Stories told by Śrīla Prabhupāda
<< 21 Two sadhus who were walking on the road, they came to a river >>

Oh, I didn’t write this down to read, but I like the story. It also illustrates an important point in Krishna consciousness. There were two sadhus who were walking on the road, they came to a river which was so deep, and there was no bridge and no boat to cross the river. Just as they were ready to wade through the water to get to the other side, a pregnant woman came up and asked them: “Please sadhus, could you help me get across to the other side, please carry me, because I am very heavy with child and not strong and if I enter that water something bad may happen to me.” One sadhu looked at the other and his friend said: “Oh, don’t do it, we are sadhus what do we have to do with women.” The other sadhu said: “That’s right, but this poor lady is pregnant.” “Pregnant or not, it is no business of ours.” Then the other sadhu who felt very compassionate said: “Anyway, I will help her.” The other one said: “Well, if you want to be in maya, then I won’t stop you.” So that sadhu, he carried the lady on his shoulders across the river. And when he got to the other side, he put her down and they went their separate ways. For about two miles the two sadhus continued walking but they were not talking. Then finally that other sadhu, he couldn’t contain himself anymore, he said: “It was very bad that you carried that lady across the river on your shoulder, very bad.” And the other sadhu replied: “Look, I only carried her across the river, but you are still carrying her in your mind, why don’t you drop her? We’ve already gone two miles. I forgot her when I put her down, but all this time we’ve being walking you just been thinking lady, lady, lady.”

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