Maharshi's Gospel-64 [the story of Sage Ribhu & Nidhaga]

[Guest guest]

D : Instead of inquiring "who am I?", can I put the questionto myself "who are you?", since then my mind may be fixedon You whom I consider to be God in the form of Guru.Perhaps I would be nearer the goal of my quest by that inquirythan by asking myself "who am I?"Maharshi: Whatever form your inquiry may take, you must finally cometo the one "I", the Self. All these distinctions made betweenthe "I" and "you," Master and disciple, etc., are merely asign of one's ignorance. The "I" supreme alone is. To thinkotherwise is to delude oneself.A story from the Puranas about sage Ribhu and his discipleNidhaga is particularly instructive in this context.Although Ribhu taught his disciple the supreme Truth of theOne Brahman without a second, Nidagha, in spite of hiserudition and understanding, did not get sufficient convictionto adopt and follow the path of jnana, but settled down in hisnative town to live a life devoted to the observance ofceremonial religion.But the Sage loved his disciple as deeply as the latter veneratedhis Master. In spite of his age, Ribhu would himself go tohis disciple in the town, just to see how far the latter hadoutgrown 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 ofa village rustic, found Nidhaga intently watching a royalprocession. 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 theelephant ?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 theother below.Yet you want to know what is meant by above and below?,burst out Nidhaga. If things seen and words spoken can conveyso 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 shouldersand said,"Know it now, I am above as the king, you are below as theelephant. Is that clear enough ?""No, not yet." was the rustic's quiet reply. You say youare 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 themighty 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, couldhave thus drawn my mind from the superficialities ofphysical existence to the true Being of Self ?O benign Master, I crave thy blessings."Therefore, while your aim is to transcend here and nowthese superficialities of physical existence through atma-vichara, where is the scope from making the distinctionsof "you" and "I", which pertain only to the body ?When you turn the mind within, seeking the Source ofthought, where is the "you" and where is the "I"?You should seek and be the Self that includes all.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Maharshi's Gospel~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~