Once ShriMaharaj asked a teacher in an engineering college, 'Is it correct that your students are taught carpentry, smithy, etc. ?' The teacher said, "Yes, we call it 'workshop practice'." Thereupon ShriMaharaj asked, "What price will the articles prepared by the students fetch if they are offered for sale in the market ?" The teacher said, "No one will purchase them even as scrap." ShriMaharaj asked again, "How much amount is spent on these articles?" The teacher replied, "A lot of expense is incurred. There is a lot of capital expense such as buildings, machinery, etc.; besides, expenses are also incurred on special teaching staff, lighting, running the machines.
And including the cost of wood and steel actually used, the total expense incurred is huge." On hearing this, ShriMaharaj said, "Then is it not uneconomic to incur this unreasonable expense only to create utterly worth-less things ?" Upon this the teacher said, 'Maharaj, if this is looked upon as a business, it is all a dead loss. But it is necessary to incur this huge expense in order that the students, who are to be engineers in future, may somewhat understand from experience what precautions to exercise, what problems arise, what operations and skills are required.' ShriMaharaj said, "Likewise, in attainment of God, there is a definite necessity of worldly life, so that restraining of passions, maintaining equanimity, performing duty eschewing attachment, putting up with honours and insults, praise and censure, may be practised. But if one lives worldly life with the idea of making a profit, that is, in the hope that happiness will result from worldly life, it will prove to be utterly wrong and loss - making,
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