I am not Brahman

[Guest guest]

PraNAms to all.

 

Statements like " atat tvam asi " " I am not that " -

'that I am Brahman is not acceptable' etc reminds me

of a story I read recently.

 

There was once a student of Vedanta who approached an

advaitic master - and when he started learning

scriptural statements like 'tat tvam asi' or 'aham

brahma asmi' etc, that bothered him, since he was

grown up with notion that Lord is out there with

infinite auspicious qualities and I am tiny jiiva,

dependent on the Lord and my role is to serve him and

that in fact is moksha or liberation. And here this

teacher, who is teaching something that is different

from the ideas that he has been brought up. So that

teaching was not 'acceptable to him'. He decided to

leave that teacher and find another one instead.

 

As the story goes, he found another teacher far away

from his house, who could teach that 'you are not

that' ' atat tvam asi'. He prostrated to the teacher

and learned all Vedas and Vedaangaas etc. After 12

years of intensive study he returned back to his

place. There he found his old advaitic teacher, who

is still teaching 'you are that'. The young scholar

got very much annoyed and went to this advaitic master

and requested him for debate, as they use to do in

olden days. The advaitin agreed and set a date for

their discussions. On that day, the old teacher

decided to have his hair-cut and shave, and called the

town barber. The barber came; and at the same time

the young scholar also came for debate. The old

master requested him to wait for sometime so that he

can have his hair cut and bath before they can

discuss. After his hair cut, which he had after many

years, he was amazed at looking at himself in the

mirror. All the matted hair and unattended beard

have gone. He did not know that he had such a

beautiful face. He immediately prostrated to the feet

of the Barber saying 'Oh! You are really Narayana,

since no one is capable of brining out such beautiful

face out of the ugly face. - The barber got

frightened, since it is considered as sin if wise sage

prostrates to a barber, as he consides himself to be a

low uneducated person. - " Sir, I am not Narayana, I

am not Narayana, and I am local barber in town. " When

the old sage heard this - he prostrated again, being

Narayana you are trying to be humble, You must be

Narayana, Please accept my Namaskaarams. - The barber

got even more frightened and asked the young scholar

who was watching all this - please tell him that I am

not Narayana. How can I be Narayana, that is not

acceptable - please tell him that I am not Narayana.

The young scholar also started shouting - sir he is

not Narayana - Everybody knows that he is our local

barber and not Narayana. Old sage just smiled - said

I know you are Narayana and left that place to take

bath. When he returned back after few minutes, he

found that the young scholar who came to debate with

him has disappeared. After half hour, the young

scholar came back with plate full of fruits and

flowers and prostrated to the old sage and requested

him - sir Please teach me brahma vidya. The old sage

asked him why this change and what happened. The

young scholar said - I spend 12years of study to know

that 'I am not Narayana' and without any study and any

exposure to Vedanta, the barber also knows that he is

not Narayana. I have not learned anything different in

these 12 years other than that I could use all

sophisticated arguments just to establish that I am

not Narayana. I do not need to study scriptures to

learn that I am not Narayana. But if the scripture

says 'I am that' it must mean something beyond that

which cannot be grasped by another means. Please

teach me Brahma vidya.

 

 

Hari Om!

Sadananda