Spiritual Stories: Post #1 “Self Surrender�

[Guest guest]

MURUGA SARANAM

 

Spiritual Stories: Post #1 " Self Surrender "

 

Dear Murugan Devotees,

 

As promised by our moderator, here is the first posting of the series

of Spiritual stories. Apart from having the liberty to discuss about

each story, you are also encouraged to come out with your tips to

improve the postings. I have tried to keep it in plain text " without

rich text formatting " . I found that for people like me many words were

new and I had to refer to a dictionary. Wherever I could not make an

assumption of the meaning I referred to the Oxford English Dictionary

and posted the meanings of the words at the end of the posting. The

words that have the meaning displayed at the end are marked with (*).

As mentioned please feel free to come out with your views and

understanding. By doing so you may help many, including those silent

readers.

 

Let us pray that this learning process takes us further to where HE is.

 

May All Glories be o Lord Subrahmanya – The Most Merciful

 

Here goes the story as narrated by Bhagwan Ramana Maharishi

 

=================================================

SELF SURRENDER

 

D: I fear that Self-realisation is no easy thing to attain.

M: Why impede yourself by anticipating failure? Push on.

Self-realisation will come to an earnest seeker in a trice. To

illustrate this, Sri Bhagavan told the following story:

(Note from the poster of the story: I understand " D " should stand for

disciple and " M " for Master)

 

 

KING JANAKA WAS listening to a philosophical treatise read by the

state pandit, wherein a passage occurred to the effect that a rider

who had placed one foot in the stirrup, contemplating upon realisation

could realise the Self before he lifted the other foot to place it in

the other stirrup(*). That is, the passage taught, that when

realisation comes, it comes in an instant. The king stopped the pandit

from proceeding further, and ordered him to prove the statement. The

pandit admitted that he was only a book-worm and was unable to impart

practical wisdom. Janaka suggested that the text was either false or

exaggerated, but the pandit would not agree to this. Though he himself

was unable to impart practical wisdom, he maintained that the text

could not be false or exaggerated, since it contained the words of

wise sages of the past. Janaka was annoyed with the pandit and in a

fit of rage condemned him to prison. He then inflicted the same

punishment on every pandit who passed for a wise man but was unable to

prove this scriptural text. For fear of being imprisoned, some of the

pandits fled the country in voluntary exile. While two or three of

them were running through a thick forest, a sage called Ashtavakra,

(Ashta means 'eight' and vakra means 'bends'. Ashtavakra was so named

because his body had eight deformities ) who though young in age was

wise in learning, happened to cross their path. Having learnt their

plight, Ashtavakra offered to prove the text true to the king and

thereby have the imprisoned pandits released. Impressed by his bold

assurance, they took him in a palanquin to the king. At the sight of

the sage, the king stood up and saluted him with great reverence.

Ashtavakra then ordered the king to release all the pandits. Janaka

thought that such an order could come only from one who had the

capacity to set his doubts at rest, and hence he released all the

pandits and asked the sage whether he could summon the horse. The sage

advised him not to be in a hurry and suggested that they should go to

a solitary spot. Thereupon the king on his horse and the sage in a

palanquin (*) went out of the city towards the forest. When they

reached the forest the sage asked the king to send back the retinue

(*). The king did as he was asked, and then placing one of his feet in

the stirrup, he requested the sage to prove the scriptural text. But

the sage replied by asking whether the position in which they stood

indicated a proper master-disciple relationship. The king then

understood that he should show due reverence towards Ashtavakra, and

prayed to him for grace. The sage then addressed him as 'Janaka',

since he was no longer a king and told him that before being taught

Brahma jnana, a true disciple should surrender himself and all his

possessions to his Master. " So be it " , said the king. " So be it "

