Indian Stories
by Sri Chinmoy
The Emperor Humayun was in his palace one day when he heard a commotion. He asked his guards, “What is happening?”
The guard said, “A messenger has come from Chittor. Queen Karmavati of Chittor has sent a message for you.”
“How strange!” exclaimed the Emperor. “Let him in. I am curious to know what a Hindu Queen has to say to a Muslim Emperor.”
When the Emperor opened the letter, he found a special bracelet. It is traditional for sisters to offer this kind of bracelet to their brothers once a year on the Indian festival day of Rakhi. When offering the bracelet, the sister asks her brother to protect her honour and save her if anything should happen during the coming year.
The message read: “To Emperor Humayun, this bracelet is given by your sister to her adopted brother. Your sister needs your help to save Chittor from Bahadur Shah of Gujarat.”
Humayun said, “Karmavati! Karmavati is a Rajput Queen, a Hindu Queen, and I am a Muslim. She calls me her brother? If I am her brother, this means that all Hindus and Muslims are of one family, that Hindus and Muslims will not remain enemies forever but will one day live together as a single family. This is the happiest day of my life.”
Humayun immediately rushed to Chittor with his army. Before he reached Chittor, he heard the horrible news that Karmavati had taken her life. When her husband had been killed in battle, she had written to Humayun and had been waiting for his arrival ever since. But when she was about to be captured by the Muslim King Bahadur Shah, she threw herself into fire rather than surrender to him.
Humayun was shocked and horrified. He felt miserable that he had not come in time to save her. He cried out, “I shall take revenge. Karmavati called me her brother. A Hindu Queen called a Mogul Emperor ‘brother’. This brother shall not rest until he avenges his sister’s death. This is my promise.”
As soon as Bahadur Shah heard about Humayun’s arrival in Chittor, he fled and went into hiding. But Humayun made a pledge, both to himself and before the Hindu Queen’s subjects: “O Bahadur Shah, no matter where you go in Allah’s entire creation, I shall find you and keep my promise to Karmavati. Now, my Hindu sister, you are in the other world, but I shall carry out my promise. I shall be worthy of your trust in me.”
Humayun promised his father on his father’s deathbed that he would always be kind to his brothers. When Humayun became Mogul Emperor, his brothers turned very greedy. They betrayed him many, many times and wanted to dethrone him, but Humayun forgave them time and again. When his only son, Akbar, was a baby, one of Humayun’s brothers, Carmen, set a cannon in a tricky way in order to kill the child. But when Akbar’s nurse came to know of it, she shielded and protected the child, saving his life by giving up her own.
Akbar would one day become the greatest of all Mogul emperors. In his court there were many Hindus with high posts, and he even married a Hindu princess. It was he who made the Hindus and Muslims one. He ruled his Kingdom with compassion and truth. In every way he was the greatest of all Mogul emperors.
Everybody wanted Humayun to kill Carmen for the attempt on baby Akbar’s life, but Humayun said, “I have forgiven my two brothers Carmen and Hindal many times. This time also I have to forgive him.” But his subjects said, “No, this time you have to listen to our request. We are so faithful to you. We offer you our constant admiration and adoration. It is your duty to listen to us.”
Finally the Emperor said, “All right, what do you want?”
His subjects said, “Blind him, so that he cannot be of any harm to us any more.”
Humayun said, “I am ready to send him into exile, but it would be so difficult for me to blind him.”
But they said, “No, if you send him into exile, in some tricky way he will escape and form an army to attack you. So the best thing is to blind him.”
Humayun finally listened to his subjects’ request.
Once the Mogul Emperor Humayun was fighting a terrible battle against his enemy. The enemy’s army was extremely powerful and outnumbered Humayun’s army. What was worse, Humayun’s treacherous brothers, Carmen and Hindal, had turned traitors to the Emperor. In their greed to capture his kingdom and dethrone him, they had joined forces with the enemy. As Humayun’s army was falling back, the Emperor’s horse slipped and fell into a nearby river. The horse drowned and Humayun, badly hurt, was being tossed around helplessly in the rough current.
