14. The dhoti

My brother had a special dhoti. When I saw that particular dhoti, I wanted to have it, and I started crying for it. How could my brother tell me that it was for our father when he dies? I was such a fool! I went to my father and told him that my brother had such a nice dhoti and he would not give it to me.

My father got the point. He said to my brother, “I am not going to die soon. You give it to him!”

When my father uttered the word “die,” I felt miserable, and tears came into my eyes. After that I didn’t take my brother’s dhoti.

Sri Chinmoy, Awakening, Citadel Press, Edinburgh, 1988