bizzyboy
07-06-2005, 12:34 AM
25 cents occult power
Once two brothers began doing sadhana. One of them directed his mind towards Paramapurusa, the other was interested in occult powers and soon acquired some. When they met some years later, one brother said to the other, "See what powers I have developed!" and using the power of laghima', making himself very light, he walked across the water of a deep river. Meanwhile the other brother, who had become a devotee of God, paid 25 cents and took the ferryboat to the other side. The first brother said to him, what do you think of my siddhi (power)?" "Ha!" he laughed, "Your siddhi is worth only 25 cents!"
The disciple who painted 2 similar paintings
Once upon a time, a guru asked his disciple to paint two similar paintings on to separate sheets of paper. He was then ordered to go to the city and hang the painting on a wall, together with a marker and the following inscription: "Please mark the painting where you like it most." In the evening he went to bring the painting and found out it was covered with marks. "Everyone like my painting!" thought the disciple who became suddenly very pleased that his training had been so successful. The next morning, the guru requested his disciple to hang the other painting in the same fashion, but this time with this instruction: "mark places you don’t like" In the evening the disciple discovered the painting was also full of marks, and he became very sad. The guru then told: "Never mind, yesterday you were happy and today you are sad, and both paintings are the same" The disciple then realized it was futile to pay attention to other’s praise and criticism, and that he should just do what he had to do the best way he could.
The three friends and the tiger
Once three friends were going through a forest, when a tiger suddenly appeared before them. " Brothers, " one of them exclaimed, " we are lost!" " Why should you say that?" said the second friend, " Why should we be lost? Come, let us pray to God. " The third friend said: "No. Why should we trouble God about it? Come, let us climb this tree. "
The friend who said 'We are lost! did not know that there is a God who is our Protector. The friend who asked the others to pray to God was a jnani. He was aware that God is the Creator, Preserver and Destroyer of the world. The third friend, who didn't want to trouble God with prayers and suggested climbing the tree, had ecstatic love of God. It is the very nature of such love that it makes a man think himself stronger than his Beloved. He is always alert lest his Beloved should suffer. The one desire of his is to keep his Beloved from even being picked in the foot by a thorn.
The sage, the thief, the drunkard and the saint
Once a sage was lying by the roadside deeply immersed in Samadhi. A thief while passing by that way, saw him and thought: " This fellow here must be a thief. He must have broken into some houses last night, and is now sleeping through exhaustion. The police will be very soon here to catch him. So let me escape in time. " Thus cogitating he ran away. Soon after, a drunkard came there, and seeing the sage, said: " Halloo! you have fallen into the ditch by drinking too much. He! I am steadier than yourself and am not going to tumble down. " last of all there came a sage, and realizing that a great saint was lying in the state of Samadhi, sat down by his side and began to stroke his holy feet gently. Thus our worldly tendencies prevent us from recognizing true holiness and piety.
How the old weaver was saved « by the will of God
A devout old weaver was sitting under a tree one day thinking of God, when a band of robbers who had just robbed a house came up and forced him to carry their stolen goods. Suddenly the police arrived and the robbers ran away. The police arrested the weaver and threw him in jail. The next day they brought him to trial to make his statement. "Your honor" He said, "By the will of God I was sitting under a tree last night and by the will of God a band of robbers passed by and put a load on my head. By the will of God the police arrived and arrested me and put me in jail for the night, and by the will of God I was brought before you today." The judge realized that the old man was a great devotee of God and released him. On his way home the weaver said to his family, " By the will of God, they released me."
The monk who carried the girl across the stream
The jananese Zen master Tanzan and the monk Ekido come across a beautiful girl who was unable to cross a stream. The master said:
- I will carry you across the stream
- Master, thank-you and farewell! said the girl.
The two of them continued walking for half the day... finally Ekido said:
-We monks do not go near women, right? Why did you do that earlier?
-Er, what woman are referring to? I put her down long ago. Are you still carrying her?
The yogi who saved a scorpion again and again
Once while a yogi was bathing in the ocean, a scorpion crawling along the sand verby was swept into the water by a large wave. To save it from drowning, the yogi reached out and carried the scorpion to dry land, but as he did so the scorpion stung him. Another wave carried the scorpion into the ocean, and again the yogi saved him--and again he was stung. A third wave, and a third time the yogi, this time with a red and swollen hand, came to its rescue. A passerby, watching the scene cried in amazement, "Why do you keep saving it when it keeps stinging you. Have you no sense?" The
yogi smiled and replied, "It is the dharma of the scorpion to sting and the dharma of the yogi to serve. He is merely following his dharma and I am following mine."
