For a change, I am going to tell some stories and let's try to decipher the spirituality behind these stories. The stories may appear hilarious and by themselves may be nice for parents to tell their young kids. However, hidden behind them are profound spiritual messages.
1. Story 1: The lion that thought it was a sheep
A lion cub once got lost from its mother and kept wandering in the forest. It looked everywhere for its mother and with no success was totally dejected and hungry. Soon it came to a meadow where it saw several sheep grazing. It went and joined the flock of sheep. It saw the sheep eating grass and started eating it and to some extent its hunger was diminished. It went along with the sheep flock everywhere. Years went by and now the cub had grown to be a full fledged lion. But it still was part of the flock and ate grass.
One day another lion from the forest came hunting and saw the flock of sheep. As it was prepared to run and catch the sheep, it saw the other lion and held back. The forest lion saw the strange spectacle of the lion eating grass. It silently beckoned the grass eating lion and told it, that it was not a sheep, but someone like it. The grass eating lion refused to believe it. So the forest lion took it to a pond and asked it to look into the pond. Then the grass lion saw that it was exactly like the forest lion and realized it too was a lion.
The forest lion then left for the forest and asked the other lion to join it. The grass lion said it will join soon and went back to its flock. Days passed and the lion again was back to its routine of eating grass. It had forgotten it was a lion. Only when it went to a pond to drink water and saw the reflection, it realized it was not a sheep, but a lion. Only after repeated cycles of forgetting and reinforcement, the lion realized its true nature and went to the forest.
Spiritual message
We are all infinite. We are the absolute Truth, the supreme Brahman. We are the ocean in our expanse. However, due to ignorance we get lost and identify with our bodies. Even though we are an ocean of abundance, we think we are the wave and suffer. Just like the lion cub thought it was a sheep and behaved like one, we think we are pygmies or small insignificant beings. Just as another lion which knew it was a lion made this grass eating lion aware of its true nature, we need a self realized soul to make us aware of our true nature. Throughout history, such souls have come and tried to tell us about our reality. Be it Krishna of the Hindus, Jesus for the Christians, Buddha for the Buddhists and so on.
They have repeatedly told us that we are infinite and must rise above the body/mind identification that makes us think we are this or that individual. Just like the grass lion understands what the forest lion said, when we listen to such realized souls we get an inkling of our true nature. But once the lecture is over and we get back to our routine, we again forget the message and become the same small individuals.
Just as the grass eating lion had to often look at itself in the pond to convince itself that it was really a lion, we have to constantly keep studying the scriptures or attend lectures till we are convinced that we are the Supreme.
2. Story 2: The Invisible Rope Holding The Camel
There lived in the huge desert, a Bedouin with his set of camels. Once he had to take all the camels to another village and he and his son set off on the journey. After a long tiring march, they came to a village and found a rest house. The son tried to cajole the camels to lie down, but was not successful. He went and told the problem to his father, who asked his son to first tie the camels and then ask them to lie down. The son went back and to his horror, saw that there was no rope. Back he went to his father. The old wise man asked his son not to worry and went over to the camels. He bent under them touching their legs and gave an impression that he was tying them up. He then acted as though he was tying the rope to a log of wood. He then cajoled the camels to lie down and they did so instantly.
In the morning, they got up and the son tried to get the camels to move. But they totally refused to move. Again the old man came over and pretended he was untying the camels. He made all the relevant actions that he normally did every morning and then the camels started to walk.
Spiritual message
We are all like the camel. We have got so used to the illusory world of objects, that we think we are a small entity and need to get these objects to be happy. Just as the camel never realized that the rope holding it is illusory, we do not realize the hold that the world of objects has over us is illusory. How real is the lovely Miss Universe I marry in my dream? We go after material possessions, emotional love related attachments and any intellectual attachments and stay stuck to the material world.
How do we get over this bondage? The problem is, there is no real bondage, just as the camel did not really have a rope holding them. It is a massive ignorance that makes us feel we are not the mighty Brahman and we think we are bound by worldly objects. So, how does one get over ignorance of anything? If I am ignorant about law of gravity, I will study physics. If I am ignorant about places in the world, I will study geography. Similarly, if I am ignorant about my true nature, the only source are the scriptures. I am not telling that any specific scripture is the best or truer. If truth is ultimate, then all scriptures tell the same truth.
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As readers may be aware, 3 of my books on spirituality are available on Amazon.com.
I invite readers of my blog to try any of the books and give me feedback so that I can make changes in the next edition.
