Sadhus, to whatever denomination, sect or creed they might belong, are welcome to Anandashram. Sometimes we found scuffles and fighting going on amongst them in the Ashram Dharmashala. One would say to the other, "You should not touch me, stand further away! You belong to a lower sect. You have no business to sit close to me. Why did you touch my leaf? You have polluted the leaf on which I served my food," and so on and so forth.
Once, a a sadhu came to the Ashram who would not eat food in the common Ashram dining hall. So he cooked his food separately. He was given the necessary provision, such as rice, dal, ghee, wheat flour and vegetables. One day, he had taken a bucket from the Ashram for storing water. He had, of course, his own lota or small water vessel, which was used by him for drinking water and other purposes. He had also kept the bucket, nearly half full by his side. It was rather close to the plantain leaf on which he had, as usual, served his food, prepared by himself. He sat down for eating.
Just then a woaman worker of the Ashram came there. She wanted the bucket, as it was the one she used for washing utensils. She was about to take the vessel, going near it. She had hardly touched it, when the sadhu shouted: "How did you dare touch my bucket? You have polluted the whole place. I cannot take this food".
He bacame wild with fury and started cursing and shouting at her. We could hear him in the Ashram. He was jumping about with uncontrollable fury. The woman, unable to stand all this, ran away from the place and came to Mataji. Mataji asked her, "What is the matter?" she replied, "I committed a blunder. I was about to take the bucket which was with that sadhu." "What happened?" asked Mataji. The woman answered that the sadhu was wild with rage for the sacrilege and that she hurriedly left the place. In a moment another person came and reported to Mataji: "The sadhu was collected all the food he had cooked and served along with the leaf and thrown everything away to the dogs! He is still fretting and fuming. Nobody dare approach him."
The sadhu was short and stout in stature and had a ferocious look. He had a grisly beard and matted hair on his head. Mataji looked at his wild behaviour from a distance and found he was burning with anger. He looked like a modern Durvasa in action. She felt something must be done to calm him down. She went inside the kitchen store. There were in it some water melons. She cut them into nicely shaped pieces and got also some fine variety of plantains and two tender coconuts. All these she placed on a plate and asked another worker to take it to the sadhu. She also followed the worker to the place where the sadhu was.
When the sadhu saw the plate with the juicy red melon pieces and other fine fruits, and Mataji coming along with them, his anger cooled down a bit. Mataji said to him: "The woman worker committed a mistake, but she never intentionally did it. Will you just take these fruits on the plate?" She handed him also a big pitcher full of sweet warm milk. He now sat down and began to eat, and when nearly half the fruit and milk were finished, he came back to normal.
Mataji is a tamer of lions. A smile appeared on the sadhu's face when the whole quantity of fruits and milk went down. Now he was perfectly cheerful. Mataji then asked him: "How do you feel?" He replied, "Quite happy, mother!" At last, he went about telling everybody that Mataji was supremely gracious. "The food I had prepared was nothing in comparison" he said. "What she gave me was the very nectar. My body was burning, but now it has cooled down, I am most happy and grateful to her!" -By Swami Ramdas
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