Amma Parable: God/Self Alone is Permanent

[Guest guest]

Recent posts on dysfunctional family life bring up an unpleasant consideration.

My birth mother is impermanent. My birth father is impermanent . Feel free

to fill in the blanks ...

 

Amma told the "story" below on a beach in Australia in 2004. These "stories"

will someday be given the status of parable.

 

"At this point, Amma proceeded to tell a story. It was about a man who’d just

found out that his business had gone bankrupt. Devastated, he walked to the

nearby beach with the determination that he would drown himself in the powerful

waves. As he walked towards the shore, he came across a small group of children

who were busy making temples out of the sand. These were not simple piles of mud

made with haste, but elaborate creations with many levels and towers, each of

which took the children nearly an hour to make. Yet despite all the effort the

children put into constructing the temples, they seemed to take the most delight

in watching the ocean come forward and wash them away. The businessman sat on

the shore, watching them continue like this for several hours, and, as he did

so, something within him shifted. His tragedy seemed less, and he eventually got

up and returned home with the regained confidence and enthusiasm needed to carry

on and rebuild his business.

 

“Whatever comes and goes is non-eternal,” Amma then said. “The only thing that

is permanent is God, or the Self.”

 

GeorgeSon

 

P.S,

 

To paraphrase Kramer from Seinfeld "You can/t stand the truth"

 

http://www.ammachi.org.au/Amma_Tour_Story2.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

“Whatever comes and goes is non-eternal,” Amma then said. “The only thing that

is permanent is God, or the Self.”

 

I think it was Yogananda who said something like the body is the vehicle for us

to relate to, or interact with the material world.

 

These notes are long, but helped me and seem to relate to this discussion. Here

are some things Amma said, "Ignornace about our true existence in God or the

Atman, is the cause of all sorts of fear." .... "If a man gives more importance

to his body, ...and neglects his soul, he becomes worried and anxious, fervently

clinging to false securities."

 

"Dear ones, know the difference between the container and the content, and true

knowledge will dawn within you, dispelling all fears and darkness. The vessel

is not the milk, and the milk is not the vessel. Self-knowledge will eliminate

unnecessary fears that grip our lives."

 

"But, what is the this body? Where does it come from? What is the power that

manifests through this body, making you love it so much?"

 

"Your attachment to the body causes fear concerning everything in your life. As

your attachment to the body increases, the ego also increases, with the

simultaneous increase of your fear. Attachment to the body makes you attached

to the ego, because you believe that your body is the most precious thing you

have." "...the existence of the body depends on the soul."

 

"The ever-changing body is perishing, whereas the changeless soul is

impersihable. The imperishable soul is the life force; it is the taproot

supporting the tree of the body."

 

"Our problem is that we give too much importance to the external, manifested

body and completely ignore the unmanifested Self, the source of our existence."

 

"Real life is developed from within, real living means that the soul expresses

itself through all one's thoughts, words, and actions. A person becomes

fearless once he understands the nature of the imperishable soul. At this stage

however, he is only familiar with the perishable body, which makes him

increasingly afraid and pushes him more and more towards death, which is his

greatest fear."