replied the sage and disappeared into the forest. From that moment

Janaka stood transfixed (*) with one foot in the stirrup and the other

dangling in the air, as if he were a statue. (Saying this, Sri

Bhagavan imitated the posture of King Janaka). Time passed by, and the

citizens, finding no sign of their king returning, grew anxious and

began to search for him. They came to the place where Janaka was

standing transfixed and were dismayed to find him unaware of their

presence and indifferent to their earnest enquiries. They therefore

began searching for Ashtavakra who, they thought, must be a charlatan

(*) that had cast a spell upon their king, and vowed vengeance upon

him. At the same time, 5 being concerned with the king's condition and

wanting to minister to him, they brought him back to the city on a

palanquin. The king, however, continued to remain in the same

condition. At last, having found Ashtavakra, the ministers entreated

(*) him to remove the alleged spell and bring the king back to his

normal condition. At the same time they charged him with the

responsibility for having cast the spell. Ashtavakra treated their

ignorant remarks with contempt and called the name of Janaka, who

immediately saluted him, and responded to his call. The ministers were

surprised. Ashtavakra told the king that he was being maliciously

accused by the people of having brought him to some sad plight and

asked him to tell the truth. On hearing this, the king angrily asked,

'Who said so'? The ministers were taken by surprise and pleaded for

mercy. Thereupon, the sage advised the king to resume his normal

functions, adding that Brahma jnana could be taught only to competent

persons and that since the king had successfully passed the test, he

would now impart it to him. Then the sage remained alone with the king

during the night and taught him the ultimate Truth, saying " Brahman is

not anything new or apart from oneself and no particular time or place

is needed to realise It. " He finally concluded by saying, " That Thou

Art " (tat tvam asi). That is the Self, eternal and infinite. The next

morning the ministers found that the king called the assembly and

performed his functions as usual. In the assembled court Ashtavakra

asked the king whether his former doubt about whether Brahma jnana

could be attained as suddenly and as quickly as mentioned in the

scriptures was cleared, and if so to bring the horse and demonstrate

the truth of it. The king was all humility now and said, " Lord!

Because of my immaturity, I doubted the correctness of the scriptural

text. I now realise every letter of it is true. " The ministers thanked

the sage.

 

=================================================

 

(*) Meanings: Courtesy – Conscise Oxford English Dictionary

 

stirrup

noun

each of a pair of devices attached at either side of a horse's saddle,

in the form of a loop with a flat base to support the rider's foot.

 

palanquin (also palankeen)

noun

(in India and the East) a covered litter for one passenger, carried on

two horizontal poles by four or six bearers.

 

retinue

noun

a group of advisers or assistants accompanying an important person.

 

transfix

verb

make motionless with horror, wonder, or astonishment

 

charlatan

noun

a person falsely claiming to have a special knowledge or skill.

 

entreat

verb

ask (someone) earnestly or anxiously to do something. ask earnestly

or anxiously for.

 

Please note that some of the stories will need a lot of contemplation

and some will needed to be read some more times, as every time we read

we will understand new things from the same story. For those of you

who are running against the clock, you may have time to read it only

once, but please don't be intimidated by my suggestion which is just

my understanding only. You may have a better perception than me and

reading it once may be enough.

 

Murugan Thiruvadi Saranam Saranam

 

With Best Regards

Meyyappan S

[Guest guest]

MURUGA SARANAM

 

Dear Members..

 

Please note the correction. 'D' - stands for Devotee where as 'M' stands for Mahrishi who is Ramana Maharishi.

 

I feel that the story illustrates about the level of Self Surrender that is required to get the enlightenment of the Truth in an instant. If we truly surrender ourselves, our knowledge of Him can come as fast as the batting of an eyelid. I am sure we can achieve that with our devotion to our beloved Lord with Six Beautiful Faces with a brightness that cannot be parelled by even one crore suns. He as Kaliyuga Varada is ever ready to bestow His Boundless Grace upon us.

 

 

MURUGA SARANAM

 

WitH best RegardsMeyyapan S

On 7/31/06, S Meyyappan <smeyyappan wrote:

MURUGA SARANAMSpiritual Stories: Post #1 " Self Surrender " Dear Murugan Devotees,

As promised by our moderator, here is the first posting of the seriesof Spiritual stories. Apart from having the liberty to discuss abouteach story, you are also encouraged to come out with your tips to

improve the postings. I have tried to keep it in plain text " withoutrich text formatting " . I found that for people like me many words werenew and I had to refer to a dictionary. Wherever I could not make an

assumption of the meaning I referred to the Oxford English Dictionaryand posted the meanings of the words at the end of the posting. Thewords that have the meaning displayed at the end are marked with (*).

As mentioned please feel free to come out with your views andunderstanding. By doing so you may help many, including those silentreaders.Let us pray that this learning process takes us further to where HE is.

May All Glories be o Lord Subrahmanya – The Most MercifulHere goes the story as narrated by Bhagwan Ramana Maharishi=================================================SELF SURRENDERD: I fear that Self-realisation is no easy thing to attain.

M: Why impede yourself by anticipating failure? Push on.Self-realisation will come to an earnest seeker in a trice. Toillustrate this, Sri Bhagavan told the following story:(Note from the poster of the story: I understand " D " should stand for

disciple and " M " for Master)KING JANAKA WAS listening to a philosophical treatise read by thestate pandit, wherein a passage occurred to the effect that a riderwho had placed one foot in the stirrup, contemplating upon realisation

could realise the Self before he lifted the other foot to place it inthe other stirrup(*). That is, the passage taught, that whenrealisation comes, it comes in an instant. The king stopped the panditfrom proceeding further, and ordered him to prove the statement. The

pandit admitted that he was only a book-worm and was unable to impartpractical wisdom. Janaka suggested that the text was either false orexaggerated, but the pandit would not agree to this. Though he himself

