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where some village people served them food. Then they took a rest.
When Gurudev ended his meditation, he caught sight of some seven or eight Bhils coming from a distance. They were equipped with bows and arrows. The moment his eyes fell upon them, the air became charged with the sweet fragrance of his universal feeling. Gurudev lovingly called out to them, “Come, my brothers, come here! Let us talk with one another!” The men were open like innocent children. The Bhils told him of their love for the trees, hills, and dales of the district. They laughed over their booty and plunder and boasted of their hiding places.
When the talk turned to highway robbery, Gurudev told them how afraid the village people were of them. “We were warned not to go into these hills without an escort. The people fear you very much.”
The leader of the Bhils laughed and explained, “We do not rob the people. Only the rich of the town deserve to be robbed, the ones who fear the poor and deprive them of their rightful earnings by their oily tongues and superior wits. These rich people show no pity for the poor. Why should we be merciful to them?"
He tried to explain to them that their philosophy was distorted. "If someone robs you of your money, how can you be at liberty to rob him? That is not justice. Two wrongs don't make one right. Justice is when both sides agree with one another.” The Bhils did not agree. At times Gurudev could not follow their words as they spoke in their coarse jungle dialect. So he smiled and remained quiet. Before going on their way, they volunteered to return in the morning to accompany the sadhus to the next village.
"The jungle track is rough, Maharaj, so be sure and wait for us! We will be back!” They parted in peace. Gurudev watched them go with their strident steps. They were ill-clad in only torn dhotis. They knew only the law of the jungle, but their hearts were uncontaminated, and their senses keen and natural.
I only they were given the right sort of knowledge, if only they were treated with sympathetic understanding! Gurudev talked this over with his father as they disappeared from sight.
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