"Those who catch monkeys prepare a pot with a small opening and fill it with some sweets. The monkey who desires the food will put his hand inside the pot and take a big handful of the food. Thus the monkey becomes unable to draw its hand out through the opening. Only on releasing the grip will the monkey be able to take its hand out. It is its desire for the food that has bound its hands. Because it took with its hand some food to fulfil its desire, it was bound there.
This wide world is like that pot and our "samsaras" or families are like the narrow top. Our desires are the sweets in the pot. The world being pot, containing the desires, sweets, man puts his hand in the pot. When he sheds his desires, he will be able to live in the world freely. To get freedom, the first thing to do is to sacrifice. In philosophical terms, this is called renunciation. We think that the world is binding us but the world is lifeless. It is the desire that binds us."
~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~
(From the book "Chinna Katha I")
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