Amma's Satsang June 12, 2006

[Guest guest]

OM NAMAH SHIVAYA:

 

Sisters and Brothers of the Mother of Bliss please

forgive my infrequent posting. San Ramon is my home

base Satsang and I feel a duty to concentrate on Seva

and with the little time left over soak in Amma's

instructions.

 

Last night Amma asked the audience if they preferred

She give a Satsang or instead mostly Bhajans.

After polling the Hall Amma concluded that the

devotees were split fifty fifty.

 

Amma proceeded to tell the following story (She has

told in the past). I copied this from the Archives of

Amritapuri:

 

Namaste,

 

Chitanand

GeorgeSon)

 

P.S. After the story below there was a very long yet

soul rocking session of Bhajans. I was doing Snack

Shop Seva so watched them from the large screen TV.

Not complaining. Seva is Her Grace.

 

...

 

Mahatma and Listening Story

 

 

"Once, there lived a great master who was renowned for

his wisdom and spiritual attainment. He used to give

beautiful, deeply inspiring sermons. The people of a

certain village cherished a desire to hear the master

speak, and invited him to their village. The master

accepted their invitation. When he arrived, there

where hundreds of people waiting for him. After a

grand reception, the master stood on a podium to

deliver his sermon. The crowd was eagerly waiting for

him to speak. He said to them, 'My dear brothers and

sisters! I feel happy and privileged to be here with

you today, but let me ask you something. Do any of you

know the subject I am going to talk about?' As a

response to his question, the whole audience shouted,

'Yes, we know!' The master paused, looked out at the

crowd, smiled, and said, 'Well, then, if you already

know about it, there is no need for me to say

anything, is there?' Without another word he got down

from the podium and left the village."

 

"The villagers were very disappointed. They decided to

invite the master again, and again he agreed to come."

 

"The day arrived and the master was received in the

traditional manner. He was about to deliver his

speech, when he asked the audience the same question

he had asked the previous time. But this time the

villagers were prepared. So when he asked, 'Do any of

you know the subject I'm going to talk about today?'

all the villagers shouted in unison, 'No, we don't

know anything!'"

 

"The master paused, and there was a slightly

mischievous smile on his face. He said, 'My dear ones,

if you don't know anything at all about the subject,

then it would be useless for me to speak, wouldn't

it?' Before anyone could protest, the master had left.

The audience was stunned. They had been so sure that

'no' was the answer the master expected. You can

imagine how disappointed they must have felt. However,

they refused to give up. They asked themselves, 'If

the answer to the Master's question is neither yes nor

no, what, then, could it be?' What were they to say to

finally benefit from his wisdom? The villagers had a

meeting to discuss the matter, and they decided what

they would do next time the master asked them the

question. They were certain that this time it would

work. Once again they invited the master. He arrived

on the appointed day. The villagers were both nervous

and excited. The master stood up before them, and as

usual he asked the same question: 'Brothers and

sisters, do you know anything about the subject I wish

to talk about?' Without a moment's hesitation, half

the crowd shouted, 'Yes!' and the other half shouted,

'No!'"

 

"The villagers then waited expectantly for the

master's response. But the master said, 'Well, then,

let those of you who know teach those who do not

know!' "This was an unexpected blow to everyone.

Before they had time to recover from the shock, the

master quietly left the place."

 

"What were they to do now? The villagers were

determined to hear his sermon. They decided to give it

one more try. They had another meeting. People

suggested all sorts of things, but nothing seemed to

be the answer. Finally, an old man stood up and said,

'Whatever we answer seems to be wrong, so the next

time the Master asks that question, wouldn't it be

best if we were absolutely quiet and said nothing?'

The villagers agreed."

 

"The next time the master arrived, he asked the same

question as usual. But this time no one spoke. It was

so quiet you could hear a pin drop. In the depth of

that silence, the master finally began to speak, and

the words of his wisdom flowed out towards the

villagers."

 

"My children, the meaning of the story is that only in

the depth of pure silence can we hear God's voice.

During his first visit, when the master asked if they

knew what he was going to speak about, the villagers

said, 'Yes, we know.' That is the ego. The thought, 'I

know', is the ego speaking. When the intellect (the

seat of the ego) is full of information, nothing else

can enter into it. The mind that is brimful with

intellectual knowledge cannot receive even a drop of

true spiritual knowledge. This is the reason why the

master did not speak during his first visit."

 

"During his second visit, the villagers replied to the

same question saying, 'No, we don't know anything!'

That is a negative statement. A closed, negative mind

cannot receive the highest wisdom either. To receive

pure knowledge, one has to be wide-open and receptive

like an innocent child.

 

"The third time, they said both yes and no. This

exemplifies the doubtful, vacillating nature of the

mind. An unsteady, doubting mind is incapable of being

open to any real knowledge."

 

"Finally, when the people kept quiet, the master

spoke. Only when the mind stops all its

interpretations can we hear the inner voice of God."

 

"These four responses can be compared to a glass that

we want to fill with water. The first answer, 'Yes, we

know,' is like a glass that is already filled to

overflowing. There isn't room for another drop. The

second response, 'No, we don't know anything,' is like

a glass turned upside-down. It would be useless trying

to pour anything into it. The third response, when the

two opposite answers, 'yes' and 'no,' were given, can

be compared to a water-filled glass mixed with dirt.

The water has been contaminated and has lost its

purity. Any additional water poured into it would also

be spoiled. Only the fourth answer, silence, is like

an upright, empty glass that is capable of being

filled with, and retaining, the water of knowledge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Thank you so much for sharing this. Mary Ann Duckworth

-

GeorgeSon

ammachi

Tuesday, June 13, 2006 3:35 PM

Amma's Satsang June 12, 2006

 

 

OM NAMAH SHIVAYA:

 

Sisters and Brothers of the Mother of Bliss please

forgive my infrequent posting. San Ramon is my home

base Satsang and I feel a duty to concentrate on Seva

and with the little time left over soak in Amma's

instructions.

 

[long previously posted message text snipped by moderator]