Chinna Katha - 55 (Superstitions and Blind Imitation) (Short Story, As told by Bhagavan Sri Satya Sai Baba)

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"SUPERSTITIONS AND BLIND IMITATION"

(Short Story, as told by Bhagavan SRI SATHYA SAI BABA)

In the years gone by, every village home was stocked full of paddy bags, and so,

rats too inevitably infested every home.

 

In one such home they were celebrating every full moon day, the rite called

Satyanarayana Puja.

This required the collection of a good quality of milk and ghee, the previous

night itself. The

 

rats attracted cats and the cats often preferred milk and ghee to the rodent

food they are accustomed to. So, the milk and ghee were carefully kept in

places, out of reach of the cats. But, during the celebrations on the sacred

day, the milk and ghee had to be kept open and available for use, in vessels

around the shrine. That was the chance for the deprecatory cat; so the master

of the house caught the cat by the neck and put it under a heavy basket, and

placed a stone on it, so that it could not play any mischief with the holy

offerings.

 

This was done so consistently every full moon day as a safety measure in one

home that the children and grand-children felt that, Puja or no Puja, no full

moon day should pass without a cat being imprisoned under a weighted basket!

 

They started searching for a cat and bring it home, so that the ritual of the

cat and basket could be observed without fail.

 

The original meaning and purpose was lost during the passage of time and later

generation were burdened with a belief that danger lurks if a cat is not dealt

with in the way, of their forefathers.

 

>From being and insufferable nuisance, the cat rose to a new status of

importance! This is a blind imitation.

 

 

(Story #55, from the Book: "CHINNA KATHA")