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Story 39: Blacksmith and Potter

     In the village of Vilaspur lived a blacksmith named Vamacaran. One he went to Haripur to visit a friend who was a potter. He found his friend engaged in the delicate work of hammering a copper pot into the right shape. Vamacaran asked if he could help; his friend said yes, so he took a hammer and smashed the pot flat in one blow.

     The moral may be summed up thusly: "Same tool, different technique." Though both blacksmiths and potters use hammers, the way they use them is very different. Similarly, though materialists may think they understand the methodology of devotional service to Krsna, the fact is unless they submissively learn from a qualified devotee the science of bhakti-yoga, their efforts to worship the Lord will be like the blacksmith's efforts to shape a pot with a hammer. An example of a materialistic worshiper is the pancopasaka.

Story 40: Idiot Gardener and Silly Pandit

     There was a landlord, who, while strolling through his courtyard, saw his gardener watering the leaves and flowers of the plants, but not the roots, and his pandit stuffing his ears, nose and eyes with food and chanting om karnabhyam svaha, om nasikabhyam svaha, om caksurbham svaha.

     This story is to illustrate the foolishness of demigod worshipers.

Story 41: Open the Door to Get Light on Your Floor

     When a spoiled young man who was pampered by his parents once overslept in his bolted and shuttered room, his family gathered outside to awaken him. Inside his room it was dark, so he yelled out, "Why are you waking me in the middle of the night? It's time to sleep!"

     The family called back, "Night has passed long ago. It's almost mid-day! The sun is shining high in the sky."

     The young man replied, "If the sun is so bright, let it shine into this room. Then I'll know it is day."

     The family called back, "Open the door to get light on your floor!"

     This story is used to answer those who say that only foolish people say God is merciful. God shows no mercy on the world, because it is such a terrible place. But the answer is, the suffering materialists live in darkness by their own refusal to open their lives up to the sun-like mercy of Krsna.

Story 42: How Often will a Shaven-headed Man
Visit a Wood-apple Tree?

     There was a man who kept his head clean-shaven. When he passed underneath a particular bael (wood-apple) tree, a baelfruit fell on his head. The next day it happened again. Later, when he was walking with some friends and they appeoached that same tree, he left the group and made a wide circle around the tree, then rejoined his friends on the other side. His friends asked him why he did this, and his answer was, "How often will a shaven-headed man visit a wood-apple tree?

     The shaven-headed man represents an intelligent person, who after experiencing the ills of material existence, turns away from it and pursues Krsna consciousness.

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