Vairagyam IV

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Vairagyam IV

 

Namaste Advaitins,

 

The deep attachment to the feeling of ' I ' and 'mine' forms the

core of samsara. The one aim of all spiritual disciplines is to

gradually erase this feeling and finally be totally free from it.

Since it is not that easy to accomplish this, the scriptures teach

a wide variety of methods to practise. Here is a verse that points

to the mean nature of the feeling of 'mine':

 

Daaraa ime me tanayaa ime me gRhaa ime me pashavashcha me me |

Ittham naro mesha-samaana-dharmaa me-me-karaH kaala-vRkeNa nItaH ||

 

(These wives are mine (mey), these children are mine (mey), these

houses are mine (mey) and these cattle are mine (mey). The man who

thus says 'mey, mey' and has the same disposition as sheep (which

bleat 'mey, mey') is taken away by the wolf, time.)

 

(Here is an instance of the same sound giving rise to more than one

sense. In Sanskrit the syllable 'mey' means 'mine'. The syllable

also represents the sound made by sheep.)

 

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Here is a story depicting the strong hold of longing for material

gain that man often becomes a victim of:

 

A group of boys wanted to write a story for a competition. After

much discussion, they completed it and one of them narrated it in

its final form to the others. As he was doing so, three people who

were passing that way paused to hear the story. They did not

mistake it to be a factual account but liked what they heard. As

they moved on, they discussed the story among themselves. A

teenager happened to overhear them when they talked about a pot of

gold hidden under a banyan tree in a forest situated about 500

kilometres away.

 

The lad immediately developed a strong desire to somehow possess

that gold. Without telling anybody, he proceeded to the concerned

forest. There, he saw a man place a fruit in a small-mouthed vessel

and then tie the vessel to a tree by means of a long rope. Moved by

curiosity, he initiated a conversation with that man:

Teenager: What are you doing?

Man: I am setting a trap for a monkey. I intend to train a simian

to perform tricks.

Teenager: How will your contraption serve your purpose?

Man: This place is infested with monkeys. One of them will

certainly notice this vessel and the fruit in it. So, it will put

its hand into the vessel and grab the fruit. The vessel's mouth is

too small for the monkey to take out its hand while gripping the

fruit. The vessel has been tied to the tree and so the monkey

cannot carry it away. The animal will thus be forced to remain here

and I shall catch it.

Teenager: Are you joking? The monkey will release the fruit,

extricate its hand and escape.

Man: No, it will not. It will simply refuse to discard the fruit.

Teenager: I cannot imagine a simian behaving so foolishly because of

its desire for fruit.

Man: Remain by my side and watch.

 

Both hid themselves a short distance away. Soon, a monkey came and

behaved exactly the way the man had predicted. The lad said, "How

stupid and crazy this monkey is!' and went his way.

 

After some time he beheld a frog shooting out its tongue and

catching a fly with it. Amused, he turned his attention to another

frog that was nearby. As it was about to trap a fly, a snake

stealthily came up to it and swiftly caught it in its mouth. The

frog's tongue shot out and the fly stuck to it. Meanwhile, the

snake proceeded to swallow the frog. The lad thought to

himself, "What a strange sight! Even at its moment of death, this

silly frog was busy catching a fly!"

 

He walked on and encountered a forester. The latter said, 'Do not

go much further in this direction. There is a wild tusker there and

it may attack you." However, so intense was the lad's desire for

the gold he hoped to find that he disregarded the advice. In about

half an hour, he was deep within the forest. He was looking around

for the banyan tree that he had heard was located somewhere there

when he heard the trumpetting of an elephant.

 

In a few moments, he saw a ruttish tusker barging at him. He

immediately took to his heels, with the elephant in hot pursuit.

Though he ran as fast as he could, the pachyderm steadily gained on

him. To his chagrin, he slipped and fell into a pit that he had not

noticed. Flailing his arms, he providentially managed to catch a

creeper and arrest his fall. The elephant reached the top of the

pit and gazed at him.

 

The lad looked down and saw that the pit was deep. Further, he

espied a cobra with upraised hood at the bottom. He realized that

he was in very deep trouble, without the option of climbing up or

down the creeper. As if his problems were not adequate, the creeper

began to give way; some insects were busy at work on it.

 

Unexpectedly, a drop of honey from a beehive on the tree overhead,

fell on his nose and began to slowly flow down towards his lips.

The boy stretched out his tongue and licked it. The honey seemed

like ambrosia to him. He then heard the roar of a distant lion.

The tusker felt terrified and swiftly left the place. The boy began

to climb up the creeper. As he neared the top of the pit, the

creeper gave away. But, somehow, he managed to hold on the pit's

edge.

 

In moments, he felt his hands slipping. However, to his surprise,

he found himself being lifted up by the woodman who had advised him

not to venture into this region. "When I heard the trumpetting of

the elephant, I knew that you were likely to be in danger. I am far

more familiar with this forest than people like you are. So, I

rushed in the direction you had proceeded, to help you. I see that

I have arrived just in time.

 

The lad thanked him profusely. Still possessed by the longing for

gold, he explained the reason for his coming there and sought the

forester's help to locate the banyan tree in that region. His

saviour told him that he was not going to find any gold and tried to

persuade him to return before the tusker chose to come back.

However, finding the boy adamant, he led him to the banyan tree.

They searched there for the gold but did not succeed in finding any.

 

Finally, the boy returned to his native place. He described his

misadventure in detail to an elder. The elder laughed and informed

him that what he had overheard was only a portion of the tale

authored by a group of boys for a competition. He then proceeded

to tell the lad, " You felt that the monkey and the frog had behaved

thoroughly foolishly because of their longing. Your behaviour was

far worse. The poor monkey let go of the fruit that was in its

hand. You, on the other hand, were led on by intense longing for

gold that was actually non-existent. The frog stretched out its

tongue at the moment of its death but possibly did so purely by

instinct. You, on the other hand, are a human being endowed with

discrimination. Yet, when you were about to perish, you savoured

the drop of honey that fell on your nose. See the power of

longing." The boy realised the devastating focre of longing and

hung his head in shame.

 

(Story excerpted from the book: 'Edifying Parables'.

 

Pranams to all,

subbu