1. My Humble Understanding Of Spirituality
My Humble Understanding Of Spirituality
2. Attain Infinite Bliss
Attain Infinite Bliss - A Spiritual Guide
3. The Spirit Of Spirituality
The Spirit Of Spirituality
1. Story 1: The lion that thought it was a sheep
A lion cub once got lost from its mother and kept wandering in the forest. It looked everywhere for its mother and with no success was totally dejected and hungry. Soon it came to a meadow where it saw several sheep grazing. It went and joined the flock of sheep. It saw the sheep eating grass and started eating it and to some extent its hunger was diminished. It went along with the sheep flock everywhere. Years went by and now the cub had grown to be a full fledged lion. But it still was part of the flock and ate grass.
One day another lion from the forest came hunting and saw the flock of sheep. As it was prepared to run and catch the sheep, it saw the other lion and held back. The forest lion saw the strange spectacle of the lion eating grass. It silently beckoned the grass eating lion and told it, that it was not a sheep, but someone like it. The grass eating lion refused to believe it. So the forest lion took it to a pond and asked it to look into the pond. Then the grass lion saw that it was exactly like the forest lion and realized it too was a lion.
The forest lion then left for the forest and asked the other lion to join it. The grass lion said it will join soon and went back to its flock. Days passed and the lion again was back to its routine of eating grass. It had forgotten it was a lion. Only when it went to a pond to drink water and saw the reflection, it realized it was not a sheep, but a lion. Only after repeated cycles of forgetting and reinforcement, the lion realized its true nature and went to the forest.
Spiritual message
We are all infinite. We are the absolute Truth, the supreme Brahman. We are the ocean in our expanse. However, due to ignorance we get lost and identify with our bodies. Even though we are an ocean of abundance, we think we are the wave and suffer. Just like the lion cub thought it was a sheep and behaved like one, we think we are pygmies or small insignificant beings. Just as another lion which knew it was a lion made this grass eating lion aware of its true nature, we need a self realized soul to make us aware of our true nature. Throughout history, such souls have come and tried to tell us about our reality. Be it Krishna of the Hindus, Jesus for the Christians, Buddha for the Buddhists and so on.
They have repeatedly told us that we are infinite and must rise above the body/mind identification that makes us think we are this or that individual. Just like the grass lion understands what the forest lion said, when we listen to such realized souls we get an inkling of our true nature. But once the lecture is over and we get back to our routine, we again forget the message and become the same small individuals.
Just as the grass eating lion had to often look at itself in the pond to convince itself that it was really a lion, we have to constantly keep studying the scriptures or attend lectures till we are convinced that we are the Supreme.
2. Story 2: The Invisible Rope Holding The Camel
There lived in the huge desert, a Bedouin with his set of camels. Once he had to take all the camels to another village and he and his son set off on the journey. After a long tiring march, they came to a village and found a rest house. The son tried to cajole the camels to lie down, but was not successful. He went and told the problem to his father, who asked his son to first tie the camels and then ask them to lie down. The son went back and to his horror, saw that there was no rope. Back he went to his father. The old wise man asked his son not to worry and went over to the camels. He bent under them touching their legs and gave an impression that he was tying them up. He then acted as though he was tying the rope to a log of wood. He then cajoled the camels to lie down and they did so instantly.
In the morning, they got up and the son tried to get the camels to move. But they totally refused to move. Again the old man came over and pretended he was untying the camels. He made all the relevant actions that he normally did every morning and then the camels started to walk.
Spiritual message
We are all like the camel. We have got so used to the illusory world of objects, that we think we are a small entity and need to get these objects to be happy. Just as the camel never realized that the rope holding it is illusory, we do not realize the hold that the world of objects has over us is illusory. How real is the lovely Miss Universe I marry in my dream? We go after material possessions, emotional love related attachments and any intellectual attachments and stay stuck to the material world.
How do we get over this bondage? The problem is, there is no real bondage, just as the camel did not really have a rope holding them. It is a massive ignorance that makes us feel we are not the mighty Brahman and we think we are bound by worldly objects. So, how does one get over ignorance of anything? If I am ignorant about law of gravity, I will study physics. If I am ignorant about places in the world, I will study geography. Similarly, if I am ignorant about my true nature, the only source are the scriptures. I am not telling that any specific scripture is the best or truer. If truth is ultimate, then all scriptures tell the same truth.
----------------------------------------------------
3 of my books
I invite readers of my blog to try any of the books and give me feedback so that I can make changes in the next edition.
1. My Humble Understanding Of Spirituality
My Humble Understanding Of Spirituality
2. Attain Infinite Bliss
Attain Infinite Bliss - A Spiritual Guide
3. The Spirit Of Spirituality
The Spirit Of Spirituality
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