New Thread:The Story of Namdev

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THE STORY OF NAMDEV

 

There is a very great center of pilgrimage in Maharashtra State

called Pandharapur. A great bhakta called Namdev used to live there.

It is said that the formless, the attributeless Supreme Being would

assume a form and attributes for his sake and appear to him in a

personal form, treating him with love like a companion.

Since the Lord had become his companion Namdev used to take great

pride in it, and he behaved in a conceited manner. Namdev's

contemporaries were saints from different classes, particularly from

the lower strata of society, cobblers, peasants, maids, sweepers,

barbers and so on. At that time there lived saints such as Janabai

who was a maid-servant, Gora who was a potter, Sena who was a barber,

Santu who was a peasant and the cobbler Devidas. Yet they were all

God realized, they saw him everywhere. Their most distinctive quality

was they were all householders, while one wove cloth another cobbled.

On the Eakadashi Day in the month of September a great fair was held

in Pandharapur and all the saints used to gather there on that

occasion. They used to sing the names of the Lord and sing and dance

with great abandon. Namdev was quite proud of the fact that the Lord

was his constant companion, that he played with him. However the Lord

was aware of this weakness of Namdev and he wanted to root it out of

his system. To teach him a lesson the Lord suggested that he should go

to Pandharapur and meet with all the saints. He told him that would

be a great help to everyone, because he was such a great devotee and

they would all be able to gain inspiration from his example. Namdev

agreed. Namdev thought that he was such a great devotee that the

moment he appeared in Pandharapur all the people would stand up and

greet him with great honor, garland him and show him the utmost

reverence. He did not realize that the Lord was present within each

of those saints within a different form. For Namdev the Lord had only

one form, while for the rest the Lord had countless forms, he was all

pervasive.

Whenever you have a congregation of saints you usually have a question

and answer session, so questions were being asked and answers given.

Namdev reached there, but nobody took any notice of him. All were

absorbed in what they were doing. Namdev had expected that the moment

he reached there people would stand up and offer him a seat, that they

would recognize his greatness and show respect for the fact that the

Lord was his constant companion. But nothing of the sort! Namdev was

completely ignored, he felt very small and he even had to be content

with sitting anonymously in a corner. The oldest of these saints was

the potter Gora. Jnaneshwar Maharaj knew what was transpiring in the

hearts of everyone present and so when Namdev sat down Jnaneshwar

whispered in Gora's ear Kaka (uncle), here is a new pot. You must tap

it to see if it is fully baked or not. Gora tapped Namdev on the head.

Namdev felt greatly insulted and flew into a rage. What the hell are

you doing? What do you take me for? The Lord is such a great pal of

mine, He plays with me constantly, He never leaves my side.

Gora said, Here is a unbaked pot.(kaccha) He hasn't yet been purified

through the fire. Who is your Guru.

Namdev said, What do I need a Guru for? The Lord is my constant companion.

The other saints told him to get out. He went back feeling very

humiliated. On the way he was wondering that in spite the fact that

the Lord was constantly with him these fellows from the lower classes

such as a potter and a gardener had treated him in such a shabby

manner. He went back to the Lord and said, I didn't find anything

worthwhile in those saints.

The Lord said, No, you are mistaken, they are very great genuine

saints. They are absolutely dependable authorities on religious and

spiritual matters. Then he asked, What happened?

I was completely ignored. Nobody bothered to take any notice of me,

much less treat me with any reverence.

The Lord said, Aren't you being stupid? How could any anybody's else

honoring you be of any use to you? Why shouldn't you start honoring

yourself? The Lord said What else happened?

Namdev replied, Those people said that I was an unbaked pot and I

didn't have a Guru.

The Lord said, Did they call you unbaked and without a Guru? What

they said is absolutely correct, the saints know the truth, they

cannot tell a lie.

Namdev said, Lord even you consider me to be unbaked?

