A devout king used to visit the hut of a Mahatma. He once requested the Mahatma to visit his palace, but the Mahatma avoided it saying that I smell a bad smell in your palace, hence I do not go. The king was very surprised, he thought in his mind that perfume is sprinkled in the palace, how can there be bad smell there? Don’t know how Mahatmaji says this? The king hesitated again and did not say anything. One day Mahatmaji went out for a walk taking the king with him.
While wandering, he reached the tanners’ colony and stood there in the shade of a Peepal tree. Leather was being made in nearby houses, somewhere it was drying, and somewhere new leather was being made. There was leather in every house and a foul smell was coming from it. The air flow was also there only. The king’s nose began to hurt due to the foul smell.
He said to Mahatmaji, “Lord! I can’t stand it because of the bad smell, please leave from here.” Mahatmaji said, “You are the one who smells? Look at the surrounding houses, there are so many men, women and children. Some are working, some are eating and drinking, all are having fun. No one smells, only you are smelling.” The king said, “Lord! They have become accustomed to earning money from leather and living in leather.
Their nose has become such that they cannot smell the smell of leather, but I am not a practitioner of it. So let’s go quickly, now we can’t stay here even for a moment.” The Mahatma laughed and said, “King, this is the condition of your royal palace also. While indulging in sensual pleasures, you do not smell the foul smell in them, you have become accustomed to them, but I feel nauseous just by looking at these worldly sensual pleasures. That’s why I didn’t go to your house.” The king had understood the secret, the Mahatma laughed and left from there taking the king with him.
Pramod Srivastava
