Be Patient in Your Sadhana
Parable of The Man Who Cut The Cow’s Udder
A foolish man had a good cow which yielded plenty of milk. He was astonished that day after day he could get from the cow eight seers of milk in the morning and an equal quantity in the evening. He noticed that all this milk had come from the same udder. He foolishly thought that the cow had a great storage of milk in the udder and that it was refusing to yield more than eight seers at a time. He was greedy and eager to have the whole milk at a time. One morning, therefore, he took a sharp razor and cut the cow’s udder. He thought that by this method he could get the whole milk. What a tragedy! He got only profuse blood instead. Not a drop of milk was there in the udder. The cow bled to death.
Like this, a foolish Sadhaka finds that Tapasya yields wonderful will-power and spiritual progress. But this progress is always gradual, but steady and continuous. He is not satisfied with it. He wants the Highest Spiritual Experience to drop into his lap in a day. Then, he begins to perform Asuri Tapasya. He takes the sharp razor of extreme austerity and cuts at the very life of Tapasya itself; and what does he get? Not spiritual progress, but downfall and death.
O man, practise Sattvic Tapasya. Follow the golden mean. Evolve step by step and enjoy Supreme Bliss.
Source 110-111, Parables of Sivananda
A foolish man had a good cow which yielded plenty of milk. He was astonished that day after day he could get from the cow eight seers of milk in the morning and an equal quantity in the evening. He noticed that all this milk had come from the same udder. He foolishly thought that the cow had a great storage of milk in the udder and that it was refusing to yield more than eight seers at a time. He was greedy and eager to have the whole milk at a time. One morning, therefore, he took a sharp razor and cut the cow’s udder. He thought that by this method he could get the whole milk. What a tragedy! He got only profuse blood instead. Not a drop of milk was there in the udder. The cow bled to death.
Like this, a foolish Sadhaka finds that Tapasya yields wonderful will-power and spiritual progress. But this progress is always gradual, but steady and continuous. He is not satisfied with it. He wants the Highest Spiritual Experience to drop into his lap in a day. Then, he begins to perform Asuri Tapasya. He takes the sharp razor of extreme austerity and cuts at the very life of Tapasya itself; and what does he get? Not spiritual progress, but downfall and death.
O man, practise Sattvic Tapasya. Follow the golden mean. Evolve step by step and enjoy Supreme Bliss.
Source 110-111, Parables of Sivananda
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