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1
All the wise people of the world gathered together because they agreed
that the world was going to end in one year. The conference of people
numbered almost one thousand. The meetings went on from early in the morning
until late at night because of the emergency nature of the situation.
Every great religion and philosophy was represented. The people gathered
the books and literature which they felt should be preserved so that after
the catastrophe, if anyone survived, there would be a means of attaining
the true path. The scientists of the world were busy making space ships
to carry the most brilliant people into space to search for a new home.
After three months of intensity and great preparation, the master plan
was devised and it was decided that each group could send one of its members
in the space ship that carried the sacred writings. They went through
the list checking until they came to the name of a great sage who was
not present. It startled people to think that he was not trying to preserve
his path so that future races could benefit. In fact, it was soon realized
that he had not been at the conference. His audacity and the extraordinary
idea that he might know something that they didn’t know provoked
great discussion.
Finally it was decided to search him out. Twenty-five people were sent
into the deep mountains to look for this great sage. After months of searching
they finally came upon an isolated plateau deep in the mountains and saw
in the distance the form of the sage sitting facing the sunset. It was
a day’s journey to reach him and they were interested to see that
he did not move. They climbed, and as they approached him they heard a
great roar. Looking up they saw the space ship with all the great books
and Teaming rise into the heavens. They realized then that they were just
days from the final disaster. Trembling, they came to the last few feet
hoping that, since the sage was still on the earth, there was still hope
for them.
They came upon a great scroll which said, "Upon hearing the news
that the world would soon be over, I have returned to whence I came."
‘Me searchers came closer and touched the sage on the shoulder;
his dust scattered in the wind.
The quickest road out of town is UP.
2
A young man in search of truth went to see a sage. The sage would answer
the most complicated questions brilliantly. He had depth and insight,
which made him highly sought after. Scholars were in awe of him, and kings
and princes sent for him to seek his advice.
The youth sat and watched the sage consult great books in solving problems.
After some months the sage became seriously interested in the youth’s
watchfulness; his curiosity was provoked. The youth’s attention
caused the sage to become more boisterous and dramatic. The youth in turn
became voluble in his admiration. It acted as an intoxicant for the sage,
who became more and more open and exposed his wisdom to the youth with
joy.
One day a great emperor came to see the sage. He brought chest of gold
and jewels and also his wise men. His purpose was to find a husband for
his beautiful daughter.
The youth watched the drama build as the heat of discussion rose. The
sage brought out more and more instruments and books. The king called
in more and more of his wise men. Days went by and the scene became a
bedlam. Everyone tried to be the most brilliant, and they ceased working
at solving the problem. They were too busy impressing each other. During
their involvement the youth fed and bedded the princess. Then he gathered
up the chests of gold and jewels and many books and charts and rode off
to claim his position as the king’s son-in-law.
Being detached allows you to choose what you wish by not being part of
someone else’s drama. There is wisdom in being quiet until a situation
reveals itself. We can become part of whatever pattern we choose to fit
ourselves into.
3
A great teacher allowed people into his presence only between the hours
of noon and 4 p.m. He spoke highly and became the inspiration of many
devotees. One young man came every day for a year and listened with great
attention. The man asked deep questions and obviously grew from the answers.
The teacher was happy to see his seed grow in another person. In his heart
he planned shortly to allow the man to live in his own household as a
reward for his conscientious attendance and obvious intelligence.
The teacher had his servants prepare a room. They painted the walls and
made furniture of a simple design. On the day it was done, the teacher
asked the young man to stay after the four o’clock audience ended.
He took the man to the room and told him of his decision. He could see
that the man was very disturbed by the suggestion. The teacher felt it
best not to pursue his desire and told the young man to consider his proposition.
The man never returned. After several months the teacher grew agitated.
He inquired of the man’s whereabouts from his other students. He
went to the man’s home and to his amazement found he was living
with two women and was the owner of a disreputable nightclub.
The teacher returned to his house, barred the door, and never taught again.
The true teacher is a pure vessel through which God’s will flows.
When he attaches himself to anyone, he is expressing his own will.
4
The procession of elephants and horses, beautifully mounted by holy men,
filed into the great square by the sea. Hundreds of thousands of people
gathered, for it was an occasion celebrating the thousandth year of the
ancient temple. Most of the people came to worship there. Everybody knew
that the holy men on the elephants were the most enlightened, as the animal
they rode was symbolic of the inner vastness of the wisdom they had gathered.
Riding on the horses were younger holy men who hoped one day to advance
spiritually as well as physically so that they could ride upon great elephants.
One particularly handsome young man with long hair and beautiful eyes
was riding a great white horse. A dozen marchers broke away and came toward
him. One of them spoke to the holy man or great mahatma and said, "Why
do you come alone on such a great occasion?" The young man was startled
because he was part of this large procession and did not understand the
meaning of the man’s words.
The man explained, "I see you. Your modesty prevents your seeing
that all we very poor mountain villagers can see are your lofty spiritual
auras, dozens of feet above all the holy men riding elephants."
"They must be your attendants," added another one of the villagers.
The beautiful young man on the horse laughed, embarrassed by the attention
being paid him. He came down from the horse and started talking to the
dozen villagers who kept praising him until his laughter ceased and his
pride began to rise. They talked and talked deep into the night until
the young man’s vanity began to grow, being constantly fed by the
attention of the villagers.
