Vol. 5, The Phenomenon of the Soul 7. Reincarnation Present Age
In support of reincarnation a story is told of two friends who were going out on a holiday. One said, "Let us go to the temple, there we shall hear the name of God, we shall be uplifted." The other said, "You are always such a melancholy boy; you always find such dull occupations. We will not go to the temple, we will go where we can enjoy ourselves; we will go to the Gaiety." The first said, "I do not like that idea, I will not go with you." So they parted. The one who went to the temple on the way met with an accident from a wagon on the road and his foot was crushed. He thought, "What a good thing that my friend did not come with me; he too would have been injured." The other on his way to the Gaiety had great luck, he found a purse full of gold coins. He thought, "Thank God! If my friend had been with me, I should have had to share this with him.'
As soon as the first had recovered a little, he went to a Brahman and asked him, "What was the reason that I, who was on my way to the temple, had the bad luck to have my foot crushed, and my friend, who was on his way to the Gaiety, had the good luck to find this gold purse?" The Brahmin said, "The reason is that you in your former life did some very bad action, and you were meant to be killed, and not only killed but hanged for everybody to see, but it happened that only your foot was crushed. Your friend in his former life did some very good action and he was meant to be a king, but it happened for his present sins that he only found a purse full of gold coins."
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