Fun With Sai

Acid Test

A story which Bhagavan has often repeated is the one that demonstrates the futility of scholarship and literary attainments without practical knowledge.

Once there was a learned pundit [scholar] who had mastered all the vedas and sastras [Hindu scriptures]. He set out one day for a neighboring village which he could reach only by crossing a river. He boarded a boat, and to pass time he asked the boatman some questions. “Can you tell the time by looking at a watch?” was the first question. The simple illiterate boatman replied in the negative. At this, the arrogant pundit laughed derisively, and told the boatman that one quarter of his life was as good as wasted. The next query was whether the boatman could read a newspaper, which is a common practice now. The boatman confessed his illiteracy and the proud pundit mockingly told him that half of his life was lost in the river. The third query the scholar put to him was whether he could sing a song. The boatman gave a negative reply. The pundit told the simple boatman derogatively that three-fourths of his life was lost.

Just then the sky was overcast with dark clouds, and a terrific wind began to blow. A fierce storm broke out and the boat was being thrown here and there by the swirling waters of the river. The boatman at this juncture took the turn of questioning the pundit. He asked him, “Sir, can you swim?” The pundit replied in the negative. The boatman exclaimed, “If you can’t swim, the whole of your life will be wasted.” The hapless pundit was swept away by the current when the boat sank. The unlettered boatman, who could swim like a fish, crossed the river and reached the other bank safely.

There are innumerable instances of this type, where Bhagavan Baba brings home to the people very great truths through stories filled with wit and subtle humor, making the listeners not only laugh at the jokes, but also learn valuable lessons from them.

Sai Humor, p. 31

Bar-Man!

A barrister was in the habit of drinking and he would come home drunk. His wife went to Swami to tell Him about her husband’s bad habit.

At an interview Swami asked her, “Does your husband practice behind the bar or in front of the bar?” even before she could complain to Him.

Sai Humor, p. 22