TYAGA AND VAIRAGYA

A man who was out of employment was constantly pressed by his wife to seek some job. One day when his son was dangerously ill and the doctors pronounced the case to be hopeless, he went out in search of employment In the meantime the son died, and a search was made for the father, but he could not be found anywhere. At last, late in the evening, he returned home and was seriously taken to task by his wife for his callousness in leaving the house at a time when his son lay dying. The husband replied with a smile, " Well, once I dreamt that I had become a king and had seven sons, with whom I passed my time happily. But when I woke up I found none of them. It was all a dream. Well, tell me for whom should I grieve—for those seven sons of mine, or for the one you have lost just now? He who feels this world to be a dream does not, like ordinary men, feel the pleasure or pain springing from worldly attachments.

Once a young Sannyasin went to a house to beg his meal. He had embraced the monastic life from his very boyhood and so had not much knowledge of the world. A young lady came out from the house to give him alms. Seeing her breast, the young Sannyasin questioned her if she was suffering from boils on her chest. To that her mother replied, ' No, my son, she hasn't got any boil. A child will be soon born to her, and so God has provided her with two breasts to suckle the child. The child will suck milk from those breasts after it is born." No sooner did the young Sannyasin heard this than he exclaimed, " No more will I beg my meals. He who created me, will feed me too.

A husband and wife renounced the world and together undertook a pilgrimage to various holy shrines. Once as they were walking along a road, the husband, being a little ahead of the wife, saw a piece of diamond on the road. Immediately he began to scratch the ground to hide the diamond in it, thinking that, if his wife saw it, perchance she might be moved to avarice, and thus lose the merit of her renunciation. While he was thus scratching the ground, the wife came up and asked him what he was doing. He gave her, in an apologetic tone, an evasive reply. She, however, finding out the diamond and reading his thoughts, remarked, ' Why did you leave the, world, if you still feel the distinction between diamond and dust.'

How does a man come to have Vairagya (dispassion) ? A wife once said to her husband, " Dear, I am very anxious about my brother. For the past one week he has been thinking of becoming an ascetic, and has been busy preparing for that life. He is trying to reduce gradually all his desires and wants." The husband replied, Dear, be not at all anxious about your brother. He will never become a Sannyasin. No one can become a Sannyasin in that way. ' How does one become a Sannyasin then? asked the wife. "Thus" exclaimed the husband, so saying, he tore his flowing dress to pieces, took a piece and tied it round his loins, and told his wife that she and all of her sex were thenceforth mothers to him. He left the house, never more to return.

"I shall complete it by and by , " I am about to take it up", " I am going to begin this "—all this is indicative of a procrastinating mood, and can result only in a lukewarm spirit of Vairagya. But he in whose heart the fire of renunciation burns intensely who pants after God as a mother s heart does for her child—he wants nothing except God. To him the world appears like a well without a wall; and he is always cautious lest he should fall into it. He does not think like others, §i Let me first settle my family affairs and then I shall meditate on God." He has a fiery determination within him.

Once there was a great draught in a country, and all the husbandmen were busy bringing water into their fields by digging canals. One of them was a man of great determination, and had resolved to go on digging until he could connect his canal with theViver. So he went on working, though it was getting late for his bath and meal. His wife sent him oil by their daughter, who came and said, " Papa, it is almost noon ; rub this oil and have your bath. The father replied, " Wait, I have work still." It was past two o'clock, and still the peasant gave no thought to his bath or meal. At last his wife came to the field herself and said : " Why have you not taken your bath as yet 7 The meal has become cold and stale. You always go to extremes. Come away now at least. Do the rest of the work to-morrow, or after you have taken your food. The man at once grew furious, and chased her away with the hoe in hand, calling her names and abusing her. " Foolish and senseless woman ! he exclaimed, M don't you see the crop is drying up, and all of you will have to die of starvation ? First I am determined to bring the water into the field to-day, and then shall think of other things. At this the woman went away. After herculean labour till late in the night, the man was at last able to carry out his determination. When he saw the water of the river flowing into the fields with a murmuring noise, his delight knew no bounds. Then coming home, he asked his wife to give some oil and prepare a pipe of tobacco. After his bath and meal, he slept soundly. This sort of determination is the right example of intense Vairagya.