How Bharat became attached to a fawn
Once there lived a great king named Bharat who in his old age felt it was time to leave the world, become a hermit in the jungle, and prepare for his death. Without any sorrow or attachment he left his kingdom, his wife and family, and journeyed to the forest. For many days he absorbed his mind in deep meditation and began to shed all bondage: he was approaching the state of absolute liberation. One day while sitting beside the river, he saw a sudden drama unfold before him: a tiger was chasing a doe heavy with child. In great panic the doe jumped the river to escape the tiger, but with her weight could not cross it. She fell in the water and at that very moment she gave birth to her fawn. The mother dear drowned, but the little dear floated kicking and crying down the river, past the old saintly king. The king, in his great compassion, reached down and saved the fawn. He dried it off and warm it before his fire and gave it food. From that time the little fawn lived with the king and played near his hut. The king came to love him as his own child, and even worried anxiously when the little fawn did not return at nightfall. The great renunciate who left his family and kingdom without a backward glance gradually became attached to a tiny fawn. The weeks passed and death approached the old king. He sat down in sadhana and withdrew his mind from his body to absorb his mind in that infinite 'consciousness at the moment of death, that he might attain liberation. But as he concentrated his mind on the Supreme, a sudden thought flashed in his mind: "But when I die, who will take care of my beloved little fawn?" With this thought filling his mind, he died. And in his next life he became a deer. But this deer was jatismara or "birth rememberer"- he remembered well why he had become a deer. He always grazed near the ashrams of saints where he could hear their kiirtan and feel the blissful vibration of their meditations.
When this deer body died, he was born in a Brahmin family as a deaf-mute. This life time, he was determined not to become attached to the old in any way. Though his relatives mocked and scorned him he was unaffected and sat alone, refusing ever to speak, engrossing his mind in thoughts of the Supreme until he finally got liberation.
give the dog a good beating at times
There was a man who had a pet dog. He used to caress it, carry it about in his arms, play with it and kiss it. A wise man, seeing this foolish behavior of his, warned him not to lavish such affection on a dog. For it was, after all, an irrational brute, and might bite him one day. The owner took the warning to heart and putting the dog away from his arms, resolved never again to fondle it or to caress it. But the animal could not first understand the change in his master, and would run to him frequently to be taken up and caressed. Beaten several times, the dog at last ceased to trouble his master any more.
Such indeed is everybody's condition. The dog you have been cherishing (i.e., lust ) so long in your bosom will not easily leave you, though you may wish to be rid of it. However, there is no harm in it. Do not caress the dog any more, but give it a good beating whenever it approaches you to be fondled, and in course of time you will altogether free from its importunities.
Once two brothers began doing sadhana. One of them directed his mind towards Paramapurusa, the other was interested in occult powers and soon acquired some. When they met some years later, one brother said to the other, "See what powers I have developed!" and using the power of laghima', making himself very light, he walked across the water of a deep river. Meanwhile the other brother, who had become a devotee of God, paid 25 cents and took the ferryboat to the other side. The first brother said to him, what do you think of my siddhi (power)?" "Ha!" he laughed, "Your siddhi is worth only 25 cents!"
The disciple who painted 2 similar paintings
Once upon a time, a guru asked his disciple to paint two similar paintings on to separate sheets of paper. He was then ordered to go to the city and hang the painting on a wall, together with a marker and the following inscription: "Please mark the painting where you like it most." In the evening he went to bring the painting and found out it was covered with marks. "Everyone like my painting!" thought the disciple who became suddenly very pleased that his training had been so successful. The next morning, the guru requested his disciple to hang the other painting in the same fashion, but this time with this instruction: "mark places you don’t like" In the evening the disciple discovered the painting was also full of marks, and he became very sad. The guru then told: "Never mind, yesterday you were happy and today you are sad, and both paintings are the same" The disciple then realized it was futile to pay attention to other’s praise and criticism, and that he should just do what he had to do the best way he could.
The three friends and the tiger
Once three friends were going through a forest, when a tiger suddenly appeared before them. " Brothers, " one of them exclaimed, " we are lost!" " Why should you say that?" said the second friend, " Why should we be lost? Come, let us pray to God. " The third friend said: "No. Why should we trouble God about it? Come, let us climb this tree. "
The friend who said 'We are lost! did not know that there is a God who is our Protector. The friend who asked the others to pray to God was a jnani. He was aware that God is the Creator, Preserver and Destroyer of the world. The third friend, who didn't want to trouble God with prayers and suggested climbing the tree, had ecstatic love of God. It is the very nature of such love that it makes a man think himself stronger than his Beloved. He is always alert lest his Beloved should suffer. The one desire of his is to keep his Beloved from even being picked in the foot by a thorn.
