Contd....
Me, My Guru – On Empty
boat
“Couldn’t he see that
‘the monk’ was meditating? Why was he being so irresponsible? It also meant
that he was insensitive. ‘Oh, I know now. He takes pleasure in others’ pain. It
gives him great pleasure to give pain to others. He was a sadist! Yes, it was
so true. He was asuric in nature. How come such people operate in this world?
Does God not punish them? No, they should not be punished in some distant
future. They should be punished now!”
These were the thoughts
that the ‘meditating monk’ was engaged in. When he could take it no more and
his anger having consumed him, he opened his eyes to shout at the other
boatman. He also wanted to give him ‘his peace of mind’.
As he opened his eyes
to consume the ‘wronging boatman’, to his surprise he found no man there. He
saw that ‘an empty boat’ was hitting his boat all thanks to the cool breeze
which had soothed his self!
Then he realized that
that boat had drifted along with the wind and had hit his boat. It was ‘an
empty boat’.
The moment he realized
this he saw what he was. All his arrogance of having done meditations for so
many years came to naught!
He simply took his
oars, rowed to the bank and walked towards the ashram to resume his studies” so
saying she – our Guru, closed her eyes and became silent. Since I didn’t know
the context I sat silent not knowing how to process the story.
Rahul served tea for all along with samosas
today. We relished our tea with samosas.
We thanked Rahul and Aziz for getting
these tasty samosas for all. They always shared some food item with all of us.
Some days, even I think of getting something but getting it for almost 20-30
present there seemed a very expensive affair. Moreover, no one was there for me
to cook at home. I had my reasons. But I sincerely thanked them for getting and
sharing these snacks with us. I was very grateful that way?!
Contd....
# empty boat, life and expectation, life's purpose, challenges of life, facts of life, pain and suffering, problems, unexpected
also read : https://kantipadam.blogspot.com/search?q=bejan
Points to think about :
- If we change the definition of our issues in life, does it make it different?
- Are we looking at the facts of life the right way?
- If we change the perception towards what is happening to us and around us, does it give us strength to live with it and deal with it?
Questions addressed :
- What is the purpose of life?
- What is that which I need to let go?
Lines that can reflect our personality and duality in our character :
"Some days, even I think of getting something ................ getting and sharing these snacks with us. I was very grateful that way?!" -
look at these lines. Look at the way "I" is thinking here. Look at the way "I" is justifying his actions here. If "I" is really the one who wants to get something he wouldn't be dilly dallying so many times (read previous posts too...) about getting and not getting. He doesn't want to get. That is fact!
And yet he fools himself with umpteen reasons that justifies his not getting anything. No one is telling him anything. But deep down he knows his nature. How does he see himself?
And therefore, to convince himself that he is good, he gives himself all these lame reasons.
Just by saying I am grateful, he thinks he comes out as a very good and grateful person! No doubt, he claims returns from his life based on these pretenses of himself and suffers when he doesn't receive so!
Think about it!
Sit in meditation and look within. How and what does this "I" represent you and your life?
It is so easy to look at others flaws. But as Kabir would say -
