YOUR REAL NATURE

YOUR REAL NATURE

 

 Once, while out hunting, a lioness gave birth to a cub amidst a flock of goats. She left her newly born baby amidst the goats and returned to her den in the forest. This baby lion began to live with the group of goats. He ate, slept and stayed with them. As he grew up, the shepherd named him Lindiyo, a name normally reserved for goats and sheep. The lion responded to his name, skipped and danced, like every tame animal.

Lindiyo grew up into the full frame of a lion but he himself never knew it. To himself, he was only a weak, frail goat.

One day, while they were on lush pastures, a huge lion roared and attacked the flock. All the goats fled with fear; they ran in all directions to save their lives. Even Lindiyo scampered away.

The lion was astounded and looked twice. ''How did a lion get mixed up with a flock of goats?'' he asked himself. He leaped and chased Lindiyo and soon seized him. Lindiyo was trembling with fright. He shut his eyes tight. ''Hey, you!'' the lion shook him, ''You're a lion. How did you end up in this group of goats?''

''Please, let me go. My name is Lindiyo, Sir, please let me go!'' the lion-goat helplessly pleaded for mercy.

''Come come! You're not a goat! Rather, goats are your daily dinner. Why have you lost your senses? Come with me to the riverside.'' So saying the lion dragged Lindiyo to the river bank and where the water was quite still, he showed him his own reflection. ''See,  look at your face. It's like mine. You have a golden mane, see the paws and the claws, everything is like mine. You are a lion and not a goat.'' He further taught him to stand tall and roar like a lion. ''Come on speak like I speak and roar; and remember these goats are our food, not friends.''

Lindiyo suddenly realised his true identity and broke out from his shell of limitations. He himself roared and drove away the goats. He had become a lion from a lion-goat.


We too, suffer from a similar problem. Our true identity is Atman which is not different from the one prevailing consciousness -Brahman, but we have somehow lost that knowledge and believe ourselves to be the body.

We all see ourselves as Lindiyo. We must realise our real nature and identity as the Atman and become the master of Maya and not its slave. And to attain such knowledge, we need to approach a Guru, who shows and convinces us that we are not Lindiyo but the pure and powerful Atma, which is nothing but Brahman - the Absolute Truth.

 

 

IT IS EXAMINATION SEASON – FACE YOUR TEST CONFIDENTLY

IT IS EXAMINATION SEASON – FACE YOUR TEST CONFIDENTLY

 

Once there were two disciples of Rishi Apaddhoumya. Their names were Aruni and Upmanyu. Both were young and very quiet. They obeyed the Guru in everything.

Once the Guru decided to test them to the full. He sent them to the forest to graze the ashram's cows. He also ordered them, ''Don't eat anything.'' Both disciples always obeyed the Guru, and so they ate nothing. But whenever they felt hungry they would milk a cow and drink some milk.

After some days the Guru asked, ''What do you eat?''

They replied, ''We eat nothing cooked but do drink milk.'' The Guru said, ''From now on, don't drink milk either.'' The disciples agreed and went happily off to the forest to graze the cows.

In the afternoon both felt hungry, but the Guru had ordered them not to drink even milk now. And so they went to a village and begged pieces of fruit and ate them. Thus they began to do this every day.

A few days later, the Guru asked ''What do you eat?''

They replied, ''We beg pieces of fruit from the village and eat those.'' The Guru instructed, ''We should never beg in this way.'' So the two promised never to beg again.

Aruni and Upmanyu again went to the forest to graze the cows. Never did they find fault with their Guru.

For three to four days they managed to survive without food. But hunger grew and they could bear it no longer. The Guru had commanded not to eat or drink milk. So they ate some wild berries.

The berries were poisonous and the two became blind. As they made their way back to the ashram holding each other's hand they fell into a dry well one hundred hands deep. Seeing the cows return alone to the ashram the Guru became worried. Where were Aruni and Upmanyu? He set out in search of them.

He searched the jungle calling, ''Hey Aruni, Hey Upmanyu.'' He couldn't see them anywhere. However, the two disciples heard their Guru calling and shouted a reply from the bottom of the well.

''Where are you?'' the Guru shouted. ''Over here, in the well,'' they called back.

The Guru had some people climb down into the well and bring the two disciples up. When he saw them he realised they had become blind! He asked the reason for this. They humbly answered, ''You commanded us not to eat or drink anything, but we were so hungry that we ate some wild berries. They were poisonous and then we became blind. And as we tried to make our way back to the ashram, we fell into this empty well.''

The rishi was extremely pleased with their devotion to him. He called Ashwinikumar, the physician of the demi-gods. He gave them potent medicine and so both boys could see again.

The Guru so tested his young disciples, but they were not discouraged. They did not run away and leave the Guru. They had immense faith and devotion and love for their Guru that they were ready to do anything at their Guru's command. Such true faith in a Guru definitely leads one to the "Truth" and brings us true wisdom and enlightenment.

POVERTY IS…..

POVERTY IS…..

 

One day a monk left his ashram and went out to the main street of the city, jiggling a few copper coins in the palm of his hand. As the beggars thronged around him, he announced that he would only give the coins to the poorest man in the city. As the demanding hands pressed him from all sides, he kept saying, "No, it is not you not you, not you," and he continued walking.

Suddenly the fanfare of trumpets obscured the noise of the city. Guards hurried down the street to clear away the riff-raff, and proclaimed that the Maharaja was coming out of his palace on his royal elephant.

The people lined the street with eager anticipation to make their obeisance to their king, but the monk stepped in front of the elephant, and, addressing the king in a loud voice, said, "Great Maharaj! I have something for you." And he tossed the copper coins to the king.

The king was astounded and demanded to know why the monk was being so impertinent.

"Your majesty, I made a vow that today I would give this copper coin to the poorest man in the city."

"Me" screamed the king. "I own this city. I own this whole country. How can you say that I am the poorest man?"

 

"Because you have constant hunger for more possessions."

This is the snare of maya, the cosmic delusion: the more we feel separated from God, the more we try to fill our life with possessions, which further deepens our spiritual emptiness. This constant rush to acquire more things, more sensations, more people, and more thoughts turns us from divine children to bestial paupers. "Poverty", as Plato said, "consists, not in the decrease of one's possessions, but in the increase of one's greed."