To be a renunciate is not easy. Your goodness may sometimes get you into trouble. A wonderful story by Swami Rama teaches us how difficult it is. A young man took vows of renunciation and became a swami. His master told him to avoid three things: gold, women and fame. One day the swami was crossing a river and noticed that part of the riverbank had been washed away. Then he saw that big jars of gold coins had been uncovered. Then he thought, I dont need it but the gold can be used to build a temple. So he went to some builders and showed them what he had found and requested them to build a temple. They said to one another, How does a Swami have so much of gold? Lets throw him in the river and distribute the money amongst ourselves. This is what they did. The Swami almost drowned, but somehow by the grace of God was saved. He decided, no more money. He went far into the woods. He started penance. If anyone would come to see him, he would ask them to put their money aside and only then come close to him. A woman came and he said, Dont come near me. The woman said, I have only come to give you food. I will keep it here and leave. Days turned to months and the woman continued coming, giving him food and looking after his needs. One day she got a cat for company, but the cat would not eat the food prepared for the Swami. So the Swami asked the woman, I need some milk for the cat everyday. The woman got a cow and later stayed back looking after the cow. Years passed and the woman ore him a child. One day, another Swami came visiting and on seeing what had happened to this Swami retorted, What has become of you? The Swami weeper and decided to go away. He went deeper into the forest and years later acquired some Siddhis. One day a villager came to him for help. The Swami heard his woes and pulled a grey hair off his beard and asked the poor villager to keep it in his cupboard. All will be well. But he did ask him to keep it a secret. The villager went home and told his wife of this. The next day the cupboard was filled with gold. Many villagers began to go to the Swami and ask for a strand of his beard. Months later Swamiji s fame resulted in pain. Swamiji understood why his master had said, Stay away from gold, women and fame. Temptation is the only thing we have to get rid off to get to detachment. Temptation for anger, hurt, jealousy, envy, rage, hoarding, fame, position,authority, power etc. Think of today being such a day!
Posted on: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 02:58:56 +0000
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