the spiritually interesting problem posed earlier

[Guest guest]

Thank you for sharing this illustration with us!

Jai Guru Datta

carolin

 

 

> >>>>Answer:

>

> The baby would get food first.

>

> >>>>Why?

>

> The baby has 'implicit' faith that when it cries it will obtain whatever it

> wants. It just "knows" that it will get what it wants. The man on the other

> hand, has to go through all kinds of hand gestures, facial gestures,

> pointing to his stomach or mouth, and possibly jumping up and down on one

> foot in order to get his message across. He lacks what the baby has --

> faith in a higher power than his ego and his limited knowledge. He believes

> that through his 'learning' and his 'expressions' that he will be able to

> convey his message. The baby doesn't care about anything, it simply begins

> crying -- and any stranger, regardless of what country, will understand

> that the baby wants something, and will quickly try to figure out what the

> baby wants. The relationship between a devotee and god is similar to that

> of the baby and its mother, not like the man and some stranger. The more

> that a devotee depends on himself to convey his message to god, the harder

> he will have to try; the more the devotee leaves everything to god and

> simply cries out for help, the quicker god will understand what all the

> fuss is about.

>

> So, you can choose to spend all your time learning one religion or another,

> one puja or another, praying to shiva, vishnu, jesus or allah, etc.,

> practice one form of yoga or another, meditating with your eyes closed,

> nose closed, meditating upside down, or standing on one foot (like the man

> in the problem); or you can simply give up the ego which believes that

> "this has to be done in order for me to achieve such and such..." and

> surrender to god in a simple cry for help (like the baby in the story).

> To those who assert that there is only ONE way to do this or that... or

> that only THEIR way is correct... my question is... "what does the baby

> know, that the man doesn't?"

> Some quotes from Sri Swamiji ---

> "The Lord knows what you want and is pleased with your sincere devotion. "

> "What is important is Bakthi and not how you pray. If with real Bakthi you

> lie down and pray, the Lord sits up and listens. If you sit up and pray he

> stands up and litens. If you stand up and pray He dances and listens. What

> matters then really is Bhaavana."

> "Several types of devotion are discussed in our scriptures. Among them,

> Self Surrender(atmaniveda) is considered to be the last and the highest

> stage of devotion. Self -surrender requires complete effacement of "I" the

> ego and the feelings of doer-ship and enjoyer-ship."

>

> Jai Guru Datta!

> pradyumna

>

>

>

> -- The original problem is given below --

>

> Jai Guru Datta!!

>

> The following illustration will perhaps provoke some interesting

> discussion and thought. I propose the following imaginary situation.

>

> First, let me introduce the following characters in the problem.

>

> The first character is an average man. This man is interesting, he

> knows 5 different languages, and in each of them is supremely proficient

> due to many many years of training from exceptional teachers and various

> books, tapes, and videocassettes.

>

> The second character in this problem is a small baby, barely a few

> months old.

>

> The problem is this:

>

> Put the man and the baby in a foreign country, let's say somewhere in

> Germany, for the sake of argument. The man who is brilliant by all means

> and who is proficient in 5 languages, forgot to learn the german

> language. So technically, he and the baby are "no better off" -- i.e.,

> neither has an unfair advantage in terms of their language skills.

>

> The problem is that both of them are hungry. Now, who will get food

> first? The man or the baby? Why? (the more important question in this set

> is the "why?" but it has a strong connection to "who")

>

> Sri Guru Datta!!

>

>

> ______________________________

> The centipede was happy quite

> until a bird said, in fun,

> "Which foot goes after which?"

> This raised his mind to such a pitch

> he lay distracted in a ditch

> considering how to run.

>

>

>

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

>>>>Answer:

 

The baby would get food first.

 

>>>>Why?

 

The baby has 'implicit' faith that when it cries it will obtain whatever it

wants. It just "knows" that it will get what it wants. The man on the other

hand, has to go through all kinds of hand gestures, facial gestures, pointing to

his stomach or mouth, and possibly jumping up and down on one foot in order to

get his message across. He lacks what the baby has -- faith in a higher power

than his ego and his limited knowledge. He believes that through his 'learning'

and his 'expressions' that he will be able to convey his message. The baby

doesn't care about anything, it simply begins crying -- and any stranger,

regardless of what country, will understand that the baby wants something, and

will quickly try to figure out what the baby wants. The relationship between a

devotee and god is similar to that of the baby and its mother, not like the man

and some stranger. The more that a devotee depends on himself to convey his

message to god, the harder he will have to try; the more the devotee leaves

everything to god and simply cries out for help, the quicker god will understand

what all the fuss is about.

 

So, you can choose to spend all your time learning one religion or another, one

puja or another, praying to shiva, vishnu, jesus or allah, etc., practice one

form of yoga or another, meditating with your eyes closed, nose closed,

meditating upside down, or standing on one foot (like the man in the problem);

or you can simply give up the ego which believes that "this has to be done in

order for me to achieve such and such..." and surrender to god in a simple cry

for help (like the baby in the story).

To those who assert that there is only ONE way to do this or that... or that

only THEIR way is correct... my question is... "what does the baby know, that

the man doesn't?"

