FOOLISH HOG FARMER – STORY
There was a pig farmer who was always looking for a way to maintain his pigs cheaply so that he could make more money off his pigs, selling them at the market.
One day he happened to be walking by a stool field next to a village, a sandy field where the villagers went to pass stool.
He saw all these lumps of dry stool around and he thought, “This is a great opportunity. I can collect this stool, bring it to my hogs and for many days they will have sufficient food. I won’t have to pay anything to feed them, and in this way my profit will go up.”
So thinking in this way, he found a big basket, and he filled it up with these dry lumps of stool.
And then very happily he started down the road to his pig farm.
But on the way the clouds above grew dark, there was a sound of thunder, and rain started to fall.
The falling rain made the stool in the basket wet, and it began to ooze through the basket all over the head of this farmer, all over the head of this farmer, all over his shoulders and all over his clothes until he was completely brown and smelling very malodorous.
But he was simply absorbed in thinking, “Oh, I’m very clever. For no cost at all I’ve gotten this big basket of pig food on my head. Very nice.”
So he was very happily running down the road.
Some people had gathered underneath a tree to get free from the rain, and they saw this apparition, this brown fellow running down the road with a big smile on his face.
They were very astonished, very shocked.
They called out to him, “Sir, what’s wrong with you? Are you mad? Can’t you see that you’re covered from head to foot with stool? Why are you running like this?”
They were shocked, so they were demanding, “Please explain why you are running down the road like this covered with stool?”
And he was very offended to hear their words. In great indignation he said back to them, “What do you mean, saying this is stool? This is not stool. This is pig food.”
And he went on his way.
MORAL:
This is an example of impure association. Because of strong attachment, Possessiveness, this man could accept being smeared from head to foot with pig stool, very happily. He wasn’t even considering that his position was abominable. He was thinking, “No, it’s very nice.” Similarly the eternal spirit soul, who is meant only to serve Krishna, because of harbouring lust, anger, greed, madness, illusion and envy within the heart, the soul has also been smeared from head to foot with stool in the form of this material body.
And yet we see in this world so many are very happy about that. If it is pointed out to them, “My dear sir, why are you covered from head to foot with stool?” They will become indignant. “What do you mean I’m covered with stool? This is not stool, this is me. This is very nice.” And the mind is making plans to enjoy this Stool. It never crosses their mind that there is anything obnoxious about this condition.
(Story of 12 Siravanas that clears the sins just on hearing or reading! READ HERE!)
