One day the pet cat was lying on one side of the courtyard. A devotee was caressing it with her foot. Gradually she placed her foot on its head. At this the Mother said to her, “Oh my child, what are you doing? The head is the place of the Guru. One should not touch the head with the foot. Salute the cat.

A beggar arrived and began to cry for alms. The monks were annoyed and scolded him, “Go away, don’t bother us now.” Mother heard this and said, “Just look at that! They have sent him away, just because they would have to leave their own work to bring him alms. Even this little thing they couldn’t do! How lazy of them! They couldn’t give a handful of alms to a beggar! Is it right to deprive a man of his just dues? Look at this vegetable peel — even this is the cow’s due; one must place it before the cow.”

MESSAGES AND STORIES OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

Speech delivered by Swami Vivekananda at the World's Parliament of Religions, Chicago 15th September, 1893

I will tell you a little story. You have heard the eloquent speaker who has just finished say, "Let us cease from abusing each other," and he was very sorry that there should be always so much variance.

But I think I should tell you a story which would illustrate the cause of this variance. A frog lived in a well. It had lived there for a long time. It was born there and brought up there, and yet was a little, small frog. Of course the evolutionists were not there then to tell us whether the frog lost its eyes or not, but, for our story's sake, we must take it for granted that it had its eyes, and that it every day cleansed the water of all the worms and bacilli that lived in it with an energy that would do credit to our modern bacteriologists. In this way it went on and became a little sleek and fat. Well, one day another frog that lived in the sea came and fell into the well.

"Where are you from?"

"I am from the sea."

"The sea! How big is that? Is it as big as my well?" and he took a leap from one side of the well to the other.

"My friend," said the frog of the sea, "how do you compare the sea with your little well?”

Then the frog took another leap and asked, "Is your sea so big?"

"What nonsense you speak, to compare the sea with your well!"

"Well, then," said the frog of the well, "nothing can be bigger than my well; there can be nothing bigger than this; this fellow is a liar, so turn him out."

That has been the difficulty all the while.

I am a Hindu. I am sitting in my own little well and thinking that the whole world is my little well. The Christian sits in his little well and thinks the whole world is his well. The Mohammedan sits in his little well and thinks that is the whole world. I have to thank you of America for the great attempt you are making to break down the barriers of this little world of ours, and hope that, in the future, the Lord will help you to accomplish your purpose.

GOLDEN MESSAGES OF MA SARADA DEVI

r himself totally at His feet, He will do everything for him. One must bear with everything, because it is all due to cause and effect, according to one's Karma. And Karma counteracts the effects of one's previous Karma…. If you do a good act, it cancels the effects of your evil deeds. If one prays, takes the Name of God and thinks of Him, the effects of evil are cancelled."

SOME INCIDENCES OF SWAMI SHIVANANDA MAHARAJ

One morning Swami Shivananda (known as Mahapurush) was sitting on his cot. He seemed solemn and indrawn but suddenly said to the attendant standing near, “Will you go and see if there is someone who wants initiation?”1 When the attendant went out, he found a young woman from a village who wanted initiation. However, when enquired, he found out that she had kept bad company and gone astray, and had led a sinful life. In a sad tone she asked, “May I not see him [Mahapurushji] once?”

When the attendant returned, Swami Shivananda asked very earnestly, “Tell me, is someone there?” The attendant replied very reluctantly, “Maharaj it is a lady who wants initiation, but…” Mahapurush remarked, “What of that? Ask her to bathe in the Ganges and come to me after visiting the shrine. Sri Ramakrishna is the redeemer of the fallen. He came especially to uplift them. What will happen to them if he does not come to their rescue? One could not then call him the savior of the fallen.”

When the woman came to him after bath for initiation, he spoke to her as if he knew everything about her life: “What is there to fear, my daughter? You will certainly be blessed since you have taken refuge in Sri Ramakrishna, our Master and savior. Say this, 'Whatever sins I have committed in this life and in lives past, I offer them here [i.e., to the Master] and I will sin no more.' ” After initiation, the woman appeared to be an altogether new person.