A water carrier named Nizam, who was a humble man of low caste, saw the Emperor’s plight and cried out, “I fear for the Emperor’s life! His subjects admire him and adore him as such a just and great Emperor. If the Emperor drowns, we will lose our only hope for a better and more illumining life. I can see that he is wounded and will not be able to save himself.”
The water carrier dove bravely into the river and held out his leather bag so the Emperor could float across the river to safety. Both men held the bag, and the water carrier protected the wounded Emperor until they reached the other shore. The Emperor was so moved. He said, “You have come and saved me. Now I am helpless, but I promise you that when I go back to Agrah and am once more seated on my throne, I shall give you my throne for one day. Believe me, this is my solemn promise. You are not a mere water carrier. You are the saviour of the Mogul Emperor Humayun.”
The water carrier Nizam was overwhelmed. He fell at the Emperor’s feet: “Please, I did not expect any reward. My reward is your safety.”
But Humayun insisted, “You, a water carrier of low caste, have shown such loyalty and love for your Emperor, whereas my own brothers have become traitors. I will always be kind to them and forgive them, for this is the promise that I made to my father Babar when he was on his deathbed. But of all of my subjects, you are the one who deserves my throne for one day. You deserve not only my throne, but my eternal gratitude. All my subjects should show you admiration and adoration for your heroic bravery.”
The Emperor kept his promise, and Nizam did sit on his throne for one day.
The Mogul Emperor Humayun was fighting a terrible battle against his enemy in a neighbouring Kingdom. The battle was raging and Humayun was leading the attack. Suddenly Humayun saw his faithful palace messenger trying to make his way towards him, but the soldiers were not allowing him to come to the front of the army. Humayun ordered that the messenger be allowed through.
Humayun took shelter for a moment in a secluded spot to receive the messenger. The messenger bowed to the Emperor and said: “O Great Emperor Humayun, the Empress Hamida Bhan has delivered a son.”
Humayun was so delighted and excited. Across the battlefield he cried out, “Allah be praised! We shall call him Akbar.”
Then he said to the messenger, “Alas, this is my fate! My son was born, yet I am still fighting my enemies and no victory is in sight. I have nothing with me to give you, O messenger, for bringing me the happiest news. All I have is a small quantity of musk in this tiny box. This is the only thing I can afford to present you with. But I tell you, one day my son’s fame will cover the length and breadth of the world as the fragrance of the musk fills the air here. Like perfume, my son’s fame will one day spread throughout the world.”
When Humayun was finally able to return to his palace to see his son, he was so moved and excited. He said to his son, “My father gave me the name Humayun, which means ‘fortunate.’ He was right. I am truly fortunate, for I see in you, my son, all the world’s fortune. I clearly see that you will be the greatest of all the Mogul Emperors. I see it and I feel it.”
He said to his wife, “I am once more leaving you with our child, for I have to go and fight against the enemy again. I am a warrior. I fight with the outer enemy, while religious mendicants, spiritual people, fight with the inner enemies: anger, pride and so forth. I do not have time to fight against the inner enemies. Outer enemies are more than enough for me to cope with. But our son, Akbar, will also fight against the inner enemies. He will be inwardly and outwardly great and good.”
One day the great Mogul Emperor Humayun came back victorious from a battle. His subjects were extremely happy and excited that the Emperor had won. The whole Kingdom had turned out to cheer him, lining the streets to the palace. All his subjects wanted to touch his feet and sing his praises.
When the Emperor got to his palace, he said to his army, “We have won, but it is all by Allah’s Grace. Otherwise, we would not have won. Let me go and offer my gratitude to Allah in the mosque.”
In the mosque Humayun offered his soulful prayer and heart’s gratitude to Allah: “Allah, You have always been kind to me. Even my own brothers, not to speak of kith and kin, have deceived and betrayed me many times. But I promised my father on his deathbed that I would be kind to them. Therefore, I have forgiven them every time. I myself have also done so many things wrong in this life and, Allah, You have forgiven me as I have forgiven my own brothers and relatives. You have always taught me that forgiveness is the answer, not revenge. To satisfy oneself, forgiveness is the only answer. Allah, accept my gratitude-life and my gratitude-heart for this great victory.”
