Living by the Word of Bhagavan - excerpt

[Guest guest]

The following questions were put by Maurice Frydman:

 

Question: Sri Bhagavan has written [ulladu Narpadu Anubandham, verse 38] that one should not show advaita in one’s activities. Why so? All are one. Why differentiate?

 

Bhagavan: Would you like to sit on the seat that I am sitting on?

 

Question: I don’t mind sitting there. But if I came and sat there the sarvadhikari and the other people here would hit me and chase me away.

 

Bhagavan: Yes, nobody would allow you to sit here. If you saw someone molesting a woman would you let him go, thinking, ‘All is one’? There is a scriptural story about this. Some people once gathered together to test whether it is true, as said in the Bhagavad Gita, that a jnani sees everything as one. They took a brahmin, an untouchable, a cow, an elephant, and a dog to the court of King Janaka, who was a jnani. When all had arrived King Janaka sent the brahmin to the place of brahmins, the cow to its shed, the elephant to the place allotted to elephants, the dog to its kennel and the untouchable person to the place where the other un­touchables lived. He then ordered his servants to take care of his guests and feed them all appropriate food.

The people asked, ‘Why did you separate them individually? Is not everything one and the same for you?’

‘Yes, all are one,’ replied Janaka, ‘but self-satisfaction varies according to the nature of the individual. Will a man eat the straw eaten by the cow? Will the cow enjoy the food that a man eats? One should only give what satisfies each individual person or animal.’

Although the same man may play the role of all the characters in a play, his acts will be determined by the role that he is playing at each moment. In the role of a king he will sit on the throne and rule. If the same person takes on the role of a servant, he will carry the sandals of his master and follow him. His real Self is neither increased nor decreased while he plays these roles. The jnani never forgets that he himself has played all these roles in the past.

 

 

from LIVING BY THE WORDS OF BHAGAVAN

edited by David Godman