THE BLIND MAN AND THE COW
Charlotte Bhakti Yoga
He was supposed to be married. So he was going to his father in law's
house to meet his family and bride to be. But because he was blind, he
got lost. He followed the road but became unsure of what direction to
take. So he heard from the field the mooing of cows and he heard some
flute being played.
There was a cowherd boy there. So he called out, "Cowherd boy, I am
trying to find the house of such and such man. Can you give me
direction? Maybe you can lead me." The cowherd boy said, "I'm sorry,
I'm herding these cows. But I tell you what, the calf of one of these
cows is at the very address you are seeking. So this cow will go there
automatically if I let her go from the herd. You just take her tail.
There," and he put the tail in the man's hand. Immediately the cow
began to run, dragging the poor blind man behind him. And because the
cow didn't like this man hanging off her tail, she ran over the
roughest ground she could find, ran through thorns, over brambles,
through thickets and every once in a while whe gave the man a good kick
in the head just for good measure. He still didn't let go. By the time
he reached the father in law's house he was completely stripped of all
clothes. He was covered with blood and muc, big lumps on his head. He
was completely disshevelled and staggering, moaning and groaning in
pain.
It so happened that the choukidar (guard) was standing in front of the
father in law's house, and he saw this sight, a cow running madly and
one naked man being dragged behind the tail. The choukidar took his
stick. "Rascal cow thief!" And gave him a sound beating, breaking his
bones. This was his welcome.
MORAL: This is a story told by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur
to illustrate that one must have guru. One cannot take cow as one's
spiritual master which the materialists do. They say, "I don't follow
anyone." But they follow their own mind and senses and they are also
cow and ass (go-kharah). The problem is, that even if one arrives at
the right destination (Krsna consciousness) if one has not taken a
bonafide guru, then he will not be recognized.