Tuesday, March 25, 2008

The Spirit of Meditation

Once there was a yogi. Every night he used to go to the banks of a river to simply sit there doing nothing just watching his own self, watching the watcher. This was his daily routine. One night, while returning from the river, he passed near a rich man’s house and the watchman of that house used to watch him daily passing by. He was puzzled because every night exactly at a particular hour the yogi would come back from the river. So he could not restrain himself and came out and asked the yogi, “Forgive me for interrupting you Sir but I am curious to know what your business is? Why do you go to the river? Many a time I have followed you, and there is nothing you do but simply sit there for hours and in the middle of the night you come back.”

The yogi replied, “I know that you have followed me many times because the night is so silent, I can hear your footsteps. And I know every day you are hiding behind the gate. But it is not that you are curious about me, I am also curious about you. What is your business?”

The watchman said, “I am a simple watchman.”

The yogi said, “My God, you have given me the keyword. This is my business too!”

The watchman said, “But I don’t understand. If you are a watchman you should be watching some house, some palace. What are you watching there, you are simply sitting in the sand?”

The yogi told him, “There is a little difference in your watching and mine. You are watching for somebody outside who may enter the palace while I am simply watching the watcher to know who this watcher is. This is my whole life’s effort; I watch myself.”

The watchman said, “But this is a strange business. Who is going to pay you?”

The yogi replied, “It is such a bliss, such a joy, such an immense benediction. Just a single moment, and all the treasures are nothing in comparison to it.”

The watchman said, “This is strange, I have been watching my whole life. I never came across such a beautiful experience. Tomorrow night I am coming with you. Just teach me because I know how to watch – it seems only a different direction is needed; you are watching in some different direction.”

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

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