the master speaks, or does he?

[Guest guest]

Om Amrtesvaryai Namah!!

 

Namaste dear sisters and brothers of this list!!!

 

further to our above discussion re the attitudes to take towards

Jyotish, or indeed any Spiritual Vidya, i continued reading the

Amritavani Magazine, and the following story appeared just after the

talk on listening....i wonder if Mother is trying to tell us all

something here....and just now?????when we are discussing this issue

ourselves...very strange...but enjoy!

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Kathamritam

 

Talking & Listening

 

Amma Tells a Story

 

 

 

"Once, there lived a great master who was

renowned for his wisdom and spiritual attainment. He used to

give beautiful, deeply inspiring sermons. The people of a

certain village cherished a desire to hear the master speak, and

invited him to their village. The master accepted their

invitation. When he arrived, there where hundreds of people

waiting for him. After a grand reception, the master stood on

a podium to deliver his sermon. The crowd was eagerly waiting

for him to speak. He said to them, 'My dear brothers and

sisters! I feel happy and privileged to be here with you today,

but let me ask you something. Do any of you know the

subject I am going to talk about?' As a response to his

question, the whole audience shouted, 'Yes, we know!' The

master paused, looked out at the crowd, smiled, and said,

'Well, then, if you already know about it, there is no need for

me to say anything, is there?' Without another word he got

down from the podium and left the village."

 

"The villagers were very disappointed. They

decided to invite the master again, and again he agreed to

come."

 

"The day arrived and the master was received in

the traditional manner. He was about to deliver his speech,

when he asked the audience the same question he had asked

the previous time. But this time the villagers were prepared.

So when he asked, 'Do any of you know the subject I'm going

to talk about today?' all the villagers shouted in unison, 'No,

we don't know anything!'"

 

"The master paused, and there was a slightly

mischievous smile on his face. He said, 'My dear ones, if you

don't know anything at all about the subject, then it would be

useless for me to speak, wouldn't it?' Before anyone could

protest, the master had left. The audience was stunned. They

had been so sure that 'no' was the answer the master

expected. You can imagine how disappointed they must have

felt. However, they refused to give up. They asked themselves,

'If the answer to the Master's question is neither yes nor no,

what, then, could it be?' What were they to say to finally

benefit from his wisdom? The villagers had a meeting to

discuss the matter, and they decided what they would do next

time the master asked them the question. They were certain

that this time it would work. Once again they invited the

master. He arrived on the appointed day. The villagers were

both nervous and excited. The master stood up before them,

and as usual he asked the same question: 'Brothers and

sisters, do you know anything about the subject I wish to talk

about?' Without a moment's hesitation, half the crowd

shouted, 'Yes!' and the other half shouted, 'No!'"

 

"The villagers then waited expectantly for the

master's response. But the master said, 'Well, then, let those

of you who know teach those who do not know!' "This was an

unexpected blow to everyone. Before they had time to recover

from the shock, the master quietly left the place."

 

"What were they to do now? The villagers were

determined to hear his sermon. They decided to give it one

more try. They had another meeting. People suggested all

sorts of things, but nothing seemed to be the answer. Finally,

an old man stood up and said, 'Whatever we answer seems to

be wrong, so the next time the Master asks that question,

wouldn't it be best if we were absolutely quiet and said

nothing?' The villagers agreed."

 

"The next time the master arrived, he asked the

same question as usual. But this time no one spoke. It was so

quiet you could hear a pin drop. In the depth of that silence,

the master finally began to speak, and the words of his

wisdom flowed out towards the villagers."

 

"My children, the meaning of the story is that only

in the depth of pure silence can we hear God's voice. During

his first visit, when the master asked if they knew what he was

going to speak about, the villagers said, 'Yes, we know.' That

is the ego. The thought, 'I know', is the ego speaking. When

the intellect (the seat of the ego) is full of information,

nothing else can enter into it. The mind that is brimful with

intellectual knowledge cannot receive even a drop of true

spiritual knowledge. This is the reason why the master did not

speak during his first visit."

 

"During his second visit, the villagers replied to

the same question saying, 'No, we don't know anything!' That

is a negative statement. A closed, negative mind cannot

receive the highest wisdom either. To receive pure knowledge,

one has to be wide-open and receptive like an innocent child.

 

"The third time, they said both yes and no. This

exemplifies the doubtful, vacillating nature of the mind. An

unsteady, doubting mind is incapable of being open to any

real knowledge."

 

"Finally, when the people kept quiet, the master

spoke. Only when the mind stops all its interpretations can we

hear the inner voice of God."

 

"These four responses can be compared to a glass

that we want to fill with water. The first answer, 'Yes, we

know,' is like a glass that is already filled to overflowing. There

isn't room for another drop. The second response, 'No, we

don't know anything,' is like a glass turned upside-down. It

would be useless trying to pour anything into it. The third

response, when the two opposite answers, 'yes' and 'no,' were

given, can be compared to a water-filled glass mixed with

dirt. The water has been contaminated and has lost its purity.

Any additional water poured into it would also be spoiled.

Only the fourth answer, silence, is like an upright, empty glass

that is capable of being filled with, and retaining, the water of

knowledge.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

In the Divine Mother's Love,

and in Her Service,

 

as ever,

Your Own Self,

 

visvanathan

 

Om Amrtesvaryai Namah!