hermit's chronicles

The Masters are said to live "choicelessly". So are they vegetables or robots going about their life mechanically? Of course not. In fact, quite the opposite! They live their lives fully. So how are they "choiceless"? This is how: You wish to buy a shirt for the Master, so you take him to a shirt store and ask him what colour he would like. He chooses blue. The sales girl says, "Sorry, sir. We have only peach colour in your size." The Master says, "Okay, I will take peach!" No wistfulness, no disappointment...just joyous acceptance. So, there was choice (he chose blue) and yet there was choicelessness (the choice was non-stick).

Once when Prahalad was out hunting, he saw a huge cobra relaxing comfortably without any worries. Prahlad asked, "Who are you? How are you so content?" The Cobra replied, "Even when the joy is overflowing within himself Man is not aware of it. As I am an ascetic, this has become my Nature. I just repose in a contemplative mood. If wealth, desire and righteousness do not help in attaining liberation, there is no use for them. Desire for wealth is the root cause of this unreal world. "Look at the bee. It collects honey but others enjoty its taste. In the same way, people spend a lifetime accumulating wealth which is enjoyed by others. White ants build their house, the cobra lives in it. The crow builds the nest, the cuckoos leave their eggs in it. An old man marries a young girl, gives her all the wealth and comforts, but unfortunately a young man enjoys her. Parents give birth to their children, bring them up with all care and make them worthy by educating them. But ...

When you chase your shadow, it runs away from you. On the other hand if you go towards the light, the shadow will follow you. Even though we may have noble feelings, since the whole universe is in the shadow of the universal Supreme Being, the more we run after it the more it turns away from us. - excerpted from Ramanopanishat

Boredom is the refusal to accept the What Is and not have the energy to do anything about it. A restless, frisky mind wants Something Else, not This. But at that moment it is mired in mental inertia which prevents it from being motivated enough to go out there and change the What Is. The minute the action happens, Boredom transforms into Restless (often Pointless) Activity.

Why me, Lord? Well, why not you? Why me, Lord? Every dog has his day. Why me, Lord? Next question. Why me, Lord? ’cos it’s Tuesday. Why me, Lord? The wheel stopped at you. Why me, Lord? You asked for it. Why me, Lord? Your name features on this list. Why me, Lord? You want to give me names? Why me, Lord? ’cos I like you. Why me, Lord? That’s life. Why me, Lord? You ask too many questions. Why me, Lord? Just because… Why me, Lord? Ask yourself, WHO wants to know?

It was a Sunday morning some years ago and, as was his custom, shunyayogi sat cross-legged before his home shrine, looking at his favourite deities with sadness. The problem was that he had always cherished his intimate “connection” with them: he could talk to them, he could bow to them, he could feel them in his heart. But today, everything seemed changed. There was absolutely no feeling for them, no love, just a dull numbness and a hollow feeling in his chest. And, mind you, this was not the result of any other depressing cause in his life. His feelings then are hard to describe. Let's say that he felt that his beloved personal deities had "deserted" him. A deep sadness engulfed him. Then, as shunyayogi sat there on his prayer mat, in silent despair, a line from a Hindi film song wafted across from a neighbour’s radio: Milegi na manzil tujhe bin khevaiya . The astonishing thing was that neither the preceding line nor the succeeding line was heard, just this one line. S...