The World As We See It
Parable of The Child and The Shadow
The elder brother thought that his baby brother was alone in the room adjoining the kitchen. Suddenly, he heard the child laughing, playing and talking. Before his mental eye rose the image of a thief entering the house, offering a few sweetmeats to the baby and of his snatching away the golden ornaments with which they had adorned the baby. With great consternation, the brother rushed into the room in which the baby was. What did he find there? The baby was playing with its own shadow cast on the wall. The brother was pacified, hugged the child with great love.
Similarly, the worldly man busy in his world, looking after the affairs of the stomach, feels that the Sadhu is a lonely being in another part of the Lord’s mansion. Suddenly, he discovers that there is much laughter and ‘life’ in the Sadhu‘s camp. The worldly man sunk in ignorance imagines that the thief of Maya has entered the camp of the Sadhu, and that, offering him a few comforts and conveniences, it has robbed the Sadhu of the valuable ornaments of Vairagya, Viveka and spiritual illumination. With these thoughts haunting him, the worldly man takes a closer look at the Sadhu. The Jivanmukta is playing with his own shadows. In the eyes of the Jivanmukta, all Jivas in the world are but his own shadows. In playing with them he takes an intense delight. He has neither gained anything, nor lost anything. Only the worldly man imagines so.
Source: Parables of Sivananda
The elder brother thought that his baby brother was alone in the room adjoining the kitchen. Suddenly, he heard the child laughing, playing and talking. Before his mental eye rose the image of a thief entering the house, offering a few sweetmeats to the baby and of his snatching away the golden ornaments with which they had adorned the baby. With great consternation, the brother rushed into the room in which the baby was. What did he find there? The baby was playing with its own shadow cast on the wall. The brother was pacified, hugged the child with great love.
Similarly, the worldly man busy in his world, looking after the affairs of the stomach, feels that the Sadhu is a lonely being in another part of the Lord’s mansion. Suddenly, he discovers that there is much laughter and ‘life’ in the Sadhu‘s camp. The worldly man sunk in ignorance imagines that the thief of Maya has entered the camp of the Sadhu, and that, offering him a few comforts and conveniences, it has robbed the Sadhu of the valuable ornaments of Vairagya, Viveka and spiritual illumination. With these thoughts haunting him, the worldly man takes a closer look at the Sadhu. The Jivanmukta is playing with his own shadows. In the eyes of the Jivanmukta, all Jivas in the world are but his own shadows. In playing with them he takes an intense delight. He has neither gained anything, nor lost anything. Only the worldly man imagines so.
Source: Parables of Sivananda
Comments
Post a Comment