Siddhas, Jnanis, and Snow Men

[Guest guest]

Dear all,

 

I thought I'd write a little story intended to reflect my present

understanding of siddhis. I do not claim that this understanding is

necessarily final or correct in any sense of the word, but I would hope that

the story might be helpful in elucidating a few points.

 

Well, once upon a time a little four-year-old boy by the name of Sid asked

his father, who was a pilot, to build a snow man for him. Sid's chubby

little arms were not strong enough yet to build one himself. "Sure", said

his father, "and when you get bigger, one day you also will be able to build

one yourself."

 

Like most little boys, Sid wanted to be as strong as his father, and as wise

as his father, and of course he also wanted to be a pilot just like his

father.

 

So, having pondered this for a little while, he then asked a question: "Dad,

once I know how to build a snow man myself, can I also become an airline

pilot?" His father smiled. "You might", he replied.

 

Naturally, Sid told everybody in his kindergarten group about these happy

prospects, and soon all the kids there started pestering their parents to

show them how to build snow men so that they might one day be pilots, too.

 

However, the next day John, one of the other boys, stirred some controversy

in that kindergarten group. John had told his big sister about the snow man

theory. Now John's sister was an authority for all of the kindergarten kids

because she was very wise and even knew how to read and write. And it turned

out she had looked up "aviation" in the Children's Encyclopedia, and there

was no mention of snow men whatsoever in that article!

 

Two factions formed. One, headed by Sid, held the belief that the building

of snow men was an indispensable prerequisite to becoming a pilot. They

called themselves "Sidders", after their leader. The other group fiercely

objected to these, to them, totally mistaken notions, promulgating the view

that the building of snow men was a childish and absolutely useless

endeavor, pernicious to any real progress in any sincere flight training.

This group called themselves "Johners", after their spiritual head.

 

Finally the quarrelling between these two factions became so bad that Sid's

father was asked by the teacher to come to kindergarten. Remember, Sid's

father was a real pilot, and it was hoped that he would be able to resolve

the snow man issue for the kids.

 

After listening to the arguments of each of the two groups, Sid's father

said, "Kids," he said, "no need to quarrel about this. You are both right!

On the one hand, it is true that the building of snow men has nothing to do

at all with a pilot's training. In this, the Johners are absolutely right.

But the Sidders are also right, because anyone who has become a pilot will

be able to build a snow man, even though he may choose not to avail himself

of that privilege."

 

Have a blessed New Year, all.

 

Michael