The Saint's Advice #10
The Saint's Advice
One day, a mother brought her eight-year-old son to a great saint. She bowed down to him and appealed to him to solve her problem. She said, "My son eats a lot of jaggery. I am tired of telling him not to do so but he just does not listen to me. Please advise him to give up eating jaggery. I am sure he will listen to you."
The saint looked at the young boy. He then told the mother, "Madam, please bring this boy to me again after a week."
After seven days, the mother brought her son to the saint again. The mother and the son greeted the saint, and sat before him.
The saint called the young boy to him and asked him to sit near him. He patted his back and said, "Dear boy, from now onwards, please do not eat jaggery. You must listen to what your mother tells you."
The young boy folded his hands in reverence and promised to give up eating jaggery.
The mother was astonished. She thought, "If the saint had to say just this to the boy, why didn't he do so seven days ago when I had first brought him here?" She was puzzled. She asked the saint to explain this.
The saint explained to her, "Madam, I used to enjoy eating jaggery. When I myself ate so much jaggery, what right did I have to ask the boy not to eat it? If, at that time, I had told your son not to eat jaggery, it would not have had any positive effect on him. For the past seven days, I have denied myself jaggery. So my words have a greater effect."
The saint was none other than Gyaneshwar, the great saint of Maharashtra.
The mother was astonished. She thought, "If the saint had to say just this to the boy, why didn't he do so seven days ago when I had first brought him here?" She was puzzled. She asked the saint to explain this.
The saint explained to her, "Madam, I used to enjoy eating jaggery. When I myself ate so much jaggery, what right did I have to ask the boy not to eat it? If, at that time, I had told your son not to eat jaggery, it would not have had any positive effect on him. For the past seven days, I have denied myself jaggery. So my words have a greater effect."
The saint was none other than Gyaneshwar, the great saint of Maharashtra.
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