On Ekadashi Gurupriya Mai was going from her house in Nainital to the temple to
have darshan
and saw the priest of Pashan Devi temple on her way. All of a sudden an
idea flashed in her mind that she should give him food that was to be
given to a brahmin on Ekadashi. She took him
home, and since
the priest did not accept uncooked food and wanted to have a cooked
meal, she gave him a proper seat, brought a plateful of food from the
kitchen, and asked him to eat. While eating, the priest saw a
photograph of Maharaj hanging on the wall in front of him. He said,
"Who is that hypocrite in that photo?" Gurupriya felt hurt by his words
and became annoyed inside. She had thought of giving ten rupees to the
priest, but because he had hurt her feelings, she changed her mind. She
decided to give him only one rupee. She had two notes in her box, a
ten-rupee note and a one-rupee note. When the priest had eaten his
meal, she sent him off with one rupee.
She then went to Leela
Mai's house, where Baba was staying. Baba had been sitting all by
himself in his room while his meal was being cooked. Gurupriya arrived
as the food was being served to him. Baba ate a little and left the
remaining food on his plate. In spite of Leela Mai's earnest request
for him to have some more, Baba refused saying, "Gurupriya
has made me eat already today and I have cheated her of ten rupees."
Gurupriya could not understand what Baba meant. She had offered food to
the priest not Baba, and she had given him a one-rupee note not ten
rupees." Baba immediately took out the new ten-rupee note and showed it
to her. Gurupriya could not believe it. When she returned to her house,
she opened the box and found a one-rupee note, not the ten-rupee note,
inside. Who was that priest that called Baba a hypocrite?
|