The sage, the thief, the drunkard and the saint
Once a sage was lying by the roadside deeply immersed in Samadhi. A thief while passing by that way, saw him and thought: " This fellow here must be a thief. He must have broken into some houses last night, and is now sleeping through exhaustion. The police will be very soon here to catch him. So let me escape in time. " Thus cogitating he ran away. Soon after, a drunkard came there, and seeing the sage, said: " Halloo! you have fallen into the ditch by drinking too much. He! I am steadier than yourself and am not going to tumble down. " last of all there came a sage, and realizing that a great saint was lying in the state of Samadhi, sat down by his side and began to stroke his holy feet gently. Thus our worldly tendencies prevent us from recognizing true holiness and piety.
How the old weaver was saved « by the will of God
A devout old weaver was sitting under a tree one day thinking of God, when a band of robbers who had just robbed a house came up and forced him to carry their stolen goods. Suddenly the police arrived and the robbers ran away. The police arrested the weaver and threw him in jail. The next day they brought him to trial to make his statement. "Your honor" He said, "By the will of God I was sitting under a tree last night and by the will of God a band of robbers passed by and put a load on my head. By the will of God the police arrived and arrested me and put me in jail for the night, and by the will of God I was brought before you today." The judge realized that the old man was a great devotee of God and released him. On his way home the weaver said to his family, " By the will of God, they released me."
The monk who carried the girl across the stream
The jananese Zen master Tanzan and the monk Ekido come across a beautiful girl who was unable to cross a stream. The master said:
- I will carry you across the stream
- Master, thank-you and farewell! said the girl.
The two of them continued walking for half the day... finally Ekido said:
-We monks do not go near women, right? Why did you do that earlier?
-Er, what woman are referring to? I put her down long ago. Are you still carrying her?
The yogi who saved a scorpion again and again
Once while a yogi was bathing in the ocean, a scorpion crawling along the sand verby was swept into the water by a large wave. To save it from drowning, the yogi reached out and carried the scorpion to dry land, but as he did so the scorpion stung him. Another wave carried the scorpion into the ocean, and again the yogi saved him--and again he was stung. A third wave, and a third time the yogi, this time with a red and swollen hand, came to its rescue. A passerby, watching the scene cried in amazement, "Why do you keep saving it when it keeps stinging you. Have you no sense?" The
yogi smiled and replied, "It is the dharma of the scorpion to sting and the dharma of the yogi to serve. He is merely following his dharma and I am following mine."
How Bharat became attached to a fawn
Once there lived a great king named Bharat who in his old age felt it was time to leave the world, become a hermit in the jungle, and prepare for his death. Without any sorrow or attachment he left his kingdom, his wife and family, and journeyed to the forest. For many days he absorbed his mind in deep meditation and began to shed all bondage: he was approaching the state of absolute liberation. One day while sitting beside the river, he saw a sudden drama unfold before him: a tiger was chasing a doe heavy with child. In great panic the doe jumped the river to escape the tiger, but with her weight could not cross it. She fell in the water and at that very moment she gave birth to her fawn. The mother dear drowned, but the little dear floated kicking and crying down the river, past the old saintly king. The king, in his great compassion, reached down and saved the fawn. He dried it off and warm it before his fire and gave it food. From that time the little fawn lived with the king and played near his hut. The king came to love him as his own child, and even worried anxiously when the little fawn did not return at nightfall. The great renunciate who left his family and kingdom without a backward glance gradually became attached to a tiny fawn. The weeks passed and death approached the old king. He sat down in sadhana and withdrew his mind from his body to absorb his mind in that infinite 'consciousness at the moment of death, that he might attain liberation. But as he concentrated his mind on the Supreme, a sudden thought flashed in his mind: "But when I die, who will take care of my beloved little fawn?" With this thought filling his mind, he died. And in his next life he became a deer. But this deer was jatismara or "birth rememberer"- he remembered well why he had become a deer. He always grazed near the ashrams of saints where he could hear their kiirtan and feel the blissful vibration of their meditations.
When this deer body died, he was born in a Brahmin family as a deaf-mute. This life time, he was determined not to become attached to the old in any way. Though his relatives mocked and scorned him he was unaffected and sat alone, refusing ever to speak, engrossing his mind in thoughts of the Supreme until he finally got liberation.
give the dog a good beating at times
There was a man who had a pet dog. He used to caress it, carry it about in his arms, play with it and kiss it. A wise man, seeing this foolish behavior of his, warned him not to lavish such affection on a dog. For it was, after all, an irrational brute, and might bite him one day. The owner took the warning to heart and putting the dog away from his arms, resolved never again to fondle it or to caress it. But the animal could not first understand the change in his master, and would run to him frequently to be taken up and caressed. Beaten several times, the dog at last ceased to trouble his master any more.
Such indeed is everybody's condition. The dog you have been cherishing (i.e., lust ) so long in your bosom will not easily leave you, though you may wish to be rid of it. However, there is no harm in it. Do not caress the dog any more, but give it a good beating whenever it approaches you to be fondled, and in course of time you will altogether free from its importunities.