Only saintly people can do the job that you are doing. It looks easy for you because that’s your mission. You like to do it. Not everybody can, even though it looks easy for you. (Yes.) Of course, we have hard work sometimes, but for you, it doesn’t seem like an obligation or something difficult. You just do it because you want to.
“The young man did exactly what the dervish priest told him, and then waited until the oven was hot as possible and then his wife bent down to put the pastry in to bake the cake, then he suddenly got hold of her and threw her inside quickly.”
The old ovens, they are big, very, very big. And then they can put something on top to cook and to bake, and everything like that. They can bake underneath and cook on top. On top, there’s a hole, also. You know, right? If you don’t know, then you can look at some of the Indians when they bake chapattis with the big, big oven for the public. In some of the ashrams, they have to make very big ovens like that, and many, many, many, many of them, so that they can bake many chapattis at the same time. (Yes, Master.) Because in India, when there’s a festival or something, many followers come, maybe tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands. They have to feed them. (Yes, Master.) Like a big, very big oven, and on top of that, they put a very big kind of wok, upside down. And then the women will prepare the chapatti paste and then just put them, lay them on top of these hot dome-shaped like woks. And then cook the chapattis, cooking like hundreds at one time. My God. The Indian people are really something. Whenever there’s a festival, they’re very religious, they come, hundreds of thousands. At least tens of thousands, and they can feed them all. (Wow.) Very simple. Maybe they just make curry and eat with the chapattis. Just like that. And that’s nutritious enough already.
Because the chapattis, they’re always using the whole meal or whole meal wheat flour. They don’t use that white flour or stuff like that. And in the curry, there are many ingredients in it. (Yes, Master.) So, there’s enough nutrition. Vegetables, and protein stuff like peas and beans, or potatoes, carrots, and other vegetables, they mix together. It’s nutritious enough, curry and chapatti. And then people just sit on the floor in different, many rows like that. And they just come, one puts the chapatti, the other one just pours on the curry. That’s very organized and very simple, very quick. And people are happy to eat in the house of the Master.
You hungry? You want some chapattis? Sounds good, aye? (Yes, Master.) Don’t have. I would cook for you if I was with you. I would. I would be happy, glad to do that, (Thank You, Master!) to serve you, good saints, good boys and good girls, good saints. Despite your personality or your problems, you are still the saints. (Thank You, Master!) Only saintly people can do the job that you are doing. It looks easy for you because that’s your mission. You like to do it. Not everybody can, even though it looks easy for you. (Yes.) Of course, we have hard work sometimes, but for you, it doesn’t seem like an obligation or something difficult. You just do it because you want to. (Yes, Master.)
So now, when I was a so-called disciple, every day I cleaned the yard and I wiped the steps, the staircase, and was feeling very happy that I am cleaning the steps, the footsteps of the saints, cleaning the dirt from the foot of the saints. I was very happy to do that. In any ashram, if I have a chance to work, I always feel very happy, feel privileged and feel lucky. Feel something inside, that’s not obligation. Feel very, very willing, do it with love, and with appreciation. Now, we’re going to India. This is from Egypt and we went all the way to India, and now we come back to you.
“And that’s that. He covered, he sealed the door. So, the next morning, the dervish came. The dervish came back to his house and then they opened the oven. And inside, they found a wreath of flowers, like those that you give when people die, like a funeral wreath of flowers (Yes, Master.) inside. But it’s all in gold. So, the dervish picked up this wreath of flowers and then from that wreath of flowers, dropped down one flower. And that used to be the little finger of the beautiful girl, the snake. When she was a beautiful girl, that was her little finger. So, the dervish picked that flower and gave it to the man for a souvenir.” I don’t know if he wants to remember that, but probably that’s what she wants to give to him. “And then the dervish left. He took the rest of the flowers with him.” That’s it. That’s the end of the story.
