Pondering The Self

August 3, 2009

There was a cowherd boy who took his cows to the meadows every morning and

brought them back to the cowshed at the end of the day. One evening, as he was

tying the cows up for the night, the boy found that one of them was missing her

rope. He feared that she might run away, but it was too late to go and buy a new

rope. The boy didn't know what to do, so he went to a wise man who lived nearby

and sought his advice. The wise man told the boy to pretend to tie the cow, and

make sure that the cow saw him doing it. The boy did as the wise man suggested

and pretended to tie the cow. The next morning the boy discovered that the cow

had remained still throughout the night. He untied all the cows as usual, and

they all went outside. He was about to go to the meadows when he noticed that

the cow with the missing rope was still in the cowshed. She was standing on the

same spot where she had been all night. He tried to coax her to join the herd,

but she wouldn't budge. The boy was perplexed. He went back to the wise man who

said, " The cow still thinks she is tied up. Go back and pretend to untie her. "

The boy did as he was told, and the cow happily left the cowshed. This is what

the guru does with the ego of the disciple. The guru helps untie that which was

never there. Like the cow, due to our ignorance, we believe that we are bound by

the ego when, in fact, we are completely free. We need to be convinced of this,

however.

-Mother Amma (Mata Amritanandamayi)

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A beggar had been sitting by the side of the road for thirty years.

One day a stranger walked by.

" Spare some change? " mumbled the beggar.

" I have nothing to give you, " said the stranger. Then he asked: " What's that

you're sitting on? "

" Nothing, " replied the beggar. " Just an old box. I've been sitting on it for as

long as I can remember.

" Ever look inside?, " asked the stranger.

" No, " said the beggar. " What's the point, there's nothing in there. "

" Have a look inside, " insisted the stranger. The beggar, reluctantly, managed to

pry open the lid. With astonishment, disbelief, and elation, he saw that the

box was filled with gold.

I am that stranger who has nothing to give you and who is telling you to look

inside. Not inside any box, as in the parable, but somewhere even closer: inside

yourself.

From The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle

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" There is nothing that does not come from him.

Of everything he is the inmost Self.

He is the truth; he is the Self supreme.

You are that, Shvetaketu; you are that. "

" Please, Father, tell me more about this Self. "

" Yes, dear one, I will, " Uddalaka said.

" Strike at the root of a tree; it would bleed

But still live. Strike again at the top;

It would bleed but still live. The Self as life

Supports the tree, which stands firm and enjoys

The nourishment it receives.

If the Self leaves one branch, that branch withers.

If it leaves a second, that too withers.

If it leaves a third, that again withers.

Let it leave the whole tree, the whole tree dies.

Just so, dear one, when death comes and the Self

Departs from the body, the body dies.

But the Self dies not.

" There is nothing that does not come from him.

Of everything he is the inmost Self.

He is the truth; he is the Self supreme.

You are that Shvetaketu; you are that. "

" Please Father, tell me more about this Self. "

" Yes, dear one, I will, " Uddalaka said.

" Bring me a fruit from the nyagrodha tree. "

" Here it is, Sir. "

" Break it. What do you see? "

" Nothing at all. "

" That hidden essence you do not see, dear one,

From that a whole nyagrodha tree will grow.

There is nothing that does not come from him.

Of everything he is the inmost Self.

He is the truth; he is the Self supreme.

You are that, Shvetaketu; you are that. "

" Please, Father, tell me more about this Self. "

" Yes dear one, I will, " Uddalaka said.

" Place this salt in water and bring it here

Tomorrow morning. " The boy did.

" Where is that salt? " his father asked.

" I do not see it. "

" Sip here. How does it taste? "

" Salty, Father. "

" :And here? And there? "

" I taste salt everywhere. "

" It is everywhere, though we see it not.

Just so, dear one, the Self is everywhere,

Within all things although we see him not.

There is nothing that does not come from him.

Of everything he is the inmost Self.

He is the truth; he is the Self supreme.

You are that, Shvetaketu; you are that. "

" Please, Father, tell me more about this Self. "

" Yes, dear one, I will, " Uddalaka said.

