Stories from Galpe Atmavidya (Volume 1)

The following are translations of three Bengali stories appearing in Galpe Atmavidya (Volume 1) by Smt. Mandira Lahiri 

STORY NO. 71 

A Guru has the same amount of love for all his disciples. At times disparity is seen from the outer angle; however there is a reason behind it. This reason is known to Sadguru alone and no one else.

In this context, Prajnanpurush Sri Sri Babathakur narrated a story — At an Ashram of a Guru, there were five disciples who hailed from five different places. The Guru’s behavior with each of them was different. One of the disciples noticed this and inquired, “Why is there so much of unevenness in your dealings with the five of us”? The Guru kept quiet. 

At night during dinner, the Guru served the same type of dishes to everyone. That particular disciple said, “This type of food will not agree with my system.” The Guru replied, “Just the way one type of food might not suit everybody, similarly one type of behavior might not be applicable to all. So, according to the requirement and need of the disciple, the Guru gives his directions.” 

After finishing the story Prajnanpurush Sri Sri Babathakur said — Guru knows best as to what type of instruction is beneficial for which disciple. People should flock to the Guru who is the embodiment of love and well-being, one who removes the ailments of all.  A Guru’s love and affection is immeasurable. He comes just to give. Even if someone doesn’t like him, doesn’t remember him — he still keeps giving all the time—forever. It has been observed that every time one calls him or remembers Him, the Guru grants the needful, relentlessly. As a result, dependence begins. But those who have not taken the refuge of a Guru, do not know that a Guru remaining in the background, keeps assisting us all the time. As a result of this ignorance, they are always much disoriented and not at peace. 

Despite having a Guru if a devotee cannot depend on his Guru, then he becomes restless and unstable. The benefactor Guru works in and through everyone, but this is believed by those who are conscious and aware of it and thus they spend their life stress-free. They are never perturbed, come what may. They believe that Guru-Shakti (Guru-power) will resolve everything. A mind that is full of devotion never wavers. Poverty, disease, grief and other calamities can never affect them. Their demeanor, the way they conduct themselves, is a lesson for all. When we depend on such a high power, with total devotion we get immense peace. 

The real saints and ascetics always want the wellness of all. In whatever state they are, no matter what, they always wish for goodness to prevail in the world. Those who wish for the well-being of the universe at all times are the real Saints.

  

STORY NO. 73 

You have to accept your Guru to be the Absolute Consciousness. Every form, name, idea is made up of one substance, and its objective is the same. Every Sadguru has one aim ---- to make little into big, to make Laghu (small) into Guru (large), to make small into great. Whatever one receives from his or her Guru cannot be obtained from any other person.

Whatever you are hearing from ‘this One’ (Prajnanpurush Sri Sri Babathakur was indicating Himself) is an amalgamation and gist of all the dogmas and doctrines. Consider all Gurus to be your own Guru. There is no conflict between any thought process. The ability to embrace ‘all-acceptance’ should be enhanced. 

Guru should be seated at the doorway of senses, at the threshold of listening, at the entry point of taste and at the threshold of the organs of action. God resides in each one of us, but a sheath of ignorance seems to be covering it. This shroud has to be uncovered. We search for Him elsewhere — hills, mountains, deep inside caves — but all this is futile, this is delusion. He is so close yet we look for him elsewhere — we do this because of a lack of Real Knowledge. A person is wearing his glasses, but he is frantically searching for it as he is under the delusional effect of mind. The other members in the house are also looking for it. No one is observant enough to see the glasses. A passer-by who notices all the confusion in the house comes in and points out that the glasses are on your eyes. Just like that passer-by, our Guru makes us aware of the presence of Ishwar-Atma (God-Self) in all of us. 

If we can embrace the Reality residing in our hearts, then a physical Guru is not required. As long as the presence of our Guru within is unknown to us, a physical Guru is needed. It is not important to look for a Guru far and wide, get disheartened that a Guru’s company is far-fetched, or lament about the missing connect — they are being told again and again that your Real Guru is ever present in the inner realms of your being. Do not make a mistake here. Akhanda (undivided/Infinite) is being indicated as Guru. In Akhanda not only my Guru, but everyone’s Guru resides. If Guru is Knowledge Absolute and Consciousness Absolute, then all Gurus are Jnanmurtis (Knowledge-personified). We think of ‘many-ness’ when we look at the different forms. Akhanda Gurumurti (indivisible Guru Itself) is One in essence but manifests in different forms in the outer nature. 

