Just tell me who I Am! "Who Am I?" Really! and the "Lucknow Disease"

[Guest guest]

 

Greg Goode [goode]

Friday, June 25, 1999 6:44 PM

"Who Am I?" and the "Lucknow Disease"

 

Speaking of "Who am I," there's a funny story told by a teacher who spent

lots of time with Papaji (Poonjaji). It's related to a spiritual condition

suffered by some seekers called "The Lucknow Disease," named after the city

in which Papaji taught.

 

In Papaji's teachings for this group of seekers in the early 90's, it was a

big part of their inquiry to ask "Who Am I" at all possible junctures.

According to this teacher, who was in the middle of it all and saw/heard

lots of funny stuff, here's how it happened:

 

Any time someone would even casually say, "I'm hungry," or "I have to go to

the loo," another earnest seeker would ask like the spiritual police,

"Who's hungry?" "Who has to go to the loo?" So there developed a way of

speaking that would avoid using the pronoun "I," which would supposedly

indicate the gradual effacement of the ego or "I-thought." It got to the

point that people would say stuff like "This form is tired," or "There is

hunger arising." This avoidance of the "I" word, in order to display one's

understanding, is the Lucknow Disease.

 

One time there were these two seekers hanging around Papaji's house, they

were friends, I'll call them Bill and Prem. Bill was newer to the non-dual

perspective than Prem, who was quite a devotee, already had his spiritual

name. One day they were waiting for the satsang, which would start a bit

later. Bill offered the Prem a drink, "Would you like coffee or tea?"

Prem, who was pretty deep into the Teaching, replied, "There's no one here

to choose." Later, when the satsang was about to start, Prem was sitting

in another room. Bill went in to warn Prem that another person had

occupied his cushion, which had been parked waiting right up in front by

Papaji's chair. Prem, before he caught himself, blurted out, "That no

good #%@@ so-and-so, I'll get the @#$% #*@!$$ !!!"

 

Regards!

 

--Greg

 

Thanks for the humor Greg. The former presidential candidate Bob Dole often

addressed himself in the third person in speeches. He probably got the

Advaita Vedanta vote but it was not enough to get him into the office.

Which

is too bad. We need a leader who understands that there is no one home, and

that indeed there is a missing "me" which can only be referenced

conceptually but not actually caught. Of course, we did not fare badly with

our last President who is a scholar and a gentleman. President Clinton

put his finger on the fundamental existential issue, when he sincerely told

the grand jury; everything depends on what the definition of "is" is. :-).

 

Harsha

 

 

/join