effort and surrender

[Guest guest]

A story told by Saradamma in:

No Mind I am the Self:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A large fat man finds himself outside the entrance

to a cave. There is a cool pleasant breeze blowing from

the cave but the man cannot get in because the entrance

is very narrow and he is too fat to squeeze through it.

 

Thinking that there must be something wonderful inside

the cave, he becomes obsessed with the idea of getting

in. He tries fasting but he can never lose enough weight

to get through the crack no matter how many times he

tries, or how little he eats.

 

As his obsession increased he gives up his job and all

dealings with his family and friends because he cannot

stay away from the cave and the tantalising breeze that

is blowing through its entrance.

 

The man finally wasted away to skin and bone, but still

he cannot get to the source of the breeze. He makes one

last despairing effort to get through the crack but he gets

stuck halfway.

 

Finally he abondons his efforts completely as he realises

that he can neither move forwards nor backwards.

He then calls on God saying that he has done everything

humanly possible, but now he is admitting defeat and

leaving his body to God to do whatever he wishes with it.

 

When God sees that his moment of complete physical

and mental self-surrender has arrived he takes over and

pulls the helpless man into the cave.