Spiritual Stories: Post #10 “ ‘I’ and You�

[Guest guest]

MURUGA SARANAM

 

1st Oct 2006

Spiritual Stories: Post #10 " 'I' and You "

 

Dear Members..

 

Here comes the hot topic of the Sadhana everyone is ultimately forced

to take at some point of time, to find the True or The Highest

Happiness. After so many attempts to taste prosperity, success and

wealth through achievements in professional or public life, finally we

understand, whatever level we reach, even if we become the ruler of

the entire world, still it may seem incomplete and we start realizing

that feeling of completeness or sense of having lived a life comes

only when we Praise God, or pray to Him or try to reach Him or realize

the Self or whatever one may call. Ultimately we need to find the

answer for the question " Who am I? " . As stressed often by the learned

sages, we need to get rid of the 'I'. This beautiful story by Bhagawan

Ramana Maharishi explains it nicely. But when the actual answer part

of the story came in few lines at the end of the story, honestly, it

went above my head. I don't know if only a Guru can help knowing that.

If any of you can further elaborate on the story to me, I will

consider it as the Grace of Lord Murugan.

 

May All Glories be to The Lord of Ettukudi !!!

Ettukudi Andavanukku Arohara!

 

MURUGA SARANAM

 

With Best Regards

Meyyappan S

 

 

 

 

****

The Story begins here

 

'I' AND YOU

An earnest devotee asked Sri Bhagavan about the method to realize the

Self. As usual, Sri Bhagavan told him to find out who is the 'I' in

his question. After a few more questions in this strain the devotee

asked, " Instead of enquiring 'Who am I?', can I put the question to

myself 'Who are you?' since then, my mind may be fixed on you whom I

consider to be God in the form of Guru. "

Sri Bhagavan replied, " Whatever form your enquiry may take, you must

finally come to the one 'I', the Self. All these distinctions made

between 'I' and 'you', master and disciple, are merely a sign of one's

ignorance. That 'I' Supreme alone is. To think otherwise is to delude

oneself. " Thereupon Sri Bhagavan told the following story.

A PURANIC STORY of Sage Ribhu and his disciple Nidagha, is

particularly instructive.

Although Ribhu taught his disciple the Supreme Truth of the One

Brahman without a second, Nidagha, in spite of his erudition and

understanding, did not get sufficient conviction to adopt and follow

the path of jnana, but settled down in his native town to lead a life

devoted to the observance of ceremonial religion.

But the sage loved his disciple as deeply as the latter venerated (*)

his Master. In spite of his age, Ribhu would himself go to his

disciple in the town, just to see how far the latter had outgrown his

ritualism. At times the sage went in disguise, so that he might

observe how Nidagha would act when he did not know that he was being

observed by his master.

On one such occasion Ribhu, who had put on the disguise of a rustic

(*), found Nidagha intently watching a royal procession.

Unrecognised by the town-dweller Nidagha, the village rustic enquired

what the bustle was all about, and was told that the king was going in

procession.

" Oh! It is the king. He goes in procession! But where is he? " asked the rustic.

" There, on the elephant, " said Nidagha.

" You say the king is on the elephant. Yes, I see the two, " said the

rustic, " But which is the king and which is the elephant? "

" What! " exclaimed Nidagha. " You see the two, but do not know that the

man above is the king and the animal below is the elephant? What is

the use of talking to a man like you? "

" Pray, be not impatient with an ignorant man like me, " begged the

rustic. " But you said 'above' and 'below' – what do they mean? "

Nidagha could stand it no more. " You see the king and the elephant,

the one above and the other below. Yet you want to know what is meant

by 'above' and 'below'? " burst out Nidagha. " If things seen and words

spoken can convey so little to you, action alone can teach you. Bend

forward, and you will know it all too well " .

The rustic did as he was told. Nidagha got on his shoulders and said,

" Know it now. I am above as the king, you are below as the elephant.

Is that clear enough? "

" No, not yet, " was the rustic's quiet reply. " You say you are above

like the king, and I am below like the elephant. The 'king', the

'elephant', 'above' and 'below' – so far it is clear. But pray, tell

me what you mean by 'I' and 'you'? "

When Nidagha was thus confronted all of a sudden with the mighty

problem of defining the 'you' apart from the 'I', light dawned on his

mind. At once he jumped down and fell at his Master's feet saying,

" Who else but my venerable Master, Ribhu, could have thus drawn my

mind from the superficialities of physical existence to the true Being

of the Self? Oh! Benign Master, I crave thy blessings. "

 

Courtesy: Oxford English Dictionary

 

(*) Venerate -verb

regard with great respect.

 

(*) Rustic - noun

an unsophisticated country person.

 

 

Ends

********