Sadguru’s function is to make one aware of One Essence, One Knowledge. One Knowledge means the third eye, Samadrishti (i.e. perfectly even outlook). That same one stamp has to be used on everything. Samadrishti is the Real Essence.  I will tell you a story in this context.

Once upon a time a gentleman had five sons. When he grew old, his sons took whatever they wanted from his property. The eldest took the house, the second son took cash money, the third son took his share of the property, and the fourth son also took something of his choice. But the youngest (the fifth son) said, “I don’t need anything, I only want you.” 

Those who desire materialistic things don’t get a true and fulfilling life. They get only material things which are impermanent and are soon lost. The four older boys went berserk managing all the property, wealth and things. But the fifth boy stayed with his father. He went on pilgrimage with his father. His father’s constant company brought about a spiritual awakening within him. Days went by this way until the old man’s end approached. The fifth boy served and nursed his father to the best of his ability. Just before his demise, the old man put his hand on his son’s head and blessed him with his heart and soul. Thus, we see that the fifth boy got the maximum benefit because of the choice he made with his right understanding.

STORY NO. 44 

We cannot transform or change someone in one day. Despite repeated efforts, one cannot bypass God’s will. Whatever is to happen shall happen. Nobody gets everything per his or her liking. You cannot even bring up your own children the way you want to. Their character formation takes place according to their pre-natal impressions. Your personal yardstick cannot be used to assess their character. The only thing we can do is to become a role model for them by following the path of truth, by doing our duties and fulfilling our responsibilities, by being completely detached from the results of our actions — then one’s mind will remain calm and stable in all situations. Listen to the following story in this context.  There was an ascetic who loved to eat sweets. One day a householder brought his young son to him and said, “Baba, this son of mine has a lot of greed for sweets, so much so that he wants sweets every day. He just cannot do without sweets. We cannot dissuade him. I am a poor man. Providing sweets for him every day is a problem for me. He doesn’t understand this. He also falls ill as a result of eating too many sweets. Kindly find a solution to this problem.” 

The ascetic told the householder, “You come to me after a month.” The boy’s father went back home and returned after a month as instructed by the ascetic.  That day the ascetic told the boy, “Sweets cause illness. It is not good to eat sweets. Don’t eat any sweets from now onward. I also don’t eat sweets.” 

Listening to this simple advice the householder said, “You could have told this a month ago.”

The ascetic replied, “This advice would not have worked, since at that time I was eating sweets myself. I cannot preach something which I do not practice; it will not give any benefit to the aggrieved person.”

The boy followed the ascetic’s advice and left eating sweets. 

If you are not established in God-Consciousness, if you have not attained Self-Realization, then you cannot give advice to others. Only that person can talk about Truth or God, who is established in it. That is why it is often mentioned that a person is called an ascetic if his behavior is appropriate. Easy, simple, pleasant, sans pomp and show, his dealings with others is totally unpretentious.  An ascetic is recognized by his behavior of Samabodha (evenness of consciousness, tranquility). 

In conclusion Prajnanpurush Sri Sri Babathakur said, “This story is about an ordinary incident which takes place in our everyday life. Mere dry knowledge devoid of practice and implementation cannot inspire others. Mere bookish knowledge cannot transform you and is also of no use to others.” 

In our daily lives we see that inexperienced, ineligible people are giving advice to others all the time.  Some being wise avoid such company but few who are ignorant fall a prey to them. Just as a blind person cannot show the way to another blind man, both of them stumble and fall; similarly both an inexperienced person giving an advice, and the man who follows that advice, end up getting into trouble.

Even though the number of Praajna-Vijna (prudent/wise) and Real Gurus are very few, the number of Sadhus who are posers is so huge that it has become a thing of concern. Real Sadhus or Gurus attain Knowledge by practicing Sadhana and leading a holy life. This way they not only do good to themselves, but also to others. Only the Knowledge that evolves in and through perfection of experience can do real benefit to other human beings. One can use this Knowledge for the welfare of others only after acquiring it himself. The Knowledge Absolute has no substitute. Real Knowledge is difficult to find and it is very hard to find people who want to embrace it. This principle applies both to the presenter and receiver of worldly knowledge. 

Knowledge sans application cannot make an action worthwhile — it can make it useless. The ascetic was aware of this, which is why he called the boy after a month. Any counseling on the first day would not have helped since he himself was eating sweets at that time. His directive worked after a month because he himself had stopped eating sweets. The story is short, but the moral is of great significance.