I and mine represent the body idea

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I and mine represent the body idea

 

Once Kondaji (a Marwadi) stack of hay took fire. Baba tried to prevent it by

sending him to go and look at it. But he returned without seeing it properly,

and then said there was no fire. Then Baba pointed out to the smoke issuing from

the stack. He then ran up and found that the whole thing had been reduced to

ashes. People in the neighbourhood, with neighbouring stacks, were all afraid

that the brisk breeze that was blowing would set their stacks also on fire. Baba

then came up, and going round Kondajis stack, drew a line of water round it, and

said; ‘Only this stack will be burnt. Kondaji, however, was very sorry that he

had lost his property. Then Baba said, How stupid is this? The marwadi talks of

himself as his body, that is, the form made up of flesh, bones etc. Hay is

something totally different. What has he to do with the stack or the stack to do

with him? Hallo, Marwadi, you better make up for this loss in some other

transaction. Thus, Baba gave him some practical advice to get over his grief,

and at the same time pointed out that philosophically speaking, there was no

basis for the notion of either or Mineâ. It is ruinous for any soul that

desires its true welfare to go on dwelling over and over again upon I and ˜Mine.

When he thinks of the I™ it does not get to the real inwardness of the˜I. On the

other hand, it centres its emphasis on everything unimportant. For instance, if

you ask a boy whom you meet, ˜Who are you? you may get ten different answers,

such as,˜I am a boy, I am named Rama, I am the son of Krishna, I am a Hindu, I

am aged 16, I am a boy attending St. Peters School, etc. That is, every one of

these things is not he, but it is an accident attached to him which he mentions

as he. What is the central core round which all these accidents gather? That he

does not know. Philosophers might say, ˜There is a piece of Chaitanya or Pure

Consciousness which, however, changes its purity and gets attached to some

external body, and then a particularity comes into it, namely, a red haired

youth. So, the I becomes a red haired youth. Thus we develop various notions of

I, which stricty speaking are not true, and which do not help us in the ultimate

goal that we have to reach, however useful some of them may be for our progress

in our material circumstances. Therefore, Baba tried to rebuke this egotism

especially when it showed itself in offensive forms. Abhimana means overfondness

of dwelling on this particularity you call˜I'connected. with the body, and it

also comes in relation to property, Therefore, the most important thing to be

attained in the case of a sadhaka is to lessen and remove this abhimana to

dissociate himself from the body idea. I and mine represent the body idea.