GO SLOW
There was a middle-class household in a small town
where the wife was daily pleading with the husband to spend some
little time in prayer and reverential worship of God. The husband
refused to yield, for, as he said, he
had no time to spare for such pastimes which are best taken up during
old age, when the process of earning and spending receives a natural
setback and there will be ample leisure. The pious lady could not
derive any consolation from this reply. She could only wait for
some more auspicious opportunity when her advice would fall on receptive
ears.
Meanwhile, the husband was affected by a serious
illness and he was bedridden for a few weeks. The doctors advised
him to take some tablets thrice a day. The wife accepted the task
of administering the tablets and kept them with her; however, she
did not give him even one.
The husband was put out by her intransigence. He
demanded the tablets, but she was firm in her resolve. In reply
to his question, “Are you conspiring to kill me?” she
said, “Wait, wait, why hurry to take the medicine so soon?
Let the illness become more serious. Why all this haste? Go slow,
go slow. There is enough time, as you said when I wanted you to
pray and do Namasmarana.” The husband realised that
his stand was foolish. So, he mended his ways, and cured himself
of both types of illness.
- Baba
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