Hare Krsna
Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada
"In this regard there is the story of a thief who went on a pilgrimage to a holy town, and on route he and the other
pilgrims stopped to rest overnight at an inn. Being addicted to stealing, the thief began making plans to steal the
other pilgrims' baggage, but he thought, "I'm going on a pilgrimage, so it doesn't seem appropriate that I should steal
this baggage. No, I shall not do it." Nonetheless, due to his habit, he could not keep his hands off the baggage. So he
picked up one person's bag and placed it in another place, and then another person's bag and placed it elsewhere. He
spent all night placing different bags in different places, but his conscience bothered him so that he could not take
anything from them. In the morning, when the other pilgrims awoke, they looked around for their bags and couldn't find
them. There was a great row, and eventually, one by one, they began to find the bags in various places. After they were
all found, the thief explained: "Gentlemen, I am a thief by occupation. Being that I am habituated to stealing at night,
I wanted to steal something from your bags, but I thought that since I am going to this holy place, it is not possible to
steal. So I may have rearranged the baggage, but please excuse me." This is the characteristic of a bad habit. He does
not want to commit theft anymore, but because he is habituated, sometimes he does. Thus Krsna says that one who has decided to refrain from his immoral habits and make progress in Krsna consciousness is to be considered a sadhu, even if out of past habit or by chance he yields to his fault."
From Srila Prabhupada's book; On the Way to Krsna ; The Way of Chanting and Knowing Krsna
Comments