ARticle by Ammachi

[Guest guest]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1354372,curpg-1.cms

 

THE SPEAKING TREE: Cow's Tale: She was Tied Up With an

Imaginary

MATA AMRITANANDAMAYI

 

 

A cowherd took his cows to the meadows every morning

and brought them back to the cowshed at the end of the

day. One evening, as he was tying the cows up for the

night, the boy found that one of them was missing her

rope.

 

He feared that she might run away, but it was too late

to go and buy a new rope. The boy didn't know what to

do, so he went to a wise man who lived nearby and

sought his advice.

 

The wise man told the boy to pretend to tie the cow,

and make sure that the cow saw him doing it. The boy

did as the wise man had suggested. The next morning

the boy discovered that the cow had remained still

throughout the night.

 

He untied all the cows as usual, and they all went

outside. He was about to go to the meadows when he

noticed that the cow with the missing rope was still

in the cowshed. She was standing on the same spot

where she had been all night.

 

He tried to coax her to join the herd, but she

wouldn't budge. The boy was perplexed. He went back to

the wise man who said, " The cow still thinks she is

tied up. Go back and pretend to untie her " .

 

 

The boy did as he was told, and the cow happily left

the cowshed. This is what the guru does with the ego

of the disciple. The guru helps untie that which was

never there.

 

Like the cow, due to our ignorance, we believe that we

are bound by the ego when, in fact, we are completely

free. We need to be convinced of this, however. The

ego is an illusion with no existence of its own.

 

It appears to be real because it is animated by the

atman. The ego itself can be compared to dead matter;

for without the atman, it would have no life. Stop

supporting the ego, and it will withdraw and

disappear.

 

We ourselves lend the unreal ego its reality. Expose

it for what it is, or rather, for what it isn't, and

that will be the end of it. A dog wags its tail — the

tail does not wag the dog. The same is true with the

mind.

 

The mind, or the ego, should be nothing more than a

useful tool; a sadhaka (spiri-tual seeker) shouldn't

let herself be ruled by the whims and fancies of the

mind. The ego consists of our thoughts and our mind.

 

 

Our thoughts are our own creation. We make them real

by cooperating with them. If we withdraw our support,

they will dissolve. We simply have to observe our

thoughts.

 

A lion made of sandalwood is real to a child, but to a

grown-up it's a piece of sandalwood. For the child,

the wood is concealed, revealing only the lion. The

grown-up may also enjoy the lion, but he knows it is

not real.

 

For him, the wood is real, not the lion. In the same

way, to a Self-realised soul, the entire universe is

nothing but the essence, the " wood " that comprises

everything, the Absolute Brahmn or Consciousness.

 

Excerpted from Amy Edelstein's interview with Amma for

What is Enlightenment? magazine published by Andrew

Cohen.

 

 

--

Krishna Prasad

 

.. Yad yad aacarati sreshtah, tad tad eva itaro janah. As the Gita puts

it, consistency of purpose and a spirit of dedication and, if

necessary, sacrifice, should characterize the new spirit.

We Must

THE CULTURED GIVES HAPPINESS WHEREVER THEY GO, THE UN-CULTURED WHENEVER THEY GO!

- Swami Chinmayanada