Die to get release!!

[Guest guest]

Good advise

 

A king was holding court in which many theologians were debating

issues. Suddenly a man came running into the court

and announced that a great sage had come to town and was staying

near the bank of the river. Everyone wanted to visit the sage and ask

him spiritual questions. In the king's court there was a parrot in a cage.

He asked one of the king's men to ask the sage a question on his

behalf. " Ask him, how can I be released? " .

 

The man asked the sage the question. On hearing the question the

sage swooned and fell into the river. He stayed in a swoon for the

whole day. The people were very distressed. The man reported this

incident to the parrot and told him off for making the saint suffer.

On hearing the story the parrot too swooned and fell off the perch

of his cage with outstretched wings. The people thought the shock

of the story had killed the parrot and hence it was only right to

throw the body away. As they threw the body away the parrot recovered

and flew away. The people were taken aback by the whole incident.

They decided to ask the sage about it.

 

The sage said, " The parrot was very intelligent, he wanted to find a

way to escape from the cage. By swooning, I gave him a signal that

he must pretend to be dead. That is what he did and as you tried to

throw his body away, he made his escape.

 

The story can be viewed in a subtler manner:-

If we wish to gain release from our bonds, our sufferings we too have

to learn to 'die'. The attachment we have for our bodies has to die.

Unless we make this distinction there is no release from suffering.

" We are the body " - that thought has to die - then we gain release

and recognise ourselves not as the body but the Self.

 

jay

Vivekananda Centre London

[Guest guest]

How beautiful, the parrot story!