An Ancient Indian Tale – Renunciation??
This is not for the uninitiated, but still, read on….
The Emperor was in a benevolent mood. He was, always, when he travelled in his resplendent chariot, clad in all finery, to the palace of his favorite concubine. He was obsessed with her and had made this town his unofficial Capital. Every evening, he did take this route through the woods to reach the palace at the other end. He returned back to town every morning again through the woods, and took same route everyday. . The woods provided a much needed respite from his over-whelming responsibilities. Sometimes, his responsibilities bordered on the absurd…like monitoring the activities of his son, the Prince, his son through his legitimate Queen. Recently there had been reports that his Queen, apprehensive about his concubine’s growing influence, had planned, with her son, to assassinate him.
The woods were quiet and peaceful and were populated by the wild birds and animals. They were so pleasing to the eye. However, what added more to his sense of well-being was the Sanyasi who sat always under the huge banyan tree by the small pond.
Thin, frail and maybe as old as the Emperor, the Sanyasi was oblivious to the commotion created by the Emperor’s travels to and sojourns in his concubine’s palace. He had made the woods his home. He co-existed peacefully with the denizens of the forest. Nobody seemed to know where he came from and why he was here. He, however, had left behind in his home-town, all whom he had known, and had strayed far till he came to these woods, and something had prompted him to stay. He spoke to none, spent his nights in penance and his days sleeping and foraging for berries, fruits and leaves which the trees shed. He was living off the material which the trees discarded. His nocturnal activities were a mystery to the towns-people and all the emperor knew was that this was a lazy man, devoid of all abilities to enrich him-self with worldly pleasures.
The Emperor never failed to notice the Sanyasi as he passed by everyday. It was a part of his daily thought – process to wonder on his onward journey, how there could be such a useless person on earth. On his return journey, he never failed to sympathize with the Sanyasi’s incapacity to seek worldly pleasures.
This drama continued, until one day, the emperor, obsessed with curiosity, stopped his chariot by the pond and walked up to the Sanyasi sitting under the Banyan tree.
“I am the Lord of this land and I am curious to know what earthly purpose you are striving for, sitting alone in these woods. What benefit do you derive by doing what you are doing? Are you not inspired by seeing me and my accomplishments, my rewards and my pleasures?”
The Sanyasi replied,” Sitting in these woods will not serve earthly purposes. My purpose is divine and I am seeking to merge with my Maker. You do not inspire me! Your accomplishments, rewards and your pleasures are earthbound and transient. Your earthly purpose should be to transcend the transient and seek to merge with your Maker. It is evident from your curiosity that you do not know where you are heading!
However, there seems to be an earthly benefit too to my divine purpose. The lord of the land has come to stand before me, who wishes to merge with the Lord of Creation!
Friends! The Sanyasis’s stand is the penultimate to the ultimate…Hinduism, with all its glorious history has provided us with one final step to all steps … it is the answer to the unanswered question among all mankind… “who am I?”….man passes through various phases in search for the answer and as he progresses, his identity too changes….. from the disbeliever.. to the believer… to the religious… to the Sanyasi – Renunciation of worldly pleasures…
to the final role of Almighty Himself!!! Aham Brahmasmi - I am God!!
This is the stage at which man does not even wish to merge with his Maker….. he renounces that wish also and so becomes the Maker, the center of the storm of creation… motionless … but the reason for all… eternal peace, eternal bliss!!
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