After offering his prayers of gratitude, Humayun knelt down with folded hands and began praying again most soulfully. Suddenly he collapsed on the floor, and everybody rushed over to him. He said, “This is my last prayer to Allah. Allah, I am soon going to be with You. My father died while praying to You. I was dying and he prayed that you would take his life instead of mine. You listened to his prayer. He died in my place and I was cured.
“Now I am dying while praying to You. My father died while praying to You for my life. I am dying praying for my kingdom, for my people and for my son. I know that there is only one way to gain victory, and that way is through prayer. Without prayer, there is no success and no glory. No prayer, no satisfaction! Allah, Allah, may Your Glory be praised in all human hearts throughout Your creation!
“I leave my son here on earth in Your care. You save him and protect him. You give him world-glory. My last prayer is not the prayer of the great Emperor Humayun, but the prayer of a soulful Muslim mendicant-seeker who needs no one but Allah for eternal peace and eternal satisfaction. Satisfaction is what I have always needed and shall always need forever and forever.
“Allah, You have given me that satisfaction now, not in the victory of the battlefield, but in allowing me to utter Your compassionate name. Your name is all Peace. Satisfaction abides and shall always abide in peace. Peace is satisfaction, satisfaction alone.”
One day, a new disciple approached his spiritual Master and said, “O Master, O Master, before I accepted the spiritual life, it seems I was quite happy.”
“Then, my child, why did you accept the spiritual life?” the Master asked.
“Oh, I accepted the spiritual life thinking that I would be happier, infinitely happier,” the disciple said.
“Then what is the matter with you?”
“The thing is, now I have problems every day. Today somebody is sick in the family, tomorrow some other calamity will take place in the family and the day after tomorrow something else will happen. I am so restless. Previously I didn’t have any insecurity problems or jealousy problems and so forth. Now everything has come into my life.”
“My son, previously you were not conscious of your problems. Now you have become conscious of them. So it is good. You have made progress.”
“But how can I get rid of these problems, Master?”
“You can get rid of these problems through your prayer and meditation.”
“But Master, around me I see a ferocious tiger. The tiger represents such destructive qualities. Previously I did not see any tiger around me. Also I see inside myself a snakelike quality. I see all animal qualities inside myself. Previously, I didn’t have these.”
The Master said, “Previously you did have all these qualities inside you, only they had not come to the fore. Now that they are coming to the fore, you should be happy.”
“Master, how can I be happy when God seems to be testing me like anything?”
“No, my son, God does not test you. You may think that He is testing you, but God only encourages you to become stronger. And even if He did examine you, you have to feel that it would be worth sitting for His examination, for if you did not pass the examination, you would not be happy. So if there are examinations, be happy that you are given the opportunity to take them and pass them. And if there are no examinations, feel that what you are going through is only an experience.”
“O Master, Master, what am I going to do with myself? It seems that problems will never end in the spiritual life.”
The Master said, “Problems will only end in the spiritual life. If problems come to you, so much the better. They have appeared in front of you only so that they can be removed. If they always remain hidden inside you, then you will never be able to cast them aside. But if they are standing right in front of you, then you can see them, face them and fight them. So you should be happy and grateful to God that they are right in front of you and not inside. When they are outside, they are infinitely easier to fight. So be happy, be happy. Fight! The race is for the swift, and the fight is for the brave. So dive deep within to run the fastest, and look all around to be the bravest.”
One day a spiritual Master was answering a few questions asked by his disciples. Suddenly he paused and said to one of his stenographers, “Look, I can easily see that these questions and answers and the talks I give will be like Sri Ramakrishna’s Kathamrita, Sri Ramakrishna’s gospel.”
All of the disciples remained silent, but two or three inwardly laughed, because they felt that Ramakrishna was far superior to their own Master.
The Master immediately pointed to those unfortunate ones, and said, “You fools! If you think that Sri Ramakrishna is far superior to me, then why have you accepted my path? Go and follow Sri Ramakrishna’s path. If you think that just because he is not in the physical, you have to be satisfied with an infinitely inferior Master like me, then I want to tell you that you are making a deplorable mistake. Ramakrishna is definitely still alive; he is immortal. So go and follow him and worship him.”
The disciples who had implicit faith in their Master and who felt that he was by far the best stood up and said to those few unfortunate disciples, “Go away from here. We don’t want you. If you feel that our Master is inferior, then go and become Sri Ramakrishna’s disciples.”
