Story of the Criticized Guru- What you miss when you dismiss people.

[Guest guest]

My favorite Nealu story of all-time,

(2nd is " The City of Fools " ).

This story always reminds me of the opposite

of the current Dayamrita-devotee-phenom.

 

From Volume 16a of Nealu's talks.

My copy of this is defective in that side A

was extremely low in volume, so it never made

it to the ashram with the rest.

 

I ordered a new copy but will be too

late for this timely topic.

Here, I've amplified it 600% and used

extensive noise reduction. It's

audible, but he sounds like a robot:

 

3 minute mp3 file:

http://www.box.net/shared/fda4jo16hh

 

I prefer *hearing* someone's satsang, but

for those that prefer transcription:

It was hard to hear when his voice drops

off occasionally, but this is what I can make out:

 

 

" If the ego shrinks, then the Aatman can expand.

That's the way it is, that's the Divine Law.

To understand that principle, and to live by that

principle is no joke. That's what's so difficult about

spiritual life. Understanding it is one thing, and

hearing it and studying it is one thing, but putting

it into practice is quite another.

 

It's very easy to read spiritual things but not to

practice them. (Another sentence inaudible)

 

So there was this Mahaatma, he used to give beautiful

talks. So many people would come there. They would just

be hanging on his words, his words of inspiration.

But there was this one man in the audience, he always used

to make fun of the Mahaatma. And he'd pick on him, he'd

just try to find some fault in his personality, in his way

of talking, something or other, he would just be insulting

him and abusing him verbally.

 

And the disciples of this Mahaatma used to get

really (inaudible). They wished this man would

not come around. But he used to come around

everyday. The Mahaatma was sooo friendly and

so loving to this man. They (disciples) started

calling this man *the devil* because they didn't

like him, he was such a trouble-maker.

 

Well, one day the man died. The disciples were

really happy. Of course, they didn't act as if

they were happy, but inside they were happy.

Everybody went to the funeral, but the Mahaatma

was crying. He was genuinely sorrowful. And

the disciples came to him and they said,

 

" Swamiji, why are you crying? It must be feeling so bad,

what the fate of this man, he must be in some terrible

place, you know, for acting the way he acted. "

 

The Mahaatma said, " Oh, no, I'm not crying about that.

Why should I cry about that? This man, he's gone to Heaven.

I'm crying about MYSELF! Because all of you, you're praising

me day and night. You're praising my ego. Whereas, he

was the only one that used to cut me down. He was the only

one that would keep my ego under control. So now he's gone,

who's going to do that for me? "

 

So this is the difference. Most of us, we want the praise,

we want the appreciation. We want all these things to

feed the ego. But a saint, a Mahaatma, they don't want

that. They want, they enjoy, they're very happy with the

things that give a person the chance to keep the

ego down, to keep it small.

 

And so the Mahaatma said, " Now I won't be able to grow.

Without that man I can't grow anymore. "

 

Not that the ego's going to grow, but the spirit, the

God-Consciousness won't. And so he was missing that.

That's what Mother says, that we can't grow unless we

don't resort to the Unreal, and we DO resort to the Real.

 

-end transcription-

 

I don't need love-quotes or fellowship to PROVE my points...

tom