Discrimination

Our lack of discrimination causes so much trouble.

One of Swamiji's favorite subjects was discrimination between the real and the unreal. In fact, the peeling away of ignorance in order to allow the light of truth to shine through may be said to be the essence of all spiritual paths.

The fact is that it is the mind which stands between us and God and when mind becomes steady, we perceive Him.

Devotion to a master and practices such as meditation, chanting, and puja are all instrumental in sharpening the faculty of discrimination. In addition, absolute vigilance is required to combat the mind's tendency toward dullness and inertia, which cloud the intellect and obstruct the light of the spirit.

To illustrate this need for discrimination in spiritual life, Babaji told a story.

The Disciple and the Elephant

Once there was a guru who used to tell his disciples ‘all is God’. One disciple felt he had truly imbibed this teaching and one day went outside to find people running, panic-stricken. Suddenly a shout came, 'Rogue elephant.’

However, the disciple thought to himself, “Why should I run away? After all, if everything is God, then so is the elephant and it won’t harm me!”

Just then the mahut came running down the road shouting. 'Get off the road! Rogue elephant!'

The disciple, however, stood his ground in the middle of the road and was almost hurled to the ground by the elephant. Suddenly his guru was standing in front of him. 'Why didn't you move off the road?' he asked.

'Guruji,' replied the disciple, “it was you who told me all was God. You told a lie.'

'You fool,' replied Guruji, 'wasn't that mahut who told you to move aside also God? Why didn't you listen to that God?’

Even the great jnanis are themselves not immune to their discrimination being clouded, especially by the evil of bad company.

At the end of the Mahabharata war, the great jnani and warrior Bhishma was lying on his bed of arrows expounding on dharma while surrounded by the Pandavas, Krishna, Draupadi, and others.

Suddenly Draupadi could bear no more and cried, 'Where was all your dharma and fine philosophy when I was being stripped publicly in Duryodhana's court and you just looked on and did nothing ? One word from you and I would have been set free! ‘ 1

Bhishma, the great jnani, sadly agreed. "See the evil result of accepting the food, company, and hospitality of a corrupt man (Duryodhana) and how clouded my intellect became as a result.

In practice, truth and untruth invariably exist side by side.

There will always be light and dark, fire and smoke, good and bad. What is important is to contemplate the bright flame, not the smoke.

The glory of the master is that he is instrumental in removing the veil of ignorance and duality. Once Baba Muktananda had asked one of his students to show him her earrings, which happened to be artificial. Disappearing indoors, he emerged with another pair which he presented to her, saying, 'Take these, they are real. That is my job, to replace the unreal with the real.'

The tendency on every level of human life, however, is to revere illusion and appearances and we often pay a heavy price for our foolishness and lack of discrimination. This tendency was the subject of many of Swamiji's stories and often his warnings about the gullibility of human nature inevitably extended into the delicate domain of religion.

A story that Swamiji often told with a certain humorous relish was the true story of the Narayan Darshan cult which once existed in India.

A certain Sadhu made money from a gullible public by giving darshan in a dark room dressed as Narayan (Vishnu). Behind him would stand a disciple holding conch and discus and together they gave an impression of the four-armed Vishnu. A person was granted darshan for a split second and then shown out of the room. Strangely enough, much money was collected in this way.

A grisly extension to this story, which Babaji often related, is that a disciple of the above false prophet was a thief and had his nose cut off as a punishment. As a kind of revenge on society, he succeeded in starting a cult called nag sampraya (nose dynasty) where he gave initiation in which he surgically removed the initiate's nose. The initiate's blind belief was that he or she would then be able to see God. It seems that the cult had a good number of members all of whom swore that they could now perceive God. Eventually, the old minister of a gullible king, who was considering joining the cult managed to expose the fraud and place all the members under arrest. Whereupon, they confessed that they had been hypnotized and had never had any vision of God whatsoever.

Swamiji was always quick to point out that a king or important man of the world is often vulnerable to the foolishness of the world and is often in sore need of guidance. Indeed, if we use our discrimination, it becomes apparent that the rich and famous. contrary to appearances, are often to be pitied rather than emulated.

