Vaat 6.198
Swamini Vato Prakaran 6 Vaat 198 · 6 · Verse 198
Sanskrit Original
Bījā to Sūrā Bhaktanā Āpānā jevā puṇya kare chhe. Te Āpo Kāshīe rūpiyā pāchse vāṇiyānā vyāje kāḍhīne gayā. Te Dhoḷkāmā sārā keḷā ne kerī ādik sāru dīṭhu eṭale tyā rahyā. Pachhī badhu khāīne varas ek thayu tyāre vās laīne kāvaḍ karī ne vachche Sābarmatīthī pāṇī bharīne āvyā. Tyā to sau sāmā gayā ne gāmmā āvyā. Pachhī olye vāṇiye ugharāṇī karī, tyāre kahe je, “Deshu.” Pachhī zāzā divas thayā eṭale akaḷāīne kahyu je, “Kā to rūpiyā dyo ne kā to Gangājīnu puṇya dyo.” Pachhī to Āpānā chhokarā sau kahe je, “Nā puṇya to nahī.” Tyāre Āpo kahe, “De re de, puṇya to dīdhā jīmo chhe.”1 em kahīne kānmā Dhoḷakānu kahyu. Pachhī to puṇya dīdhu, tyā to mar vāṇiyāno chhokaro, pachhī bāyaḍī ne pachhī pote; ā jo! Puṇya jagatmā evā thāy chhe. Em kahīne hasyā ne pachhī kahe, Mahārāj evī vātu karāvtā. Footnotes: 1. 1. Puṇya devā jevu chhe.
“People in this world collect merits like Sura Bhakta’s father. His father borrowed 500 rupees on interest from a merchant to go to Kashi (travel to a holy place of pilgrimage). On the way in Dholakā, he saw delicious bananas and mangoes, so he stayed there and ate for one year. Afterward, he made a kāvad from a bamboo lath, filled water from the Sābarmati River, and headed back to his village. The merchant came to collect his money. He said, ‘I’ll give.’ After many days passed, the merchant became furious and said, ‘Either repay the money I loaned or give me the merits you collected from the Ganga River.’ The old man’s children said, ‘No. Do not give him the merits.’ Their father said, ‘Give. Give. It is worth giving him the merits.’ Then, he whispered in his children’s ear about how he spent his time in Dholakā. Then, he gave the merchant the merits (water from the Sābarmati River). Then, the merchant’s son died. Then his wife died. Then he himself died. Look how people in this world collect merits.”1 Swami laughed after saying this much. Then, Swami said, “Maharaj used to share stories like this.” Footnotes: 1. 1. In his folk tales, Brahmaswarup Yogiji Maharaj explains the moral of this story: People in this world collect fake merits like this. Therefore, one should think carefully before asking for others’ merits. (Yogiji Maharajni Bodh Kathao: Katha 17)