Few months back I went to Kerala to meet a Swamiji. I knew him through one of my NLP trainers. This swamiji is known for his wisdom and people say that when you sit with him you will become so calm and peaceful.
After making my travel plans and getting leaves in my company I set off to meet him.
When I got down at the place I called him and he came on an old bike to pick me up. He is wearing the traditional kashaya vasthras (orange clothes) and has a big beard. His hair was long so they were curling. Apart from that there were no other sighs that he is a Swami.
After making my travel plans and getting leaves in my company I set off to meet him.
When I got down at the place I called him and he came on an old bike to pick me up. He is wearing the traditional kashaya vasthras (orange clothes) and has a big beard. His hair was long so they were curling. Apart from that there were no other sighs that he is a Swami.
I greeted him and set off to the Ashram on his bike. The ashram was very near. After having one herbal tea I started talking to him. But I was disappointed that so many people were coming to talk to him and I am not getting enough time to speak with him personally.
Finally I got some time and we sat together in the chairs. I was silent and he was so calm. Very soon I started experiencing the bliss in the silence, in his presence. My mind became quite as if it has nothing to think about. My body calmed down. There was no anxiety in me (When ever I meet such spiritual people I usually become so anxious to ask so many things).
Slowly I started talking 'Swamiji, I am not happy with my life. While studying I thought, once I get a job then I will become happy. But that happiness still lures me.'
He didn't speak anything. After few moments he started telling this story.
Finally I got some time and we sat together in the chairs. I was silent and he was so calm. Very soon I started experiencing the bliss in the silence, in his presence. My mind became quite as if it has nothing to think about. My body calmed down. There was no anxiety in me (When ever I meet such spiritual people I usually become so anxious to ask so many things).
Slowly I started talking 'Swamiji, I am not happy with my life. While studying I thought, once I get a job then I will become happy. But that happiness still lures me.'
He didn't speak anything. After few moments he started telling this story.
'Once, there was a kingdom in India which was ruled by a good king and a wise and honest minister. The king had short temper. In his city, there was a spiritual man who was talking about bliss and mukthi. People were talking about this man that he always stays in eternal bliss and he is the only blessed one in the kingdom to have it.
The words reached the king and he was very puzzled that 'I am doing so many poojas and yagnas but I am not having that bliss. But this person doesn't do anything and yet he is having it'. He got very angry about this. One day he called the spiritual man and asked, 'Are you really enlightened? Are you really having bliss?'
The man said, 'Yes, Raja. I am enjoying eternal bliss'.
This king became very angry at this answer and ordered his soldiers to chop his nose off immediately. As he is the king, nobody dared to stop him. The soldiers chopped the man's nose.
As soon as the soldiers chopped off his nose, he started laughing bigger and dancing as if he can't bear the happiness. He started chanting mantras and laughing and dancing without caring about his bleeding nose.
Everybody there were wondering including the king about 'Why he is laughing and enjoying even though he lost his nose?'
Then one man from the mob posed the same question to the spiritual man. Then he answered 'My dear friend, my nose was the only obstacle for me to see GOD. And now its gone. Now I am seeing GOD directly. What else can give more happiness to me than this? No language on this earth can explain my eternal bliss. Oh mighty king, I thank you very much for this.'
Then another person interrupted 'Great swami, how can I get that same bliss now?'
The spiritual man replied 'Come and chop your nose off. You will see GOD here itself'. The person from the mob jumped forward and cut his nose immediately without a second thought. But to his surprise he is not seeing GOD.
Before he could raise that question, the spiritual person whispered in his ear: 'You are right. You are not seeing GOD. But if you don't do as what I am doing then these people will criticize you of being a sinful person. Apart from that you will be called a noseless person and life will not be easy for you. So just pretend as you are seeing GOD'. That person started acting as this spiritual person is doing. And the team of noseless people grew to 20 on the same day.
These noseless people started preaching about cutting the nose and becoming enlightened. They are attracting so many people. But nobody dared to say 'This is trash' as he will be rediculed and criticized. More over they lost their noses. So they started to build their team.
Soon majority of the populaion of the kingdom became noseless and are now 'Enlightened'.
