the story of Sage Ribhu & Nidhaga

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the story of Sage Ribhu & Nidhaga

 

 

 

 

 

 

D : Instead of inquiring "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.

Perhaps I would be nearer the goal of my quest by that inquiry

than by asking myself "who am I?"

 

M: Whatever form your inquiry may take , you must finally come

to the one "I" , the Self. All these distinctions made between

the "I" and "you," , Master and disciple , etc., are merely a sign

of one's ignorance . The "I" supreme alone is. To think otherwise

is to delude oneself.

 

A story from the Puranas about sage Ribhu and his disciple

Nidhaga is particularly instructive in this context.

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 live 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 Nidhaga 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 village rustic , found Nidhaga intently watching a royal procession.

Unrecognized by the town dweller Nidhaga , 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 Nidhaga.

"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 Nidhaga ."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 ?

Nidhaga 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 Nidhaga . 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. Nidhaga 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 Nidhaga 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 Self ? O benign Master , I crave thy blessings."

Therefore , while your aim is to transcend here and now

these superficialities of physical existence through atma-vichara ,

where is the scope from making the distinctions of "you" and "I",

which pertain only to the body ?

When you turn the mind within , seeking the Source of thought ,

where is the "you" and where is the "I"?

 

You should seek and be the Self that includes all.

 

 

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Maharshi's Gospel

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