Light of Knowledge

Recently listening to Asta Vakra Geeta, Guruji narrated a story emphasizing how celebration dawns in life with the light of knowledge (Master). Please read beyond words else you will miss the whole boat :-)

A man was crossing a dense forest in the dark cold night. As the time went by, his batteries grew feeble and the light of the torch dim. He could barely see the path. Suddenly he came across a serpent standing in the middle of path, on seeing the long dark serpent the man stood there afraid like a statue for the snake to move away. But it seemed that the snake was very adamant, neither the snake moved nor allowed this man to cross the path. The man stood there in the jungle shivering and trembling for the dark night to pass as his batteries were running away, waiting for some one to come and help him!

Well his prayers were soon answered, there came a person with a much powerful torch, and showed the man what he perceived as snake in the dark night with feeble torch was just a rope lying in the path. No sooner this person led him with the powerful torch - the dark cold frightful night disappeared, the serpent vanished, the day dawned, flowers blossomed, birds started chirping, dew drops sparkled in the morning sunlight, the man had reached HOME and there was celebration (DIWALI) all around!!!

Hope you got it. Have a safe and happy Diwali :-)

Love,
Satyajit

StairWay to Heaven

It’s story time J

Once it happened in Tibet, a new temple was built in a village so they needed a Master to take charge of this temple and guide the people of this village. The people of village sent message to main Master and requested Him to send one of His disciples for the newly built temple.

The Master selected ten of his highly learned disciples and sent them off to the new temple. All the other people who were watching the proceeding got confused as to why the Master had sent ten people when only one was required. They inquisitively inquired to the Master. Master just smiled and said nothing.

All the ten disciples set off to the temple, which was around nine villages far off. After few weeks news came back to the Master that the one disciple that He had sent has reached the village and they were very grateful and happy. This news again shocked the people as ten were sent how come only one reached, what happened to the others?

All the people went back to the Master and requested Him to solve this puzzle. The Master looking at their confusion smilingly revealed the flow of events...

As the ten disciples reached the first village, they were welcomed by a business man. Business man requested the first disciple to marry his daughter; he said an astrologer had suggested him to marry his daughter off to the first person entering this village in the morning. The business man was richest in the village, had only one daughter who was very beautiful, the first disciple could not ignore the offer and accepted it; as he thought if he rejects this offer some one from the other nine disciples would definitely accept the offer. Also this gave him opportunity to enjoy all the pleasures of life. So he requested the other nine disciples to move forward with their journey and confirmed he would stay back and got married.

As the remaining nine disciples reached another village, King of the village welcomed them and asked one of the disciples to become his minister. King's 'pandit' had died recently and he was looking for someone to replace him. The second disciple immediately agreed as the offer was lucrative; the position was good and respectable. He asked the other eight disciples to continue with their journey and he stayed back in the palace.

So one by one they kept dropping off, some got caught up in money, some in position, some in small little pleasures and so on...in the end only two of them remained.

Finally when the two were close to the village they had been traveling for, they had to wait in nearby village for the night. While giving sermons in the nearby village one of the person from the crowd stood up and argued with them about the philosophy they were teaching. This led to a heated debate and one of the disciples said to the other...please you go ahead, I will not be coming; I need to wait back and make this person realize that what I am speaking is correct.

So finally one disciple reached the temple!

Hence it is said 'Jab Dus Nikalte Hain, Tab Koi Ek Paunchta Hai' (When ten start on the path only one reaches). In the book The Way of Grace [http://www.srisri.com/home.htm] somewhere Guruji has mentioned the stair way to heaven is very slippery, that sums up the above story, good luck to you and me also :)

What goes around comes around

There was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to eke out a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran. There, mired to his waist in mud, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.

The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's farm, and an elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.

"I want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You saved my son's life."

"No, I can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer said, and at that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door.

"Is that your son?" the nobleman asked.

"Yes," said the farmer.

"I'll make you a deal. Let me take him and give him a good education. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll grow to be a man you can be proud of."

And that he did. In time, Farmer Fleming's son graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of penicillin.

Years afterward, the nobleman's son was stricken with pneumonia, and penicillin saved his life. The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill, His son? Winston Churchill.

Mysterious Ways of Master

Hope you had a great time last week; I enjoyed the Navratri Advanced Meditation Course with Rishi Nitya Pragya ji.

After doing few DSN courses with Him it was pleasure to do an Advanced Meditation course with Him. As usual He bound everyone in His spell of Knowledge, Satsang, Devotion and presence of mind. His in-depth knowledge and study of Mind, it's working and taming it was really amazing! Truly amazing teacher, we got to learn lots of things; He left everyone totally rejuvenated, inspired - hollow and empty!

Rishi ji is one of the senior teachers to be with Guruji from the very beginning, having learnt directly from the Master Himself. Like Rishi ji, one of the other senior teachers Swami Pragyapad ji once mentioned His learning with Guruji.

Here it goes ... Swami ji said during building of Vishalakshi Mantap (beautiful meditation hall in Bangalore ashram) and the Am-phi Theater (beautiful satang place in front of Vishalakshi Mandap) He was waiting for Guruji for some directions on how to go about some final finishing touches to be given. When Guruji returned from tour, Swami ji asked Guruji how He wanted it to be. First Guruji didn't show any interest, finally Guruji directed Swami ji how He wanted things to be. After the suggestions Guruji went away on tour. Few weeks later when Guruji returned, Swami ji showed Him how the things have come out to be.

Swami ji said looking at the work done, Guruji said it was looking so ugly and asked Swamji, who had asked Him to do it that way? Guruji was looking from all the angles and complaining that it was looking ugly. Swami ji said He was totally taken aback, but could not argue with Guruji. Guruji kept Him reminding of the ugly work for sometime!

After a day or two Guruji again looked at the work and started appreciating it, saying it was looking very good...very beautiful and was very happy with it. And left Swami ji totally confused once again!

Swami ji thought for few days on why Guruji would have acted this way; first disapproving His own directions, indirectly blaming Swami ji and then after some time praising it Himself. Swami ji said - in life if something goes wrong we immediately blame others or people blame us and we start arguing and complaining instead of taking responsibility. Here, He said there was no way I could have argued with Guruji. He had no choice but to take that in-stride instead of arguing and complaining.

A big lesson learnt. Guruji has given all the knowledge in courses, books and talks but He does conduct practicals now and then to solidify knowledge learnt whether He is physically present around you or not :-)

I remember in one of the Asta Vakra Geeta CD, He says situations have been created for you to live the knowledge ... practical!

In Tibet there is a saying 'Dus nikalte hain tab koi Ek paunchta hai...!' (When Ten people start on the path only ONE reaches...!). I guess out of the ten only ONE succeeds the practical exam of the divine, others have to give the same exams again and again...event after events, birth after births. There is a beautiful story attached with this saying, will blog it some other day. Have a great week ahead and happy Dassera!

Love,
Satyajit