It is said that shrubs don’t grow under a banyan tree because it takes all the nutrition, which is meant for both of them. This explains the fact that common people don’t progress much under the auspices of great people.
But sages are different from great people. Sages are neither ambitious nor selfish. They are eminent. They don’t devour others’ nutrition. On the contrary they nourish others. They can be compared to an affectionate cow. A cow nourishes her calf on her milk. The calf grows day by day. Eminent people let others grow. They are courteous and polite to others. Bapu’s life is the embodiment of the cow’s nurturance. Those who came under his patronage could grow. The fowl minded turned good. The stern ones became soft. Each person, who had the privilege of living with him, would relate the same experience. A poet writes, “We don’t honour a golden or silver mountain that doesn’t let the trees grow on it. We honour Malaygiri that lets the common trees transform into sandalwood.”