It’s been a pleasure reading, listening, watching and discussing a range of inspiring tales, episodes, poems and biographies over the years. Some interesting ones include:
‘There was this hermit .living peacefully in a hut next to a river. Devoted... simple guy … had a cat. The cat daily saw a little plate hanging from the ceiling. Thought it was butter. One day this fellow went for a long wash. Cat was determined to get the plate. Went all out for it. Jumped endlessly to get the plate! The efforts paid off! Cat managed to hit the plate. The plate fell down. Alas there was no butter. It was cotton, for the lamp. In sheer frustration, the cat …died! Some where along the line … I see achievement motivation!
A sage was visiting a poor household. The lady was trying to clean the table with a cloth – that happened to be dirty. Every time she would wipe the table – the dirt remained. Ultimately the sage remarked “Clean the Cleaner!”
Ghalib says “Ghalib Khasta key begair – konsay kaam band hain – rooiyah bar bar kyon – keejiya hai hai kyon?”[Without perfection also, nothing has stopped in this world – what’s the point of you crying or feeling sad?]
Scriptures constantly remind us that it’s the Almighty that’s carrying the entire burden – we just need to cultivate the Faith!
During his rigorous training, one day a young Swami spread his Guru’s cloth for drying. Later that evening the cloth is found to have a little scratch – while the young swami pleads innocence – he is labelled as a Liar by the Guru – that too in presence of others! Much later the young Swami figured out that the Guru was right – TRUTH can not be described & hence he was a Liar!
It’s customary for great Masters of Sufi music tradition to make keen students wait for years, before they are initiated into music!
Am told that students of Ayurveda can take up to 20 years to master the art of reading human pulse!
Traditional wisdom holds that Guru will appear when the student is ready. In my experience – Guru(s) did appear at the appropriate time – on different occasions, in different forms – certainly with a reassuring message.
"People want to find a "meaning" in everything and everyone. That's the disease of our age, an age that is anything but practical but believes itself to be more practical than any other age." Pablo Picasso
The famous saying from movie Samsara: How can you prevent a drop of water from drying – by putting it back in the ocean!
In the process of developing Faith, trying to comprehend the rhythm of Life, on the way to the Ocean, am often reminded of couplets like “Shaam Udeekan, Fasar Udeekan, Akhain tay sari umar udeekan” [Will eagerly long for You day in & day out - may be for the rest of this life]
“Kee Janna main koon Bullaya” [Do I know who am I. . . ?] says the sage Bullay Shah!!
