Two persons were due to superannuate at about the same time. Of them, one was in sound health, had a wife and children, and was in every way fit. His superior offered him extension of service. His reply was that, as heretofore, he would consult his sadguru and follow his advice. So he asked ShriMaharaj, and, as advised, declined to accept the extension.
The advice was surprisingly against dictates of practical 'common sense1 and the employer pitied the man who blindly obeyed such a Sadguru . As it turned out, the man's son got employed, and there was no loss in the total earning of the family.
The other man who was superannuating about the same time was a widower, without children, and a weakling. ShriMaharaj advised him to apply and try for an extension, and after a deal of importunity got it.
There was, in the eyes of a common, worldly man, a clear contradiction in the advice given by ShriMaharaj. A devotee later sought an explanation. ShriMaharaj explained, ' The second party, already a bereaved one with a frail body, would have only brooded over his ' poor' luck, and made himself more miserable, so it was in his interest to have some occupation in old age; whereas it was only proper for the other person, comfortable in all ways, to spend his leisure in contemplation and service of Rama, rather than continue to serve and employ his physical strength in earning more and superfluous money.