Yes (the Lord)

Am I without a Guru (Namdev)

Where is your Guru (the Lord)

Well you the Lord are my friend. (Namdev)

The Lord said, I am the friend of all creatures. I dwell in the hearts

of everyone. There is nothing special about your friendship with me.

But one without a Guru is not respected anywhere.

What shall I do now. (Namdev)

Go and find a teacher (The Lord)

 

At that time in Aundhya Nagnath there lived a great saint named

Vishoba Khechar. The Lord said , Go to Vishoba. Get instruction from

him. Only then will people consider you to be a baked pot (Puccha),

one who has a Guru. Then meet those saints again and after that come

back and see me.

Namdev went to the village and asked people, It is said that a saint

called Vishoba Khechar lives here. Where can I find him.

Someone said he lives in the Temple of Mahadev(Shiva). He went on to

the Temple and asked, Where does Vishoba live?

The people said that he must be inside the Temple.

Inside the Temple there was a small Shiva Lingam. Namdev found a

strange person with his legs outstretched and his feet planted in a

most irreverent fashion on the lingam snoring away. Namdev was

amazed. He had already been insulted once, and now he was wondering

why he had been sent to this strange outlandish fellow. What could he

teach me, this fellow who doesn't even know how to treat a symbol of

the Lord? He has the temerity to place his feet directly on the

lingam. He observed him for a while saying to himself. Well he can't

be my Guru, but all the same I will wake him and certainly insist on

his moving his feet from the lingam. Then I will bow to the image and

leave.

He went near the sleeping body clapped his hands and shouted, Who is

snoring here?

The man was very old and said. It's me, I am Vishoba, who are you?.

I am Namdev.

What brings you here? (Vishoba)

That I'll answer later, but first you must explain to me your strange

behavior. (Namdev)

What have I done?. (Vishoba)

You don't even have the good sense not to put your feet on the head of

the Lord! Is that the limit of your knowledge?

Vishoba said, Namdev, I have become very old and also very feeble, so

much so that I cannot even move my feet from one position to another.

I shall be extremely grateful if you would kindly move my feet from

the lingam and put them away.

Namdev agreed to oblige him. Then a most amazing miracle happened.

As Namdev lifted Vishoba's feet and placed them in a different spot

another lingam immediately appeared under his feet. When he lifted

them from there a third appeared. Wherever he placed Vishoba's feet a

lingam appeared under them. Namdev realized that Vishoba was not an

old fool, that he was a great master and the Lord had sent him to the

right person. Then he said to him, I am Namdev and I have come in

search of a Guru. You are my Guru, please instruct me.

 

Vishoba instructed him in a vese that consisted of five stanzas,

Vishoba addressed him as Nam, not as Namdev. The guru treated him in

a familiar manner and said. Nam, you should not suffer from the

illusion that God exists here but not there. Nam show me a spot that

is without the Lord? You must completely overcome the delusion that

the Lord exists in that corner, that the universe exists in this

corner, that good lies in that corner and that evil lies in this

corner. Just as a painter paints different figures, those of men and

animals on the same canvas, with the same brush and the same colors,

so this varied universe, which consists of different forms, different

creatures, is made by the same Lord, and the question of high and low

cannot arise. It is only the Lord who can become such a vast and

varied universe. When you become aware of the one Lord, the one

all-pervading Supreme Being, and when you are completely rid of the

notion of municipality or diversity or duality, only then can you be

considered to be realized and beyond the distinction of bondage and

liberation. Know that to be the same Lord whom you consider to be

dwelling in a particular place dwells in the heart of every creature

as its innermost self.

Thus the Guru instructed the disciple and Namdev was enlightened.

>From there he went to Pandhapur which was close by and found the same

congregation of saints. He greeted everyone and everyone invited him

to join them. They all said, Now you are with a Guru, Now you are a

baked pot. Now you have realized the truth. One who see the Lord only

outside, not within his own heart, is like one who sees only the

universe and not the Lord. Even if he has a vision of the Lord that

doesn't mean very much.