Once we were waiting for the bus at the bus stop, and the heroin addict came. It was in Holland, and he said: “Hey man, hey man, do you have one doh?”I didn’t give him anything, because what will he do with it? I don’t give drug addicts money- no way! So, because I lived in India for a long time I kind of learned how to get rid of a beggar. I made a very cold face, and very impersonal. I didn’t make any eye contact. And I just went back and didn’t speak a word. Just raised my hands – always works.
The beggar was gone in seconds – no problem. But, then I had a new devotee with me. He had just joined, and he said: “No, no wait…wait!…come back!…come back!”
He called him back! And he says to this junkie:
“Open your mouth!”
The junkie is looking at him like: ‘Huuhhh!’
And he did open his mouth. I don’t know if he was surprised or what!
Anyway, just then this Bhakta pulls this brown piece of apple that he had for breakfast! (laughter)
It’s totally brown! And he says: “Prasaaaaduuum!” (laughter)
The junkie now, his mouth was wide open! – and the devotee just put it in his mouth!
So in this way he was pleasing him, because he put him on the path of happiness.
So when we act to please others, or to give them happiness – then we are free from lust!
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 31st August 2010)