Wealth and the Rich

People think that to be a big or important person is very good, very wonderful. However, in practice what happens? In the case of Indira Ghandhi, wherever she goes police accompany her and doctors check her food in case it is poisoned.2

She is not even free to walk down the street by herself or she will be mobbed. She cannot speak freely because all her words are written in newspapers and taped. One word too many and she gets criticized. Every moment her mind is occupied with running the country never gets a moment's peace. Even her toilet has to be check security guards. If she goes anywhere, they surround her back. Tell me, isn't that how a convict is treated: murderer? Even my guru had so many people around him he never had a moment's peace. A poor man, however, can eat a anywhere, do anything he wishes freely, and gets good sleep at night !

All things were created by God for Himself. He gives us and wisdom works through us Himself. One person is poor, another rich. It is his play, His leela. For Him, the poor person is the same as the wealthy one. The same sunshine falls on both. But if it is very cold, the poor person has the strength to endure it. The rich man requires an overcoat. God gives the poor strength to endure hardship. This is one of His rules.

The rich never enjoy any real peace. They consider themselves very intelligent and think they have gathered their wealth by means of their superior intellect. The truth is, often they take the share of others for themselves. What they really gather is sin. If a man wants to make a pile of earth, he has to dig a hole to get it. However, he doesn't see the hole he has made but only his little pile. If only he had allowed himself to see that gaping hole he would realize his mistake. Of course, a man needs some money to live on but he should not amass more than he needs. Generally, the more money you have, the more problems. To make money is not too difficult. To use it well is not so easy.

Vishnu and Laxmi

One day, Vishnu, a barber by profession, who often cut Babaji's hair, arrived. Vishnu, with his amiable grin of buck teeth stained with red betel nut, was an irresistible and ready source of humor, especially as he shared his name with Vishnu, the Preserver of the Hindu Trinity.

Babaji's habit was always to joke with him and with a mischievous smile he asked Vishnu, 'How is everything in Vaikuntha (Vishnu's heaven)?'

'Well, Maharaj' was the reply, 'samsara [life in this world], just keeps going.' Everyone in the room roared with laughter, whereupon Babaji told a story.

Once Lord Vishnu was lying recumbent on Shesh, the primal serpent in the ocean of milk, with Laxmi (Vishnu's consort) massaging his legs. He was obviously in a pensive mood, so when Narada the wandering minstrel arrived to see the Lord, he remarked ‘Lord, why are you looking so worried?’

‘Laxmi is my problem' came the reply, and seeing Narada's bewilderment, he added, 'Look, and I'll demonstrate why.'

So Lord Vishnu, the sustainer of the three worlds, took the form of a pundit in a little town where he started giving daily spiritual discourses of such charm, power, beauty, and wisdom, that soon the entire village population locked up house and went to listen. Men women, and children sat spellbound and soon devotion for God, joy and harmony transformed the little town into a veritable heaven.

Of course, where Vishnu is, Laxmi is bound to follow, so, sure enough, in the form of an old crone, Vishnu's consort also arrived in the town. Just as the daily discourse was about to begin, she went to an old lady asking for water. Hurriedly, so as not to miss the start of the day's discourse, she handed over the lota (metal container) of water, which, upon touching Laxmi's hand, turned to gold.

'Hey, this isn't my lota, it's solid gold,' gasped the old lady.

'Yes, I'm afraid that my hand has this quality that everything it touches tends to become gold. Keep it,' replied the crone.

By the next day, the news had spread and instead of attending the Lord's discourse, several ladies were waiting at home hoping for a visit from Laxmi! They were not disappointed and soon the townsfolk were acquiring gold pots, plates and the like. Soon not one person was there for the pundit's discourse as the menfolk also got diverted by the promise of this new source of wealth.

Now, Lord Vishnu, who is the prisoner only of true devotion, with no one to hold Him there, left that town and, of course, where Vishnu goes, Laxmi follows. So she also left and soon the town declined to its old ways. Devotion to God grew dim and the new found prosperity waned and again the people returned to their old life.

Babaji remarked with a meaningful glance at the visitors in the room, "So, hold on to devotion to God (Vishnu) and certainly Laxmi won't be far away with her blessings and gifts. But don't go running after Laxmi and forget Vishnu, otherwise He'll leave and she will follow!"

How, then, to keep our minds and hearts bright and clean enough to withstand and renounce the tendency of the mind toward the glitter of illusion?

1 This refers to a famous scene in the epic, Mahabharata, of Drupadis public humiliation by Duryodhana. She prayed to the Lord, who responded with the miracle of Draupadi's sari, which was being stripped off her body, becoming endlessly long. Her honor was thus saved.