Then the Master said, “I know why you think that Sri Ramakrishna is superior. Sri Ramakrishna used to enter into trance quite often, whereas I don’t go into trance. But do you think that I don’t have the capacity to enter into trance? I do have the capacity. A few days ago I showed you people my trance-capacity. The only thing is, when I enter into trance, I see more vividly your lower vital and emotional problems, and all kinds of problems. Who wants to see this? When I am in a simple, ordinary consciousness, I do not pay attention to your emotional problems and other problems. But when I enter into trance I see them very vividly, and at that time I find it more painful to have disciples like you. Therefore, deliberately, I don’t like to go into trance. But I tell you, it is not a difficult task to enter into trance.”
Some of the disciples said, “O Master, we knew it, we knew it. Who wants to see you in trance? If you are in trance, then we are totally lost. We enter into our own trance, which is all sleep. When you are in trance, you say that you are more conscious of what is happening in our lives. But we feel that this is the time for us to relax and enter into our own world, since you are not consciously seeing what is happening. That used to be our feeling, but now we see that this is not the case.”
Now the bad, unfortunate disciples said, “O Master, forgive us, forgive us. We will never compare you with anybody. You will always remain our best and highest.”
The Master said, “That should be your attitude. Even if your Master is not as high as another Master, if you accept him, then you have always to feel that he is the highest. If you accept a spiritual Master, it is because you feel that he is absolutely the highest and the best. If you do not feel this, if you have only limited faith and not implicit, one hundred per cent faith, then it is useless to accept a particular Master; for at every moment your mind will be thinking of somebody else. You will think, ‘Perhaps if I had the other Master, I would be making better progress. If I had been fortunate enough, I would have got that Master.’
“No, no! If you accept a Master, you have to accept him wholeheartedly and give him all your devotion. Otherwise, you can’t expect anything great or good, not to speak of your total transformation and complete illumination from that Master.”
All the disciples bowed down and said, “Master, we do not want your trance, we want only your wakeful consciousness. Of course, there is no difference between your trance-life and wakeful consciousness. But when you are with us, when you talk to us in our own human way, when you cut jokes with us and tell us all kinds of juicy stories, when you answer our spiritual questions, at that time you make us feel that you are one of us and that you are for us. When you are mixing with us and cutting jokes, you make us feel that we are really in your boat. We want to be in your boat, and not the other way around. We don’t want you to be in our boat where there is constant fear, anxiety, worry, doubt, insecurity and impurity. No, we want you to be in your boat.
“We wish to be in your reality-boat all the time and not in your trance-boat. When you are in your trance-boat, we are totally lost, for we do not know what you are doing. We may feel that you are acting like a stranger to us and consciously or unconsciously neglect you. Or we may feel that this is an opportunity to deceive you, or that you don’t care for us. All these things are not helpful at all. So you remain with us in a human way. If you deal with us in a human way and mix with us and show us your utmost compassion and affection, we will feel blessed. This is the only way we feel that we will be able to reach our own highest heights.”
The Master said, “You are right, you are right. Because I act like a human being with you, in most cases you are able to talk with me and mix with me. But if I remain always in a divine consciousness, a trance-consciousness, then nobody will be able to understand me or approach me; nobody will be able to have higher goals. Strange feelings and fear will always assail you.
“But I am with you and for you. I am with you and beside you. I am right among you, so you can run with me and climb with me and take me as your comrade and friend. That is the easiest and the most effective way for you to reach your highest, which is my real height.”
There was once a rich man who took an oath that he would never invite Sanskrit scholars, learned people or seekers to his home. His best friend, who was also a very rich man, had once invited some scholars and seekers to come to a function and neither group came. So his friend was very sad. This particular rich man went to his spiritual Teacher and said, “I don’t care for knowledge; I don’t care for the pride of the seekers. I promise I shall never invite scholars and seekers into my home.”
The Master said, “Have you done the right thing? It is not good to make this kind of promise.”
“Why?” the rich man asked.
“If you fulfil your promise,” the Master said, “pride will enter into you. And if you don’t fulfil your promise, you will feel sad and disturbed. Who knows, one day you may want to invite some scholars and sincere seekers to your house. Then your pride will go and you will feel sad and depressed. And depression is destruction. Again, if you don’t invite them, you will feel very proud that you kept your promise, but pride is also destruction. You are the loser no matter what you do. So it is better not to make promises.
