The Spiritual Master's Wise Advice

A grandfather brought his grandchild to a spiritual man. The child was taking too many sweets, and they were ruining his health. The grandfather had tried in so many ways to help the child eat fewer sweets, but to no avail.

Earlier the grandfather had taken the little boy to a few doctors. The grandfather told the doctors, "My grandson does not listen to me when I ask him not to take so many sweets. Can you give him some medicine?"

The stupid doctors gave the boy some medicine so he would take fewer sweets, but it did not work at all. In fact, after taking the medicine, the little boy ate even more sweets!

The grandfather cried, "What can be done?"

The old man was helpless. He took his grandson to a spiritual Master. "Too many sweets are ruining my grandson's health," said the old man to the spiritual Master. "Every day he takes so many sweets. He even steals money from here, there and everywhere in order to buy sweets. He is our dearest, our only grandchild, so we cannot strike him. Only we are trying to advise him that too many sweets are bad for him. Alas, he will not listen to us."

The spiritual Master said, "Wait, wait! Please wait. Today I am very busy. Please come back in two weeks."

The grandfather said, "You are so busy that you cannot give me any advice?"

"No I cannot. I am sorry. I will take care of your grandson, I assure you. I will ask God to take care of him."

After two weeks had passed, the grandfather asked the spiritual Master when he could return. The spiritual Master said, "Please come to me today with your grandson. I will be able to help him."

When the grandfather brought his grandson to the spiritual Master, the Master spoke most lovingly and most affectionately to the little boy. He was showing his light to the grandson, and the little boy was so moved. He was absolutely wonder-struck at how much kindness, love, affection and light was coming from the spiritual Master. The grandson's heart was absorbing everything.

Then the little boy said, "I will stop. I promise I will take only very few sweets, but not many at all." The little boy was deeply moved by the beauty, compassion and concern that were emanating from the spiritual Master's eyes and face.

The grandfather said to the spiritual Master, "You are showing my grandson so much love. You have cured him and I am so grateful to you. But please tell me, why did you not do this two weeks ago? You are a spiritual man. If you were so busy at that moment, could you not have told us to come back later that day? Or you could have asked us to wait. We would have waited for hours. Please tell me what was wrong with you two weeks ago."

The spiritual Master answered, "For such a long time, I had the same problem that your grandson has. I was taking too many sweets! I saw that you were so miserable and I sincerely felt sorry for you. I said to myself, 'How stupid I am! I happen to be a spiritual man and yet I enjoy eating too many sweets. I am also doing the wrong thing.'

"You are an ordinary man, a simple man. You know that taking too many sweets is the wrong thing. That is why you were so worried about your grandson. I teach my students to take good care of their health. At the same time, I was not practising what I was preaching.

"When you brought this little boy to me, all of a sudden wisdom dawned on me — I saw that I was doing the same wrong thing as your grandson. I sympathised with you because he was not listening to you and I sympathised with him because he was ruining his health. I came to realise that only when I practise the right thing, will others be inspired to practise the right thing themselves.

"I had been fooling myself. You and your grandson gave me the golden opportunity to be sincere. I said to myself, 'Now let me take care of my health. Let me not take too many sweets.' On that day I told you to come back in two weeks, because I knew that in two weeks I would be able to conquer this problem of mine. Now that I have solved my problem, I am able to be of dedicated service to you and your dearest grandson."