This story is supposed to come from the Jewish community in Afghanistan according to the book’s footnotes. So, it’s not all from Jerusalem. It’s not. Because the Jewish people, they did not have a country before. They are all over the planet. Anyway, the story is finished, so any questions? Any questions? No, Master. No. Actually, in many countries they liken women to a snake or a tiger. Because women are too dangerous for men. But I am thinking the opposite. Look at the men, they don’t have to do makeup or anything, and the women are always “gaga” over them. (Yeah.) And the woman has to wear high heels, put makeup on, dye the hair like me, and still, nobody is here. Still no men around. I wonder what else do I have to do!
In Âu Lạc (Vietnam) we call women the beauty… How to say “phái đẹp” (beauty race) in English? (Beauty set?) The beauty…beauty race. Like man is another race and we are the beauty race. They call us “the beauty race.” But we never feel that we’re beautiful enough. So, women spend a lot, a lot of money on everything to make themselves look better or more confident. Well, except you guys. I’m glad you don’t have to do it. I do it all for you. Thanks to the camera and my job. Anyway, in some of the Aulacese (Vietnamese) books, they also tell many stories about snakes and stuff like that, and also the snakes as women, as beautiful, charming women, went into our folklore, into our theater, our poetry, and literature, stories, many things. So, we women are famous. No matter what we call us – snakes or tigers, whatever, men still like women a lot, no matter what. Snake or not.
Because in one of the stories I read before, the man doesn’t want to listen to the monk and kill the snake. And he said his philosophy is that many humans are even more poisonous than snakes. (Wow.) “Therefore, I love her. I don’t care if she is a snake or not.” But somehow the priest, I remember, forced himself to intervene in their relationship and kidnapped the snake, took her away and imprisoned her somewhere else. In that story, the man wasn’t sick but the monk passing by saw that in his aura there is some kind of evil, he said some evil and dark energy around him. That’s why he wanted to kill the snake, to take the snake away, and the man was crying saying, “Many humans are more poisonous than snakes.” That’s his philosophy. I also agree. I agree. I agree. If you love somebody so much, you can just die for her or him. That’s OK. Your choice.
There was a joke, remember I told you a long time ago. There was one master and a small disciple, young disciple, living in the mountains. They hardly ever went down to town or anywhere. So, one day, the master took the young boy disciple with him to town. And he pointed to some women, he said, “These are tigers. Don’t look at them. Don’t go near them. Don’t think of them.” OK. Good. And then after they finished whatever they had to do, they came back to the mountain. The master asked the young boy disciple, “So, did you like the town?” He said, “Yes, I like it very much.” “What did you like the best over there?” He said, “The tigers!” So, we women are tigers and snakes and beloved ones. Well, congratulations to you, guys. Behave yourselves. Don’t bite!
So, do you want another ghost story or do you want some Jewish story? (Ghost story!) Another ghost story? (Yes.) Oh! You are not scared? (No.) Ghost story. Tonight is a “ghost night.” Luckily, I have another one that I told you before. That story. (Yes, Master.) The man with two wives. (Yes. Thank You, Master!) OK, like this.
“In the city of Poznań.” Somewhere in the world. Have a look, see if any footnote here. Poznań, where. No. Oh, that’s in Poland on the bank of Warta in the mid-west of Poland. One of the older cities. This is one of the oldest cities in our world. “There in Poznań, in Poland, there was a man who had a very big house, rich, and his house was built on the side of the street.” “There was a very big, big basement under the house, but the door to the staircase to go down to the basement was always locked. One time there was one young man, he went down there. He had the keys in his hand and he wanted to open the staircase door. But before he opened it, people found him dead over there in front of that door. The police came and investigated, but they could not find out what happened and why the young boy died. During the two years from that day, many weird things happened in the house. And all the bad luck kept coming. All the food in the house often went rotten very quickly, before they could use. Even though it’s fresh and just bought, it became rotten, could not eat. Then many bred worms and stuff like that. And even when they gave it to the dogs, the dogs didn’t want to eat, because it smelled stinky and terrible with all the worms swimming in it. Then also, those who stayed inside the house often saw the lights, the lamps, or the furniture, or the jewelry thrown all over the house chaotically. So, more and more, they got fearful, scared. And then one by one, they moved out of that house. And because of their fear, they were so terrified and their fear was so great, it also affected other people in the town. So, they all got together, that town, and then tried to find out, discussing how to get rid of the ghost in that house.”