People say it is good to make promises; then only your inner capacities come forward. But I wish to tell you that only one promise is good: your promise that you will conquer ignorance and realise God in this life-time. That promise alone is worth making; other promises are all dangerous and destructive.”
The rich man said, “But look what happened to my best friend when he invited some seekers and scholars to his house. How badly he was insulted! If those people were sincere seekers, why did they not come to please my friend? And if they were real scholars, they should have had humility.”
The Master asked, “How do you know why they did not come? They may have thought that the rich man was inviting them only to add to his own glory. Perhaps they felt, ‘He does not care for knowledge or aspiration; he is just inviting us to show off to society. So why should we falsely glorify him? Again, they may have thought that he was inviting them to honour them. But then perhaps they felt, ‘We don’t need honour. We want only to remain in our own prayer and meditation.’ Especially the seekers may have felt like this.
“If scholars don’t come because of their pride and vanity, it is they who will be blamed. Again, if seekers don’t come because they feel that glory is nothing short of temptation and they do not want to be glorified, then they are doing the right thing. But whether they are doing the right thing or the wrong thing, whichever way they want to please themselves, let them do so. Your business is only to invite them, if that is what gives your heart joy. Again, if it is only your vital that wants to be glorified, then you are making a mistake by inviting them. And if you want to invite them because your vital feels that they are inferior and you are in a position to bless them and glorify them, then again you are making a mistake.
“This world is full of misunderstanding. So the best thing is not to make any promises. Only try to see the situation. Don’t have any specific hard and fast rules. When necessity demands, do something spontaneously, but don’t make it a law that you will do it. Wait for the inner command.”
“Master, Master, yes, I see that you are right. I will always wait for the inner command,” said the rich man. “Now, what is my inner command?”
The Master said, “In your case, the inner command is that you have to conquer your pride. If in the inmost recesses of your heart, at times you have the desire to invite people, then do so. Then, if they want to come, well and good, and if they don’t want to come, don’t say anything. But do not promise to yourself that you will not invite any scholars or seekers because certain ones have insulted your friend. Human knowledge you know, but there is also the supreme knowledge. The supreme knowledge is oneness, oneness with God’s Will. If you have oneness with God’s Will, then whether they come to you or you go to them is of no importance. What is of importance is only to remain in God’s Will. Then, no matter where they are and no matter where you are, all of you will please and fulfil one another.
“So my advice is not to make promises. Fulfilling your promises brings in pride, and the failure to fulfil your promises unnecessarily brings in sadness and frustration. Keep only one promise, and that is your promise to achieve God-realisation. And then modify that promise also.”
“How can I modify that promise?” asked the rich man. “I need that promise badly. I want only to realise God. No other promise will I make, Master.”
The Master said, “That promise also has to be made in a certain way. Your wish is to realise God, but it is up to God whether He will make you realise Him in this incarnation or in some other incarnation. So when you make this promise, add, ‘This is my wish. If Your Wish is otherwise, then please fulfil Yourself in and through me in Your own Way.’ That is the best promise: ‘I will fulfil my Beloved Supreme in His own Way, and for that only I shall pray to Him.’ That promise is the only promise which at every moment all seekers must treasure.”
Published in Great Indian Meals: Divinely Delicious and Supremely Nourishing, part 2
Once Ramachandra said to his Guru, Vashishtha, “Lord, please tell me something about God.”
Vashishtha said, “God? He is all greatness. My son, meditate on this.”
Ramachandra meditated on God’s Greatness for a few seconds. Then Vashishtha said, “I am so glad that you have seen and felt God’s Greatness.”
Ramachandra then said, “Lord, please say something more about God.”
Vashishtha said, “God is all goodness. Meditate on God’s Goodness.”
Ramachandra meditated for a few seconds on God’s Goodness. Vashishtha said, “Excellent! I am so glad that you have seen and felt God’s Goodness.”
Again Ramachandra asked his Master to tell him something more about God.
“God is all kindness, all compassion and all concern. Meditate on this.”
