Equal to a Thousand
Ramdas was poor, but he worked hard. He had a small plot of land. Whatever was produced on it was just enough for him to make both ends meet. But he ate and spent as little as possible and saved as much as he could. This he did for years. With the money he saved- which was not much-he bought coconuts from the people of his village and put them in a cart and carried them to the town. He sold them at some profit. After a few months, he bought even more coconuts and hired two carts and gained a greater profit by selling them in the town. He repeated this several times and made a profit every time. But he spent not a single coin from his gains for himself. He continued to wear tattered clothes and go without a pair of slippers. He never ate anything better than coarse rice. Who would think anything but that he was a great miser? He alone knew that he was not. If he saved, it was because he cherished a sweet dream. That was to once feed a thousand worthy souls on his birthday. At last, he knew that he had gathered enough money to fulfill his dream. As the birthday was near he consulted the chief priest of the village on how to find a thousand worthy souls. "What difficulty is there to find a thousand worthy souls? To begin with, I am one, my five sons and fifteen grandsons make twenty more. Other priests of this village and the villages nearby can be counted to make up the rest," replied the priest.
"Fine. I will meet each one of them personally and request them to have food at my house on my birthday," said Ramdas. Ramdas had several friends among the poor. They helped him to clear the ground in front of his house and erect a thatch. Priests known to be good hands at cooking were booked for the great day. On a sacred day Ramdas's house wore a festive look. The cooks arrived in due time and began their work, assisted by the villagers. But it so happened that a big party of guests descended on the local landlord a little before midday. The landlord sent for a few cooks. But they were not available. "Sir! Ramdas is celebrating the birthday with great pomp and show. He is going to feed a thousand priests. All the cooks are engaged by him," a servant reported to the landlord. "What did you say, poor Ramdas is feeding a thousand priests? Are you drunk, fellow? You think feeding a thousand priests, mind you is as easy a thing as feeding a thousand fish?" growled the landlord. "I know, sir, that so far nobody but yourself and your heaven gone forefathers had dared to feed a thousand priests. But, I repeat sir, that is the feat Ramdas is keen to perform," said the servant. The landlord stood fuming. In poor Ramdas, he saw an adversary who challenged his supremacy.
"What does Ramdas think of himself? A landlord?" he hurled the question at his servant angrily. "I don't think he thinks of himself a landlord at the moment standing under a mere thatch. But, who knows, he might be thinking of becoming one!" replied the mischievous servant who knew that at times it pays to infuriate his master against some innocent fellow. Soon the landlord's manager reached there and commented, "If anybody has the right to feed a thousand priests, it is our noble landlord!" This made it quite easy for the landlord to come to a decision. "We too will feed a thousand priests. Summon the cooks and ask the priests to have their food here-not at Ramdas's," ordered the landlord. The cooks Ramdas had engaged were obliged to rush to the landlord's house. Half a dozen messengers ran through the villages asking the priests to dine at landlord's and not at Ramdas's. Ramdas met the landlord and appealed, "Sir, I have already boiled the rice and cut the vegetables for a thousand guests...."
"That is no problem," cut in the landlord. "I will see that they are not wasted." At the landlord's instruction, his servants carried the rice and vegetables Ramdas had collected to the landlord's house. "Remember, Ramdas, that if you feed any guest today, you will repent for the rest of your life," the landlord warned him. Ramdas sat on his deserted veranda with a blank look. "Am I such a sinner, god, that my long-cherished dream to feed a thousand souls be shattered?" he asked his God in his heart. He then tried to get over his disappointment by his own reserve of humor. "Well, at least let me not starve myself on my birthday," he told himself and collected a handful of rice and pulse that lay scattered on his floor and cooked them. He was about to eat when a little boy appeared on the veranda and said, "What! were you not going to throw a feast? I let myself go hungry for the whole day so that I could relish what you offer!" Ramdas brought the little food he had cooked and placed it before the boy on a banana leaf. As the boy began to eat, he told him the whole episode, "Oh, it matters not if you could not feed a thousand fellows. You are feeding me. That is enough," commented the boy. "You amuse me, boy! You are equal to a thousand, are you?" asked Ramdas. "Yes, if not more," replied the boy calmly and he went to wash his hands. Ramdas had a hearty laugh at the boy's answer. He then sat down to eat whatever was left on the leaf. The landlord had asked a servant to keep a watch on Ramdas's house, to see if anybody dared to respond to his invitation.
The landlord happened to pass by Ramdas's house when the servant informed him that Ramdas had entertained at least one guest. The furious landlord marched towards Ramdas's house, followed by his companions. Ramdas was relishing each morsel of the food left by his guest. Never had he eaten anything so delicious. "Look at me, Ramdas!" shouted the landlord. But Ramdas was too engrossed in eating to lift up his head. "Snatch and throw away the leaf!" the landlord ordered one of his servants. The leaf was snatched away. But Ramdas continued to eat, for there was another leaf before him. That too was snatched away. But there was yet another. The landlord, angry and aghast, kept on shouting and shrieking. The servants kept on picking up and throwing away the leaves. But there was always another leaf with some food on it before Ramdas! More and more people gathered behind the landlord to see the strange occurrence. The landlord was gesticulating like a madman. The servants looked terrified. But they had to remove a thousand leaves before Ramdas raised his head and saw the crowd and asked what the matter was. When told by the people about the miracle, Ramdas only smiled and said, "He was right, he was equal to a thousand, if not more!" But the landlord really went insane.
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