One day the great Mulla Nasrudin passed by an old hermit sitting in front of a building. “Surely a devout philosopher like me must have something in common with this saintly individual,” he thought. “I am a Yogi,” said the hermit, “and I am dedicated to the service of all living things, especially birds and fish.”
“Pray allow me to join you,” said the Mulla, “for, as I had expected, we have something in common. I am strongly attracted to your sentiments, because a fish once saved my life.”
“How pleasantly remarkable!” Said the Yogi. “I shall be delighted to admit you to our company. For all my years of devotion to the cause of animals, I have never yet been privileged to attain such intimate communion with them as you. Saved your life! This amply substantiates our doctrine that all the animal kingdom is interconnected.”
So Nasrudin sat with the Yogi for some weeks, learning all the things he could teach him.
After some time the Yogi asked him: “If you feel able, now that we are better acquainted, to communicate to me your supreme experience with the life-saving fish, I would be more than honored.”
“I am not sure about that,” said the Mulla, “now that I have heard more of your ideas.” But the Yogi pressed him, with tears in his eyes, calling him master and rubbing his forehead in the dust before him.
“Very well, if you insist,” said the Mulla, “though I am not quite sure whether you are ready for the revelation I have to make. The fish certainly saved my life. I was on the verge of starvation when I caught it. It provided me with food for three days.”
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