same way.”
The Queen said, “There is a discussion on ‘shreya’ and ‘Preya’ in the Upanishads. Whatever the soul seeks is ‘shreya’ and whatever is wanted by the senses is called ‘Preya’. and as for you, you have been a subject to your senses when you touched me.”
The King thought for a while, realized in his heart of hearts that the Queen was right. he then said, “i am going to the forest in order to direct my senses to sri hari”. The Queen retorted, “Why to the forest then? Why not here at home?”
in reply, the King said, “One has to remain alone at the time of meditation. There is nothing wrong if two people, seeking God, are there in one place. But now much time is lost and i must leave—
220 Kailashpati