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THE WAY OF LIFE
Jatashankar was running a Balamandir (a home foi children) in his house. He was not collecting fee from children. He was not collecting money from them. The children used to bring sweets for Jatashankar, when sweets were prepared in their houses. There was one boy among them who was not bringing that gitt of sweets to Jatashankar. Jatashankar noticed that the boy was not bringing sweets but he did not say anything to him. One day, an incident happened. He brought for the master, Kheer (a sweet preparation) in a clay bowl. The boy said to Jatashankar, "To-day is the birth-day of my younger brother; therefore my mother prepared kheer and she has sent this for you”. Jatashankar was greatly happy. He began drinking the kheer at that place in the presence of all the children. After having drunk half the quantity of the kheer in the bowl, he asked the boy, "Dear boy, you tell me how to-day your mother has become so generous. She has sent me a bowl full of kneer". The young boy said, "My mother had poured the kheer into a large plate and had gone to fetch water. I was playing outside the house. Meanwhile, a black dog came there and began licking the kheer. My mother came there fetching the water and she saw what was happening. She turned away the dog. We could not drink the kheer because it was licked by a dog. It had become unfit for our consumption. Mummy said to me, "Take this kheer and give it to your master”. So, I poured it into this pot and brought it here."
On hearing this, Jatashankar was so terribly angry that he threw the bowl on the ground with all his might. The bowl broke into pieces and the kheer splashed on the ground. In great anger, Jatashankar chid the boy, "Stupid fellow, you have profaned me." The boy began to weep loudly. Jatashankar asked him, "Why are you weeping ?” The boy said, "The bowl has been broken into pieces. My mother will beat me". Jatashankar grew very angry and said, "What was there in it? It was after all a clay bowl. Tell your mother that your master broke it into pieces.” The boy said, "My mother used always this bowl for my younger brother to pass his stools into it.” Having said this, the boy ran away. Jatashankar's eyes grew wide with shock and disgust. A feeling of sickness came over him.
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