One morning Ramdas Kathiya Baba was walking along the bank of a river where a British boat was anchored. The British sailors were in a very undivine mood on that day. When they saw a man practically naked walking along the bank of the river, one of the sailors took offence and wanted to shoot the man with his revolver. He fired a few times, but all in vain. He could not seem to aim properly at this man, who was walking very fast. His friends were amused and, at the same time, non-plussed, for this sailor happened to be a good shot.

When his friends started to laugh at him, the sailor became furious. He could not understand what was wrong with him. Suddenly he felt an unseen hand very powerfully force him to drop the revolver, which fell into the water. When he told his friends what had just happened, they immediately raised their hands and cheered the Indian sadhu, and begged him to forgive them, for they were afraid that he would create some calamity for them.

Commentary:

Destruction is a human tendency. Preservation is a divine tendency. The sailor wanted to destroy the Indian sadhu; God wanted to preserve him. The power that creates and the power that preserves can easily smash the pride of the power that destroys. The sailor, who represented destruction, had to challenge God the Creator and God the Preserver at the same time; therefore, he and his friends quite naturally realised that he would lose to the sadhu if he continued his destructive efforts.

Sri Chinmoy