"We Neglect The Soul, The Atma, Which Is Precious..."

On one occasion, a group of school boys from kavitha went to meet Shrimadji and to listen to his preaching. 


Shrimadji was at the time staying on the outskirts of the town.


Shrimadji said to them, 'My dear boys, will you answer a question I would put to you?'


The boys readily agreed. 


Shrimadji then said, 'Supposing you have two pots, one in either hand, one filled with ghee, and the other with butter-milk. 


Suppose, while walking along, you are thrown off balance by a stranger who accidentally bumps into you which of the two pots will you prefer to save first?'


A boy called Girdhar answered, saying they would prefer to save the pot full of ghee.


Shrimadji asked, 'Why so? After all, both ghee and butter-milk are made from the same source.'


The boy said, 'If the butter-milk gets spilt you will certainly find someone to fill it up again, many times over, But no one will offer to fill up the pot of ghee once it is spilt.'


Shrimadji thereupon said, commenting on the significance of the difference:


'We, as living beings, seek to preserve intact this body of ours which is like the butter-milk, while we neglect the soul, the atma, which is precious like the ghee in the pot. 


Our perception as living beings is so inverted. 
But one who recognizes the inner worth of the soul, of the atma, would seek to preserve the soul as well with the same care he would preserve the ghee in the pot. 


In an hour of crises, he would dispense with the body, for you are going to re-gain the body anyway, without your doing anything in particular for it. 


The moment you have accumulated a load of karma, you are going to be saddled with a body as a bonus, free of any charge, so that you may suffer the consequences of the same karma.'