Some quotes from Sri Swamiji ---

"The Lord knows what you want and is pleased with your sincere devotion. "

"What is important is Bakthi and not how you pray. If with real Bakthi you lie

down and pray, the Lord sits up and listens. If you sit up and pray he stands up

and litens. If you stand up and pray He dances and listens. What matters then

really is Bhaavana."

"Several types of devotion are discussed in our scriptures. Among them, Self

Surrender(atmaniveda) is considered to be the last and the highest stage of

devotion. Self -surrender requires complete effacement of "I" the ego and the

feelings of doer-ship and enjoyer-ship."

 

Jai Guru Datta!

pradyumna

 

 

 

-- The original problem is given below --

 

Jai Guru Datta!!

 

The following illustration will perhaps provoke some interesting

discussion and thought. I propose the following imaginary situation.

 

First, let me introduce the following characters in the problem.

 

The first character is an average man. This man is interesting, he

knows 5 different languages, and in each of them is supremely proficient

due to many many years of training from exceptional teachers and various

books, tapes, and videocassettes.

 

The second character in this problem is a small baby, barely a few

months old.

 

The problem is this:

 

Put the man and the baby in a foreign country, let's say somewhere in

Germany, for the sake of argument. The man who is brilliant by all means

and who is proficient in 5 languages, forgot to learn the german

language. So technically, he and the baby are "no better off" -- i.e.,

neither has an unfair advantage in terms of their language skills.

 

The problem is that both of them are hungry. Now, who will get food

first? The man or the baby? Why? (the more important question in this set

is the "why?" but it has a strong connection to "who")

 

Sri Guru Datta!!

 

 

______________________________

The centipede was happy quite

until a bird said, in fun,

"Which foot goes after which?"

This raised his mind to such a pitch

he lay distracted in a ditch

considering how to run.

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Hahaha nice Problem Pradyumna, now the setting would be better is the strange

country was an alien planet. Then the baby would probably indeed get food sooner

from the aliens..

W.

Pradyumna Upadrashta <oneinfinitezero wrote:

>>>>Answer:

 

The baby would get food first.

 

>>>>Why?

 

The baby has 'implicit' faith that when it cries it will obtain whatever it

wants. It just "knows" that it will get what it wants. The man on the other

hand, has to go through all kinds of hand gestures, facial gestures, pointing to

his stomach or mouth, and possibly jumping up and down on one foot in order to

get his message across. He lacks what the baby has -- faith in a higher power

than his ego and his limited knowledge. He believes that through his 'learning'

and his 'expressions' that he will be able to convey his message. The baby

doesn't care about anything, it simply begins crying -- and any stranger,

regardless of what country, will understand that the baby wants something, and

will quickly try to figure out what the baby wants. The relationship between a

devotee and god is similar to that of the baby and its mother, not like the man

and some stranger. The more that a devotee depends on himself to convey his

message to god, the harder he will have to try; the more the devotee leaves

everything to god and simply cries out for help, the quicker god will understand

what all the fuss is about.

 

So, you can choose to spend all your time learning one religion or another, one

puja or another, praying to shiva, vishnu, jesus or allah, etc., practice one

form of yoga or another, meditating with your eyes closed, nose closed,

meditating upside down, or standing on one foot (like the man in the problem);

or you can simply give up the ego which believes that "this has to be done in

order for me to achieve such and such..." and surrender to god in a simple cry

for help (like the baby in the story).

To those who assert that there is only ONE way to do this or that... or that

only THEIR way is correct... my question is... "what does the baby know, that

the man doesn't?"

Some quotes from Sri Swamiji ---

"The Lord knows what you want and is pleased with your sincere devotion. "

"What is important is Bakthi and not how you pray. If with real Bakthi you lie

down and pray, the Lord sits up and listens. If you sit up and pray he stands up

and litens. If you stand up and pray He dances and listens. What matters then

really is Bhaavana."

"Several types of devotion are discussed in our scriptures. Among them, Self

Surrender(atmaniveda) is considered to be the last and the highest stage of

devotion. Self -surrender requires complete effacement of "I" the ego and the

feelings of doer-ship and enjoyer-ship."

 

Jai Guru Datta!

pradyumna

 

 

 

-- The original problem is given below --

 

Jai Guru Datta!!

 

The following illustration will perhaps provoke some interesting

discussion and thought. I propose the following imaginary situation.

 

First, let me introduce the following characters in the problem.

 

The first character is an average man. This man is interesting, he

knows 5 different languages, and in each of them is supremely proficient

due to many many years of training from exceptional teachers and various

books, tapes, and videocassettes.

 

The second character in this problem is a small baby, barely a few

months old.

 

The problem is this:

 

Put the man and the baby in a foreign country, let's say somewhere in

Germany, for the sake of argument. The man who is brilliant by all means

and who is proficient in 5 languages, forgot to learn the german

language. So technically, he and the baby are "no better off" -- i.e.,

neither has an unfair advantage in terms of their language skills.

 

The problem is that both of them are hungry. Now, who will get food

first? The man or the baby? Why? (the more important question in this set

is the "why?" but it has a strong connection to "who")

 

Sri Guru Datta!!

 

 

______________________________

The centipede was happy quite

until a bird said, in fun,

"Which foot goes after which?"

This raised his mind to such a pitch

he lay distracted in a ditch

considering how to run.

 

 

 

 

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