(from "Day by Day with Bhagavan"):
Yesterday or the day before, in the morning, a snake was seen by Chinnaswami and others in the Asramam premises somewhere near Bhagavan’s hall. We heard the cries, “What kind of snake is it?” “Beat it! Beat it!” When we heard the noise of actual beating, Bhagavan cried out “Who is beating it?” Apparently, this remonstrance of Bhagavan was not heard by the party, and the snake was killed. Bhagavan, added, “If these persons are beaten like that, then they will know what it means.”
=======
(from "Guru Vachaka Kovai"):
Muruganar: Avidya [ignorance] is the cause of sinful acts. Even those who engage in sinful acts, behaving like the poisonous snake that kills, do so unwittingly, prompted by the inner enemy. Therefore, no matter how sinful they may be, the proper course is to pity their ignorance. Retaliation is improper.
Bhagavan would normally say that it is the dharma of monkeys to steal and of snakes to bite, so we should not judge them by human standards. The ‘sins’ of the snakes can therefore be taken to be the activities of a previous life which caused the incarnation in a snake’s body. In their current incarnation, they lack the self-awareness that would tell them that what they were doing was harmful.
The strength of mind [of a jnani] does not collapse even when it is subjected to all the afflictions that come upon him continuously, one after another. However, it[his mind] melts repeatedly and he sheds [tears] when those who have resorted to him experience agonizing suffering.
No comments:
Post a Comment