A woman was "possessed" by an evil spirit. That spirit used to enter the woman's body and meet ShriMaharaj. ShriMaharaj once set out to go to Karnataka. After having taken leave of all, ShriMaharaj also took leave of the evil spirit. The spirit then said to ShriMaharaj, "Maharaj, you are going out of town for many days. I become restless on not seeing you. So please return soon." The brother of the "possessed" woman said, "Maharaj, you have been pampering this spirit too much, and so it has become bold enough to harass my sister." Upon this ShriMaharaj said, "Did you listen to what the spirit said ? In truth, if one understands the condition 'a fettered soul', then it will become clear that there is not much difference between it and you. Not one of you said to me what it said to me. So who has the greater eagerness to be free from the fettered state ? I face another kind of difficulty. A fettered soul, that spirit and you are the same; but because I have to spend all my time with you I cannot even say to you, 'You are all ghosts'; on the contrary I have to treat everyone respectfully."