Ramachandra meditated on God’s Kindness, Compassion and Concern for a few seconds. Vashishtha said, “Excellent, excellent, my son.”
Ramachandra then said, “Lord, please tell me something more about God.”
His Guru replied, “God is all justice. Meditate on this.”
Ramachandra meditated on God’s Justice and Vashishtha said, “Marvellous! You have seen and felt God’s Justice.”
“Lord, something more I want to hear about God.”
“God is all power. Meditate on this, my son.”
Ramachandra meditated on God’s Power, and Vashishtha said, “I knew, I knew that you would see and feel God’s Power in a very short time.”
“Something else I wish to hear from you, my Lord, about God.”
Vashishtha remained silent.
“Why are you silent, my Lord?” Ramachandra asked. Still Vashishtha remained silent.
“Lord, why are you silent? I wish to learn more from you about God.”
Vashishtha still remained silent.
“Why don’t you want to teach me, my Lord?” asked Ramachandra. “If you do not teach me, how can I learn more about God? I want to learn everything about God from you.”
Again, silence!
Ramachandra asked, “Have I offended you in any way? Consciously I know that I have not offended you. And if I have offended you unconsciously, please forgive me. Only I want you to teach me more about God.”
But Vashishtha only remained silent. “Lord, Lord, if you do not teach me more about God, then I will definitely remain ignorant. If this is your will, if this is the Will of God, then I must remain silent, too.”
Vashishtha blessed Ramachandra and said, “My son, you have got the answer. When all earthly questions are asked and all the answers are given, then question-life and sound-life come to an end. At that time, real answer-life and real silence-life begin. So silence is the answer. Silence is the unparalleled God. Silence unites the many and makes the many one. You and I are two. We are playing the role of teacher and student, Master and disciple. But you have learned everything that I know about God; therefore I remain silent. Silence is perfect oneness and oneness is God-perfection.”
Ramachandra touched Vashishtha’s feet and said, “Your name is silence, my Lord, Eternity’s silence; and my name is gratitude, Infinity’s gratitude. In silence and in gratitude we shall forever and forever remain inseparably one.”
Once the great spiritual Master Kavir said to his son Kamal, “Kamal, please bring me a few flowers and a small quantity of milk for my worship.”
Kamal said, “Father, why do you want flowers and why do you want milk? Flowers are polluted.”
Kavir could not believe his ears. “What, flowers are polluted?”
“Yes,” said Kamal, “flowers are polluted because the bees sit on the flowers and drink their honey. So they are polluted.”
“And what about milk?” Kavir asked.
“Milk is also polluted,” said Kamal, “because the calf has already tasted and drunk some milk from the mother before we get it.”
Kavir became angry. “Son, this is what you have learned from your studies? You find fault with your father’s request, and you argue with your father.”
“No, father,” said Kamal, “I am not arguing, I am just telling you a mere fact. You are asking me for flowers and milk. I am saying that you have to give God something that is totally fresh. I will go and bring flowers whose honey has been tasted by bees, and I will bring milk which has already been drunk by the calf. But if you really want to please God, you have to give Him something that is absolutely pure.”
“Stop!” said Kavir. “Stop, stop your philosophy. O God, you have cursed me with such an argumentative son. He does not know who I am. The whole world worships me, and here my son gives me his proud wisdom.”
“No, father, I am not offering you my wisdom. I am only telling you a mere fact.”
Kavir said, “Enough of your insolence. In this world, when God creates something, everybody may not be able to eat it at the same time. In God’s own Vision, somebody will have it first and others will have it afterwards. But that doesn’t mean that the first one who tastes a particular thing is polluting it for others. A flower has been seen or touched or used a little by a bee, and milk has been touched by the calf, who is dearer than the dearest to the mother cow. Do you think that just because of that I won’t be able to worship my Lord Supreme with flowers and milk? No, God created the flower, and before it was time for me to use the flower, it was time for the bee to taste its honey. And the time came for the calf to taste the cow’s milk before the time came for me to use the milk.
