A sainted she-cat and a saintly mother were living in great happiness. One day came Jnan, a son of the mother on a visit. He was a foolish cat-hater.
When the mother took her food, the cat used to sit near and feed off the crumbs. Sometimes the sight of well-cooked fish was too tempting for the cat. She would venture and snatch a piece from her plate. The mother would shoo her away but the cat knew that was just pretence. The cat did her act once in front of Jnan. Jnan fell into a rage and the cat got a terrible whack on her head and had to flee in hurt surprise. She stood at a corner and carefully scanned the scenario.
The mother was crying. She said to her son, Jnan, can the cat do a job to earn its living? She will have to steal. That is her Dharma
Jnan was surprised but not yet convinced.
Then the saint looked up at her foolish son, Jnan, don't hurt the cat. Even in her am I she declared.
The cat now looked up. Here is really a wise cat, though she looks like a human she thought. She wrote Humans may be fools, thinking they rule us, while we really do as we please and use them. But even among them there are some who have the wisdom of a super-cat and narrated the incident.
How come I know this? She, whom I used to think as my pet cat, had read this in her cat Bible and deigned to quote to me when I denied her a fish-head today.
Swami Sampurnananda 2003
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