One day the king couldn't resist himself to join this spiritual group by cutting his nose and seeing GOD. He told his minister about this. The minister replied 'O mighty king, give me some time and I will enquire the truth about this. And later you can take your decision. But the king said 'There are a number of people in that group. That should be true. I will give you one day. After that I will join them.'
The minister went to the spiritual person and chopped his nose off to test the reality about this. He realized what happened and why the people are pretending like this. As he is a wiseman, he decided to give the truth to the king. He set off to the palace. But the impatient king had already cut his nose.
You can imagine what happens to the kingdom under a noseless king and a noseless minister. With in few days there were nobody in the kingdom with a nose. And its called a noseless kingdom.
When swamiji finished this story so many things rang in my head. Aren't we living a false life like the noseless people?
I know this rings bells in your head. How many times did we fall prey to such traps? Traps set by other people and set by our own selves? We run after so many things things only to know that they do not givee happiness. We shift to new jobs just because we heard that the new job is really our dream work or the company is really the best. Isn't it whats happening in the corporate world?
Ofcourse different people will get different messages from this story.
If you like this, then please let me know, for it makes me happy to meet like people (like the noseless? :)).
Cheers
Guna
The words reached the king and he was very puzzled that 'I am doing so many poojas and yagnas but I am not having that bliss. But this person doesn't do anything and yet he is having it'. He got very angry about this. One day he called the spiritual man and asked, 'Are you really enlightened? Are you really having bliss?'
The man said, 'Yes, Raja. I am enjoying eternal bliss'.
This king became very angry at this answer and ordered his soldiers to chop his nose off immediately. As he is the king, nobody dared to stop him. The soldiers chopped the man's nose.
As soon as the soldiers chopped off his nose, he started laughing bigger and dancing as if he can't bear the happiness. He started chanting mantras and laughing and dancing without caring about his bleeding nose.
Everybody there were wondering including the king about 'Why he is laughing and enjoying even though he lost his nose?'
Then one man from the mob posed the same question to the spiritual man. Then he answered 'My dear friend, my nose was the only obstacle for me to see GOD. And now its gone. Now I am seeing GOD directly. What else can give more happiness to me than this? No language on this earth can explain my eternal bliss. Oh mighty king, I thank you very much for this.'
Then another person interrupted 'Great swami, how can I get that same bliss now?'
The spiritual man replied 'Come and chop your nose off. You will see GOD here itself'. The person from the mob jumped forward and cut his nose immediately without a second thought. But to his surprise he is not seeing GOD.
Before he could raise that question, the spiritual person whispered in his ear: 'You are right. You are not seeing GOD. But if you don't do as what I am doing then these people will criticize you of being a sinful person. Apart from that you will be called a noseless person and life will not be easy for you. So just pretend as you are seeing GOD'. That person started acting as this spiritual person is doing. And the team of noseless people grew to 20 on the same day.
These noseless people started preaching about cutting the nose and becoming enlightened. They are attracting so many people. But nobody dared to say 'This is trash' as he will be rediculed and criticized. More over they lost their noses. So they started to build their team.
Soon majority of the populaion of the kingdom became noseless and are now 'Enlightened'.
One day the king couldn't resist himself to join this spiritual group by cutting his nose and seeing GOD. He told his minister about this. The minister replied 'O mighty king, give me some time and I will enquire the truth about this. And later you can take your decision. But the king said 'There are a number of people in that group. That should be true. I will give you one day. After that I will join them.'
The minister went to the spiritual person and chopped his nose off to test the reality about this. He realized what happened and why the people are pretending like this. As he is a wiseman, he decided to give the truth to the king. He set off to the palace. But the impatient king had already cut his nose.
You can imagine what happens to the kingdom under a noseless king and a noseless minister. With in few days there were nobody in the kingdom with a nose. And its called a noseless kingdom.
When swamiji finished this story so many things rang in my head. Aren't we living a false life like the noseless people?
I know this rings bells in your head. How many times did we fall prey to such traps? Traps set by other people and set by our own selves? We run after so many things things only to know that they do not givee happiness. We shift to new jobs just because we heard that the new job is really our dream work or the company is really the best. Isn't it whats happening in the corporate world?
Ofcourse different people will get different messages from this story.
If you like this, then please let me know, for it makes me happy to meet like people (like the noseless? :)).
Cheers
Guna
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