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A greedy man once made a vow to Lord Śiva. He promised, "Lord, if such-and-such is realized, I will offer you a coconut." Everything went well for him, so he set out to fulfill his promise. He went to the market to buy a coconut. He asked the merchant, "What does a coconut cost?" "Fifty crowns," came the reply. "Why is it so expensive today? I heard coconuts were very cheap." "Yes, they were," said the merchant. "There was a time when a coconut cost only five crowns, at the time of the Red Brigade. It is terrible." "Do you think it will become cheaper?" The salesman said, "I think so. Our economy is falling down, and things will also become cheaper." "Then I shall wait," the man decided, "because I didn't promise Śiva when I would give him the coconut." He waited ten days and returned to the market. "What does one coconut cost, please?" "Twenty crowns." "Still so expensive. I think I have to pray to Śiva that the economic health completely goes down. Do you think it will be cheaper?" "Yes," said the merchant. "This year there was a lot of harvest of the coconuts, and there are so many coconuts in the stores that hardly anyone buys them." "Good, I will come after ten days." After ten days, he came again and asked, "What does a coconut cost?" "Three crowns." "Feel free. It's impossible. You said no one buys. If there is only one person buying, why three crowns? It should be only one." The merchant said, "Yes, we have coconuts which cost nothing, and you can have that." "Yes, please tell me, why didn't you tell me on the first day? Śiva had to wait twenty-five days. Where is a coconut free, to get for free?" "There is one water well, about 200 meters deep and about 10 meters wide, 10 by 10 meters wide. There is one coconut tree growing and hanging there just over the water well. And there is a beautiful ripe nut hanging, and it belongs to no one. If you want, you can go and take it." The man went there. He saw the coconut. He looked into the water well. It was very deep, with no stairs. The tree was not so strong. How to get the coconut? A coconut is not easy to break; it's not like cherries that you just touch and they come into your hand. So he climbed on the tree and tried to break the nut with his hand. He couldn't break it, and the tree was moving, flexible. Somehow he lost his balance, holding the coconut and hanging. The tree was hanging down. He tried with his legs to reach the tree, and once he gave a little pressure, the tree hung down even more. He looked down to the water well, 200 meters deep, and somewhere on the stone, Śiva's army was there—cobras. Now that man said to Śiva, "I promise you, I will bring you this coconut. Only I can bring it if you save my life. If I die, I fall down. Lord, it is your mistake, not my mistake. Don't blame me that I didn't offer you the nut." Well, Śiva is the merciful one, and he helped him so he could take the nut and come back again. So you never know how to get that fruit, where it is, and how difficult it is. Recording location: Czech Republic, Strilky, Summer seminar