BANYAN TREE
Teaching story
Alexander humbled
When Alexander came to India, he discovered that out of all the countries he had conquered, the most truthful and wise people were found in India. So, he expressed his desire to meet the Indian philosophers and the saints. He was taken to the Indus river where he met a saint. Alexander was overwhelmed by the spiritual personality of the saint and said, “O great soul, I request you to grace me by accompanying me to my country. I shall offer you anything and everything you might require.” The saint smiled and said, “I am everywhere. I am omnipresent.” Alexander was not able to understand what the saint meant and offered him temptations. The saint again refused to come with him saying, “I don’t stand in need for anything.” Alexander felt insulted and in anger, drew his sword to kill him. Seeing this the saint burst into laughter saying, “Children sit on the sand, play with it, construct small houses out of it, and then demolish them themselves. The sand does not lose anything in the process. It remains the same as before. For me, the body is like a house of sand which is built according to the innate tendencies of man. I am sand; I was never a house. If anyone wants to demolish it, he is only demolishing his own house. The sand remains the same."
On hearing this Alexander's sword fell from his hands.
MOOJI
This, I know
Life cannot be against you, for you are life itself. Life can only seem to go against the ego’s projections, which are rarely in harmony with the truth.
Your heart is the light of this world. Don’t cover it with your mind.
Surrender is not weakness; it is strength. It takes tremendous strength to surrender life to the supreme—to the cosmic unfolding.
If I could give you only one piece of advice, I would say: Don’t identify with anything. Be completely empty; be no-body and see if you lose anything but delusion.
As long as there is desire in you, especially for someone or something to make you happy, paradoxically, this is the surest way to make yourself feel lack and therefore miserable.
Inspiration
Indispensable man
Sometime when you’re feeling important;
Sometime when your ego’s in bloom
Sometime when you take it for granted
You’re the best qualified in the room,
Sometime when you feel that your going
Would leave an unfillable hole,
Just follow these simple instructions
And see how they humble your soul;
Take a bucket and fill it with water,
Put your hand in it up to the wrist,
Pull it out and the hole that’s remaining
Is a measure of how you’ll be missed.
The moral of this quaint example
Is do just the best that you can,
Be proud of yourself but remember,
There’s no indispensable man.
—Saxon White Kessinger
One-minute wisdom
Peace is in you
“Don’t worry about anything at all. You are not here by accident. This form is just a costume for a while.
But the one who is behind the costume, this one is eternal. You must know this.
If you know this and trust this,
you don’t have to worry about anything.
This world is so full of love.
And your heart, your being,
is so full of love, so full of peace.
You don’t have to go
someplace else to find peace.
It is right where you are.”
—Mooji
Just for laughs
The monks’ resolution
Four monks agreed to meditate in silence for a week without speaking a single word. On the first day, they all maintained silence. But as darkness fell, the flame of their only candle began to flicker. “Oh, the flame is going out,” said one monk. “We should not speak a single word,” said the second monk.
“Why did you two speak?” asked the third monk.
“Ha! I am the only one who did not talk!” said the fourth!
Quote
“Be ever restful in your heart. A quiet spirit will help you to instantly resolve problems that might otherwise require days, weeks, or even months of fretful pondering.” —Swami Kriyananda