was unable to impart practical wisdom, he maintained that the textcould not be false or exaggerated, since it contained the words ofwise sages of the past. Janaka was annoyed with the pandit and in afit of rage condemned him to prison. He then inflicted the same

punishment on every pandit who passed for a wise man but was unable toprove this scriptural text. For fear of being imprisoned, some of thepandits fled the country in voluntary exile. While two or three of

them were running through a thick forest, a sage called Ashtavakra,(Ashta means 'eight' and vakra means 'bends'. Ashtavakra was so namedbecause his body had eight deformities ) who though young in age waswise in learning, happened to cross their path. Having learnt their

plight, Ashtavakra offered to prove the text true to the king andthereby have the imprisoned pandits released. Impressed by his boldassurance, they took him in a palanquin to the king. At the sight ofthe sage, the king stood up and saluted him with great reverence.

Ashtavakra then ordered the king to release all the pandits. Janakathought that such an order could come only from one who had thecapacity to set his doubts at rest, and hence he released all thepandits and asked the sage whether he could summon the horse. The sage

advised him not to be in a hurry and suggested that they should go toa solitary spot. Thereupon the king on his horse and the sage in apalanquin (*) went out of the city towards the forest. When theyreached the forest the sage asked the king to send back the retinue

(*). The king did as he was asked, and then placing one of his feet inthe stirrup, he requested the sage to prove the scriptural text. Butthe sage replied by asking whether the position in which they stood

indicated a proper master-disciple relationship. The king thenunderstood that he should show due reverence towards Ashtavakra, andprayed to him for grace. The sage then addressed him as 'Janaka',since he was no longer a king and told him that before being taught

Brahma jnana, a true disciple should surrender himself and all hispossessions to his Master. " So be it " , said the king. " So be it " replied the sage and disappeared into the forest. From that moment

Janaka stood transfixed (*) with one foot in the stirrup and the otherdangling in the air, as if he were a statue. (Saying this, SriBhagavan imitated the posture of King Janaka). Time passed by, and thecitizens, finding no sign of their king returning, grew anxious and

began to search for him. They came to the place where Janaka wasstanding transfixed and were dismayed to find him unaware of theirpresence and indifferent to their earnest enquiries. They thereforebegan searching for Ashtavakra who, they thought, must be a charlatan

(*) that had cast a spell upon their king, and vowed vengeance uponhim. At the same time, 5 being concerned with the king's condition andwanting to minister to him, they brought him back to the city on apalanquin. The king, however, continued to remain in the same

condition. At last, having found Ashtavakra, the ministers entreated(*) him to remove the alleged spell and bring the king back to hisnormal condition. At the same time they charged him with theresponsibility for having cast the spell. Ashtavakra treated their

ignorant remarks with contempt and called the name of Janaka, whoimmediately saluted him, and responded to his call. The ministers weresurprised. Ashtavakra told the king that he was being maliciouslyaccused by the people of having brought him to some sad plight and

asked him to tell the truth. On hearing this, the king angrily asked,'Who said so'? The ministers were taken by surprise and pleaded formercy. Thereupon, the sage advised the king to resume his normalfunctions, adding that Brahma jnana could be taught only to competent

persons and that since the king had successfully passed the test, hewould now impart it to him. Then the sage remained alone with the kingduring the night and taught him the ultimate Truth, saying " Brahman is

not anything new or apart from oneself and no particular time or placeis needed to realise It. " He finally concluded by saying, " That ThouArt " (tat tvam asi). That is the Self, eternal and infinite. The next

morning the ministers found that the king called the assembly andperformed his functions as usual. In the assembled court Ashtavakraasked the king whether his former doubt about whether Brahma jnanacould be attained as suddenly and as quickly as mentioned in the

scriptures was cleared, and if so to bring the horse and demonstratethe truth of it. The king was all humility now and said, " Lord!Because of my immaturity, I doubted the correctness of the scriptural

text. I now realise every letter of it is true. " The ministers thankedthe sage.=================================================(*) Meanings: Courtesy – Conscise Oxford English Dictionarystirrup

nouneach of a pair of devices attached at either side of a horse's saddle,in the form of a loop with a flat base to support the rider's foot.palanquin (also palankeen)noun(in India and the East) a covered litter for one passenger, carried on

two horizontal poles by four or six bearers.retinuenouna group of advisers or assistants accompanying an important person.transfixverbmake motionless with horror, wonder, or astonishment

charlatannouna person falsely claiming to have a special knowledge or skill.entreatverbask (someone) earnestly or anxiously to do something. ask earnestlyor anxiously for.Please note that some of the stories will need a lot of contemplation

and some will needed to be read some more times, as every time we readwe will understand new things from the same story. For those of youwho are running against the clock, you may have time to read it only

once, but please don't be intimidated by my suggestion which is justmy understanding only. You may have a better perception than me andreading it once may be enough.Murugan Thiruvadi Saranam Saranam

With Best RegardsMeyyappan S