BANYAN TREE
TEACHING STORY
‘MIND’ THE TIGER
A teacher and his student were walking from one village to another when they suddenly saw a big tiger following them.
The first thing the student wanted to do was to run away, but since he had been studying and practising self-discipline, he was able to stop himself from running and wait to see what his teacher would do.
“What shall we do, Master?” asked the student.
The teacher looked at the student and answered in a calm voice:
“There are several options. We can fill our minds with paralysing fear so that we cannot move and let the tiger do with us whatever it pleases. There is one more thing that we can do. We can choose to influence the tiger with the power of our mind. However, this requires strong concentration. We can focus and meditate on the inner power that is within us and on the fact that we are one with the entire Universe, including the tiger, and in this way, influence its soul.”
The master turned his gaze fearlessly toward the tiger, emptied his mind of all thoughts, and entered a deep state of meditation. In his consciousness, he embraced everything in the Universe, including the tiger. In this state, the consciousness of the teacher became one with the consciousness of the tiger.
Meanwhile, the student started to shiver with fear as the tiger was already quite close.
The teacher continued to meditate without fear. After a while, the tiger gradually lowered its head and tail, turned around, and went away.
The student was astonished and asked his teacher, “What did you do?”
“The tiger sensed the inner calmness, peace, and unity, and felt no threat or need to display violence.When the mind is silent and calm, its peace is automatically transmitted to everything and everyone around, influencing them deeply,” concluded the teacher.
THIS, I KNOW
ARISTOTLE
• Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.
• Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives—choice, not chance—and determines your destiny.
• To write well, express yourself like the common people but think like a wise man.
• The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
• Learning is not child’s play; we cannot learn without pain.
• The high-minded man must care more for the truth than for what people think.
• It is not enough to win a war; it is more important to organise the peace.
• The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things but their inward significance.
INSPIRATION
THE INVITATION
It doesn’t interest me
what you do for a living.
I want to know
what you ache for
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart's longing.
It doesn’t interest me
how old you are.
I want to know
if you will risk
looking like a fool
for love,
for your dream.
-Oriah Mountain Dreamer
ONE-MINUTE WISDOM
SHORT AND SWEET
The master gave his teaching in parables and stories, which his disciples listened to with pleasure—and occasional frustration, for they longed for something deeper.
The master was unmoved. To all their objections he would say, “You have yet to understand that the shortest distance between a human being and Truth is a story.”
JUST FOR LAUGHS
FOREVER FORTY
A friend asked Mulla Nasruddin how old he was. “Forty,” replied the mulla. The friend replied, “But you said the same thing two years ago!” “Yes,” agreed the mulla, “I always stand by what I have said.”
NECESSARY EVIL
Mulla Nasruddin was in love. After dilly-dallying for months, he finally asked the girl to marry him. She agreed, and the next day, Mulla went to meet her father for the first time.
“So, young man,” her father said. “I hear that you would like to become my son-in-law.”
“Not really,” Mulla said. “But if I marry your daughter, I don’t see how I can avoid it.”
QUOTE
“We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be?”
—Marianne Williamson