“It is like two people going towards the same destination. I saw the Goal, the eternal Goal, long before you and I have already reached it whereas you are still traveling towards it. But does that mean you will say, ‘What is the use of going to the Goal which has been seen and touched by somebody else?’ No! In the spiritual world, when someone uses something for the first time, that doesn’t mean that this particular thing cannot be touched or utilised by somebody else. You are traveling along the same path that I traveled, and going to the same Goal which I have already reached. Similarly, the flower that has been appreciated by the bee can and should be appreciated by those who see the flower later on. And milk that has been appreciated by the little calf should also be appreciated by others. So, my son, never argue with me.”
“Father,” said Kamal, “I shall never, never argue with you. Today you have illumined me. No other teacher has ever taught me in this way and nobody else will ever be able to teach me in this way. You are my father. You asked me to go to other teachers, and I went and studied. But now I see that the possessor of all real knowledge is nobody other than you yourself. Therefore, I ask you to make me, shape me and guide me into your own, very own. Already in the physical world I am your own. In the spiritual world also I wish you to make me your worthy son, your own, very own.”
“Son,” said Kavir, “I shall. In fact, I am doing that very thing which you are now crying for. When the noise of argument ceases, the voice of illumination dawns.”
“Father,” said Kamal, “I wish to add something. When Compassion-Light dawns, the darkness of centuries in no time immediately disappears.”
“Son, I also wish to add something: Compassion-Light dawns only when the heart is ready to receive Light from Above, from the Beyond, from the Eternal Source.”
One day, a young man went to see his spiritual Master. He was upset and disturbed. “Master, Master, I want to give up spirituality altogether,” he said.
“Why, why?” asked the Master.
“Because it is simply useless. I am a constant victim to undivine thoughts, evil thoughts, and to emotional, lower vital problems. How long can I continue this way? I was quite happy before I entered into the spiritual life. I didn’t have so many vital problems then. But now it is torture, real torture. Let me conquer these undivine thoughts and forces first, and then I shall return to the spiritual life. But now it is not meant for me.”
The Master said nothing. Only he gave the disciple a broad smile.
“Master, I promise you,” the disciple continued, “I promise you I will really pray and meditate once I have conquered all the problems that I have.”
The Master smiled again.
“Master, why are you smiling? Do you not think that I am saying the right thing?”
“No, my son,” said the Master, “I am smiling because you need real wisdom from me.”
“Master, that is why I came to you. But I feel that no matter what you say it will not help me. You have been inundating me with wisdom every day with your spiritual talks, with your affection, with your kindness, with your meditation. But still I find it simply impossible to overcome my lower vital problems and evil thoughts.”
The Master said, “My son, look. Right now you have a fever, you have a stomach upset, you have everything; so won’t you take medicine? You will not say, ‘I will take medicine afterwards. Let my fever, stomach pain and everything else that I am suffering from first go away from me. When these things leave me, then I will take medicine.’ When you suffer from something, you get something that will cure it. If you are bitten by a snake, you immediately take the antidote. Then only you will be cured. Now you are suffering. If you don’t take the medicine, which is prayer and meditation, then how are you going to cure yourself? Will the disease go away on its own? Once the enemy attacks you, it will stay with you until you throw it out. So you have to cure yourself. Prayer and meditation are the medicine.”
The disciple said, “Master, what you are saying is true. But I have tried for such a long time. Now I am tired of fighting. I have no enthusiasm, no will power. I feel that if I surrender to these forces, one day they will show me compassion. Once they show their compassion and feel that I am useless, they will leave me. Then I will immediately run towards you and I will again pray and meditate.”
The Master said, “Oh, no! These enemies are eternal enemies. They never allow their victims to go in their own way. Knowing perfectly well that you are at their mercy, for some time they may remain in a relaxed mood, and you will think that they are not keeping an eye on you, that they are not keeping a strict watch over you. But no, when they see that you are trying to leave their prison cell, immediately they will be more strict with you. They will keep you under greater supervision, under strict orders.
“So conquer these enemies at any cost. Then only you will be saved. Never think that your enemy will grant you freedom. It is you who have to conquer the enemy and get freedom for yourself.”
The disciple touched his Master’s feet. “I know, Master, your Compassion is my sword, your Compassion is my shield and your Compassion is my victory’s crown, which I shall place at your feet divine. From now on, I shall please you — you, you, only you — in your own way.”
Published in Great Indian Meals: Divinely Delicious and Supremely Nourishing, part 3
