On the 18th, a Shastri (Hindu priest) bowed to Baba and then sat down near his chair. He had also come the previous day when Baba was with the Hamirpur lovers. At that time, while the Shastri was present, Vishnu Sharma of Dhagwan entertained Baba by reciting his story,Ā Chai PuranĀ (a humorous “Tale of Tea”). The Shastri had left in the middle of the recital.
On this day, Baba asked him, “Why did you leave the hall yesterday so abruptly?” The Shastri replied that he had an errand to do. “Did you feel disturbed by theĀ Chai Puran? Whatever the disturbance may be, you must try to remain calm.”
“No disturbance; nothing of the kind. Yesterday, I went early because I had to bid goodbye to some of my house guests.”
“Did you feel hurt while listening to theĀ Chai PuranĀ because it was composed in Sanskrit verses? Did you take it as an insult to Sanskrit?”
“Perhaps so, but that was not the reason for my leaving early,” the Shastri said defensively.
“You should not be affected even when insulted. I am Paramatma; I am insulted every moment, but I respond with love. Had you remained seated until the end, you would have felt differently, as if having participated in a love-feast. It was a good pastime too, as the prasad packets for distribution to the lovers of Hamirpur were not ready as yet.”
“I am trying to tolerate things and surroundings which are not to my taste,” Shastri said. “As for verses on tea, I have come across oneĀ Chai GitaĀ that imitates the Bhagavad Gita in having eighteen cantos on tea and its merits.
This episode prompted Baba to discourse on the ego’s tricky nature:
Our ego keeps us aloof from our own Real Self. Ego is so mighty that it makes us deceive our own self. It has been attached to one’s self from the very beginning.
It appears to be so natural a part of our own self that, under the pretext of our understanding, this ego gets tickled instantaneously and the very next moment gets depressed.
-www.lordmeher.org, p4684
May, 1960; Guruprasad
Photo source:Ā https://belovedarchives.org/darshan.php