THERE ARE NO OTHERS
In the 1940s, a staunch devotee of Bhagavan, who was also a hard working ashramite had to leave the ashram. Before leaving the ashram he felt so abashed and embarrassed, that he did not have the courage to meet Bhagavan. The other ashramites were helpless in persuading him to stay as he had left unnoticed the previous night.
TPR was accompanying Bhagavan during his usual morning walk on the hill. Assuming that Bhagavan did not know what had happened the previous evening, TPR told him that this ashramite had left under undesirable circumstances. TPR did so with a sincere, heavy heart for he loved this person very deeply. Bhagavan stopped walking and turned towards TPR and said, in a harsh and uncompromising tone, “Just because some one has slipped down one foot, remember sir, you have not moved even an inch up. Beware! Beware!”
In the 1940s, a staunch devotee of Bhagavan, who was also a hard working ashramite had to leave the ashram. Before leaving the ashram he felt so abashed and embarrassed, that he did not have the courage to meet Bhagavan. The other ashramites were helpless in persuading him to stay as he had left unnoticed the previous night.
TPR was accompanying Bhagavan during his usual morning walk on the hill. Assuming that Bhagavan did not know what had happened the previous evening, TPR told him that this ashramite had left under undesirable circumstances. TPR did so with a sincere, heavy heart for he loved this person very deeply. Bhagavan stopped walking and turned towards TPR and said, in a harsh and uncompromising tone, “Just because some one has slipped down one foot, remember sir, you have not moved even an inch up. Beware! Beware!”
Though Bhagavan‟s voice had a tinge of pain and anguish, these words
were spoken with such sternness and authority that TPR got a shock and
was almost knocked down to the ground. Seeing his pitiable condition,
Bhagavan became mellow, turned back and continued walking with his
usual, calm and measured strides.
Realizing that TPR had not yet got back his composure, Bhagavan told him with great love and affection, “There are no others. One takes the body to be oneself. Hence, one treats others also as bodies. These is only „I AM‟. When attention is turned inward to „I AM‟, these so called bodies, minds, worlds, good and bad actions, are found to be not there. Attention turned inwards, there prevails only the Truth. Turned outward, there is nothing but untruth. “I AM‟ is the head of the coin. „No others‟ is the tail of the same coin. You are thus, ever the Truth. Plunge within and be the Truth, always.”
After a pause Bhagavan continued, “How does one see a fault in the other? The appearance of the other is taken to be true, which itself is an error. Added to that, one sees a fault in him. That is, one already knows what a fault is, which means the mistake is born only in the one who cognizes. One then shifts it to the other on the back of spurious proofs based on one‟s valid or invalid reasoning. Who is corrupt now? Who is at fault now? Who is the culprit now? So, turn every outward movement inwards.
Be the silence, your true Self, every moment. Now, where is the room for any division?”
DROPS from the OCEAN
Realizing that TPR had not yet got back his composure, Bhagavan told him with great love and affection, “There are no others. One takes the body to be oneself. Hence, one treats others also as bodies. These is only „I AM‟. When attention is turned inward to „I AM‟, these so called bodies, minds, worlds, good and bad actions, are found to be not there. Attention turned inwards, there prevails only the Truth. Turned outward, there is nothing but untruth. “I AM‟ is the head of the coin. „No others‟ is the tail of the same coin. You are thus, ever the Truth. Plunge within and be the Truth, always.”
After a pause Bhagavan continued, “How does one see a fault in the other? The appearance of the other is taken to be true, which itself is an error. Added to that, one sees a fault in him. That is, one already knows what a fault is, which means the mistake is born only in the one who cognizes. One then shifts it to the other on the back of spurious proofs based on one‟s valid or invalid reasoning. Who is corrupt now? Who is at fault now? Who is the culprit now? So, turn every outward movement inwards.
Be the silence, your true Self, every moment. Now, where is the room for any division?”
DROPS from the OCEAN
No comments:
Post a Comment