The Boy In The Tree

Boys will be boys

Srila Govinda Maharaj tells the story of a young boy whose love for mangos brings him into confrontation with the manager of the Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math...

The manager did not like the young boy eating mangos while sitting on the tree. "Why are you doing that?" He goes to Srila Sridhar Maharaj to lodge a complaint against the boy.

Srila Sridhar Maharaj comes out of his room. "Why are you sitting in the tree eating mangos?"

"Because I collected so many mangos for the temple, but Prabhu (the manager) only gives me the spoiled ones to eat."

Srila Sridhar Maharaj: "Don't eat the mangos from the tree. They should be offered first. Come here."

He calls the young boy over to his room and shows him, under his bed, the mangos that have been given to him by the manager. They are the biggest and the best of all the mangos.

"Take from here and eat."

The spoilt young boy, spared from eating spoiled mangos, zestfully savors his spoils in front of the frustrated spoilsport manager.

Srila Govinda Maharaj smiles as he finishes the story. It is the mischievous smile of that young boy.