" As a man from Gandhara, blindfolded,

Led away and left in a lonely place,

Turns to the east and west and north and south

And shouts, 'I am left here and cannot see! "

Until one removes his blindfold and says,

'There lies Gandhara; follow that path,'

And thus informed, able to see for himself,

The man inquires from village to village

And reaches his homeland at last-- just so,

My son, one who finds an illumined teacher

Attains to spiritual wisdom in the Self.

There is nothing that does not come from him.

Of everything he is the inmost Self.

He is the truth; he is the Self supreme.

You are that, Shvetaketu; you are that. "

-From the Chandogya Upanishad

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There was one great master, a Buddhist master, Nagarjuna. A thief came to him.

The

thief had fallen in love with the master because he had never seen such a

beautiful person, such infinite grace. He asked Nagarjuna, " Is there some

possibility of my growth also? But one thing I must make clear to you: I am a

thief. And another thing: I cannot leave it, so please don't make it a

condition. I will do whatsoever you say, but I cannot stop being a thief. That

I have tried many times--it never works, so I have left the whole sport. I have

accepted my destiny, that I am going to be a thief and remain a thief, so don't

talk about it. From the very beginning let it be clear. "

Nagarjuna said, " Why are you afraid? Who is going to talk about your being a

thief?

The thief said, " But whenever I go to a monk, to a religious priest, or to

a religious saint, they always say, 'First stop stealing.' "

Nagarjuna laughed and said, " Then you must have gone to thieves; otherwise,

why? Why should they be concerned? I am not concerned! "

The thief was very happy. He said, " Then it is okay. It seems that now I

can become a disciple. You are the right master. "

Nagarjuna accepted him and said, " Now you can go and do whatsoever you

like. Only one condition has to be followed: be aware! Go, break into houses,

enter, take things, steal; do whatsoever you like, that is of no concern to me,

I am not a thief--but do it with full awareness. "

The thief couldn't understand that he was falling into the trap. He

said, " Then everything is okay. I will try. "

After three weeks he came back and said, " You are tricky--because if I

become aware, I cannot steal. If I steal, awareness disappears. I am in a fix. "

Nagarjuna said, " No more talk about your being a thief and stealing. I

am not concerned; I am not a thief. Now, you decide! If you want awareness,

then you decide. If you don't want it, then too you decide. "

The man said, " But now it is difficult. I have tasted it a little,

and it is so beautiful--I will leave anything, whatsoever you say. Just the

other night for the first time I was able to enter the palace of the king. I

opened the treasure. I could have become the richest man in the world--but you

were following me and I had to be aware. When I became aware, diamonds looked

just like stones, ordinary stones. When I lost awareness, the treasure was

there. And I waited and did this many times. I would become aware and I became

like a buddha, and I could not even touch it because the whole thing looked

foolish, stupid--just stones, what am I doing? Losing myself over stones? But

then I would lose awareness; they would become again beautiful, the whole

illusion. But finally I decided that they were not worth it. "

From Awareness The Key to Living In Balance by Osho.

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A lady had a precious necklace round her neck. Once in her excitement she

forgot it and thought that the necklace was lost. She became anxious and looked

for it in her home but could not find it. She asked friends and neighbours if

they knew anything about the necklace. They did not. At last a kind friend of

hers told her to feel the necklace round her neck. She found that it had all

along been round her neck and she was happy. When others asked her later if she

found the necklace which was lost, she said, 'Yes, I have found it.' She still

felt that she had recovered a lost jewel.

Now, did she lose it at all? It was all along round her neck. But judge her

feelings. She was as happy as if she had recoverd a lost jewel. Similarly with

us, we imagine that we will realize that Self some time, whereas we are never

anything but the Self.

From Be As You Are Teachings from Ramana Maharshi by Godman.

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http://peacefulrivers.homestead.com/TeachingStories.html

August 11, 2009

knightsintention !

" I am that stranger who has nothing to give you and who is telling you to look

inside. Not inside any box, as in the parable, but somewhere even closer: inside

yourself. "

Amazing words ...Thanks for sharing them .

" The guru helps untie that which was

never there.

From The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle "

Very profound words that touched me and definitely thought provoking,

Namaste .

Uma K

>

> There was a cowherd boy who took his cows to the meadows every morning and