They were seen the next morning going toward their village in the mountains,
the holy man on his horse, laughing as the villagers threw flowers at
him. Three days later when they were near the village, other villagers
came running up to their friends and threw the holy man on the ground.
They then took his horse into the barn, where it was used to sire a dozen
mares, for which they had not been able to find a suitable stud, as they
were poor people. They beat the holy man each day until he became so weak
that he was grateful to be allowed to sleep in the barn with the horses,
and he could no longer consider himself worthy to go out among people
as a superior being.
A man should not lower himself in the position that God has raised him
to - his consciousness should be superior to his worldliness.
5
Two brothers were sent by their father to seek their fortune. They had
been raised and educated together. The older of the two was practical.
He was continually chastising the younger brother for his lack of practicality.
The older boy would mark his books with his name and cover them. The younger
would lend his books to anyone who asked, forgetting who borrowed them.
The older brother dealt only with people he felt were from a good background.
The younger brother was friends with all. The father was a wise man. He
had been reared in the tradition that a child reaching the age of twenty-one
should be sent off into the world.
The following was carved in stone over the door of the schoolhouse that
the young men had attended: ‘Advice is nice but experience is best."
There were many in the village who felt sorry for the younger child. They
felt the father would be cruel to allow someone so impractical to go into
the world. The father replied, "Our tradition does not specify the
nature of the child one sends off into the world. God will look after
them according to their nature. I should not place my will over God’s."
The boys drew lots and the older boy won the route to the south, which
was over the plains. It meant easier traveling because what was ahead
was easily visible. This was according to his nature because what he was,
everyone could see. The younger son drew the path to the north, which
was through the mountains. His nature had not revealed itself and he was
going into similar territory. The father gave a great sigh of relief and
said, "God has already revealed his intelligence in the direction
that has been chosen for my children. It is now time for them to leave
on their paths. It is obvious that the first step is right, and obvious
all the others will follow in truth."
It is of little consequence what they found or what became of them. What
is wonderful is that they were started on the true path. It is better
to understand the right of what we are doing than to try to foretell the
future. The future may seem remarkable, but if it doesn’t fit the
nature of the person, it is not in the nature of truth.
To travel in this world it is wiser to have a good horse with the right
saddle than a great horse with a wrong saddle.
6
A famous teacher who had a vast fortune along with his vast reputation
felt the emptiness of his life. He had given greatly of himself and felt
the emptiness that comes of depleting oneself for others. He wisely chose
to travel to seek a more advanced spiritual state. His great wish, as
in all people who aspire to spirituality, was to have God reveal himself
to him. He gave away his fortune, leaving himself only enough to travel
to an ancient country. He took with him his youngest son, who was just
fourteen.
Many temples opened to the man because of his great reputation. Much was
revealed to him. Seven years went by. He climbed mountains, waded rivers,
and slept in forests, pursuing deeper and deeper.
He came one day to a small temple and found the priest lying on the ground
in front of it, having been half eaten by a lion. The man and his son
washed the priest, gathered herbs, and fed and warmed the priest with
their own bodies at night. One of them stayed up all night so that they
could be of service whenever the priest required water or food. When the
priest became well, he said he would grant whatever wish they wanted.
The father said he wished for God to reveal himself to him. The priest
said he would grant his wish, but they must crawl through the back of
the small temple into the cave beyond. The priest told them that God would
be in the cave after they had been there for one half hour.
The father told his son to follow him, and they crawled through the back
of the temple into a tunnel which opened into a small cave. It was high
enough for them to stand up and about five hundred feet wide. The man
looked at the carvings and the paintings on the walls trying to see into
the face of each. The exquisite workmanship of the carvings and the depth
of the paintings all revealed some aspect of God. The man was so enchanted
that he was amazed to feel someone touch his ann. He felt and hoped that
it was God. It was only the priest saying that the tunnel would close
as the thirty minutes were up and they must leave. The man was upset as
he told the priest that he did not find God revealed in any of the things
in the cave. The priest turned the man around and there was his son with
a great radiance shining from him. The priest said, "God reveals
himself not in things, but in being. While you looked with your mind,
your son sat quietly and opened and saw God, who is now within him."
Detachment from paradise reveals God.
7
Two men lived in a monastery and were both intense in their wish to pursue
a spiritual life. One came from a wealthy background and the other from
a very modest one. The wealthy man was always surrounded with the means
to learn many aspects of spiritual work. He was versed in astrology, numerology,
palmistry, and many other aspects of metaphysics. He always planned his
day and so was prepared for whatever conditions life should bring. With
the aid of his metaphysical sciences he could avoid many problems.
The other man had to accept life as it was and he became like a soldier
fighting battles brutally. He became scarred and maimed and developed.
The rich man became more and more ascetic and refined. He looked like
a spiritual seeker, and many people who came to the monastery would pick
him out as an extraordinary example of how refined spirituality molds
a human being.
They lived their lives in this fashion. Remarkably, they died on the same
day, when they were both quite old. One was a beautiful example of how
asceticism can develop all the refinement that can exist within a human
being. Lying on his pallet in death, he was even more beautiful than in
life. It was obvious that his rebirth would be on a very high level because
of the refined instrument he had created in this life. The other was like
a dried nut. He lay on his pallet in death, broken open; but it was obvious
that his soul had escaped from the body, if it could be called a body.
He had not protected himself in his life and had completely used his life
force. He had drained every bit of energy from his tissue and had broken
open on his death so that his soul could go into the oneness.
To serve God is to accept everything - to shed all physical matter.
THE END |