Old Repost from 1999/Humor Break

[Guest guest]

Humor break!

Funny post, I came across. Points to the use of words as a display of

wisdom.

One of my favorites by Greg.

Love to all

Harsha

 

Greg Goode [goode (AT) dpw (DOT) com]

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 current 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