Spiritual Stories by Ramana

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2.

 

THE JNANI AND THE SIDDHA

 

One day, while speaking about hatha yoga and related subjects, Sri

Bhagavan narrated the following story from Prabhulingalila, a well-

known Tamil work by the Sage Sivaprakasa Swamigal.

 

PRABHULINGA, THE FOUNDER of the Lingayat sect (now mostly prevalent

in Karnataka State only), was touring the land for the uplift of the

spiritually minded. He met the famous Yogi Gorakhnath in Gokarnam (a

famous place of Hindu pilgrimage on the west coast of India). The

yogi welcomed him respectfully, but was however, proudly conscious

of his own extraordinary powers over the elements. He considered his

guest more or less his equal, expressed pleasure at meeting him, and

upon greeting him, asked who he was.

 

Prabhulinga replied that only the One who had destroyed his ego,

root and branch, and who had thereby realised himself could know who

he was, and wondered what he could say to a non-entity, a person,

who clung to his perishable body. Gorakhnath, who identified his

body as himself, replied, " That person alone who has gained the

immortality of the body, by the favour of Siva and consumption of

gulikas (medicinal herbs), will never die. Therefore one who had not

gained such immortality dies. "

 

Prabhulinga remarked that knowledge consists in realizing one's Self

and not in immortalising the body and went on to explain at length

that the body cannot be the real Self. However, Gorakhnath could not

be persuaded and would not budge an inch from higround; he proudly

challenged Prabhulinga to try cutting his body, handing him a long,

bright and sharp sword. When the sword struck the body of

Gorakhnath, it caused him no injury but was itself blunted.

Prabhulinga feigned surprise, and asked Gorakhnath to try cutting

his body. At first Gorakhnath hesitated to do so saying that

Prabhulinga would die. But when Prabhulinga insisted, he took up the

sword and tried to cut his body. To the great surprise of

Gorakhnath, the sword passed easily through the body of Prabhulinga

without affecting it in any way. It was as if the sword was passing

through empty space! Only then was Gorakhnath, the Siddha, ready to

acknowledge the superiority of Prabhulinga, the Jnani. Thus his

pride was humbled, and he prayed to Prabhulinga, to teach him the

truth. Prabhulinga then expounded Brahma vidya to Gorakhnath as

follows: " Gorakhnath, do not think your body to be your Self. Seek

the In-dweller (the cave-dweller) and you will once for all rid

yourself of the disease of birth and death. The cave is your heart

only, the In-dweller thereof is called God and I am That. "