One day Mathur presented a very expensive shawl to the Master. Sri Ramakrishna cheerfully accepted it, put it on, and walked around the temple garden, showing it off to people like a jubilant boy. He did not forget to mention the price, which was one thousand rupees at that time. But after a short while his mood changed. His discriminating mind started to ponder: “What is there in this shawl? Nothing but sheep’s wool. Like everything else it is a modification of matter. It protects one from cold, no doubt, but this can be done as well by a blanket or quilt. And like other material things it does not help one to realize God. Rather it makes the owner assume an air of superiority. He thinks himself rich and is proud. So it takes a man away from God.” This idea was unbearable to Sri Ramakrishna. Immediately he threw the shawl on the dusty ground and began to trample and spit on it. Then he got a match and was about to burn it. In the meantime someone grabbed it and took it away. Hearing about the sad fate of the shawl, Mathur smiled and said, “Father did the right thing.” (Source: They Lived with God)