Another peasant was also engaged in the same task. But when his wife came and asked him to come home, he followed her without any protest, laying the hoe on his shoulder and saying, M Well, as you have come, I must go. He was never able to bring the water into his field in time. This illustrates idle and procrastinating Vairagya. Without intense determination the irrigation of the field is not practicable; so without intense longing for Him no one can attain the blessed state of God-vision.

Once a fisherman stealthily entered the garden of a certain gentleman in the night, and was poaching fish in his pond. The gentleman, having come to know of this, ordered his men to surround the place, and came with torches to find out the thief. In the meantime the fisherman, finding no means of escape, sat down underneath a tree like a Sadhu, having smeared his body with some ashes. So when the people came, they found no thief anywhere but only a Sadhu besmeared with holy ashes and deeply absorbed in meditation underneath a tree. Next morning it was made known to the people of the neighbourhood that a great Sadhu had come to such-and-such a person s garden. And so hundreds of people began to pour in with various presents of fruits and sweets to pay their homage to the Sadhu. Coins of silver and gold also began to gather in heaps before him. Then the fisherman thought within himself : " How wonderful! I am not a real Sadhu, still they are showing so much reverence to me ! Then assuredly, if I become a real Sadhu, I can realise God. Thus even mere pretension brought about real awakening in the mind of that fisherman.

Once a Sadhu acquired great occult powers, and so became very vain. But he was, on the whole, a good man and had performed many austerities. So to correct him, the Lord appeared before him in the garb of a Sannyasin and said, ' Sir, I hear that you have attained great occult powers ! The Sadhu welcomed him with great respect, and asked him to sit down there. Just then an elephant was passing by, and seeing it, the Sannyasin said to the Sadhu, " Well, Sir, can you kill this elephant if you choose ? " The Sadhu replied, " Yes, it can be done,' and so saying, he took a handful of dust and threw it at the elephant, chanting certain incantations. The elephant at once fell down dead, writhing in agony. Then the Sannyasin observed, " Oh ! how wonderful is your power ! How easily have you killed the elephant 1 " The Sadhu smiled at these words of praise. The Sannyasin said again, " Well; can you bring the elephant back to life ? ' Yes, that too can be done," he replied, and threw again a handful of dust at the dead elephant, whereupon the animal got up quite revived. At this the Sannyasin remarked, "Wonderful indeed is your power I But I would like to ask you one question. Just now you killed the elephant and then revived it, but what benefit did it bring to you ? What improvement has it brought in you ? Did it help you to attain God? So saying, he disappeared.

A wood-cutter led a very miserable life with the slender means he could procure by daily selling the load of wood be brought from a neighbouring forest. Once a Sannyasin, who was wending his way through the forest, saw him at work, and told him that he should go further into the forest so that he would be a gainer thereby. The wood-cutter obeyed the injunction and proceeded onward until he came to a sandalwood tree. He was much pleased, and took away with him as many sandal logs as he could carry and sold them in the market at a great profit. Then he began to consider why the good

Sannyasin did not tell him anything about the sandal trees, but simply advised him to proceed into the interior of the forest. So next day he went even beyond the region of the sandal trees, till at last he came upon a copper mine. He took with him as much copper as he could carry, and by selling it in the market got much money. Next day, without stopping at the copper mine, he proceeded further still, as the Sadhu had advised him to do, and came upon a silver mine. Then he took with him as much silver as he could carry, and sold it all and got even more money. And thus daily proceeding further and further, he reached gold mines and diamond mines, and at last became exceedingly rich. Such is also the case with the man who aspires after true Knowledge. If he does not stop in his progress after attaining a little of any extra-ordinary supernatural power, he at last becomes really rich in the eternal knowledge of the supreme Truth.

During the reign of Akbar there lived a Fakir {a Muslim ascetic) in a certain forest near Delhi. Many used to resort to the cottage of this holy man. But as he had nothing with which to show hospitality to these visitors, he was in need of some money for this purpose and went for help to Akbar Shah, who was well known for his kindness to holy men. Akbar Shah was then saying his prayers, and the Fakir took his seat in the prayer room. In the course of his prayers Akbar was heard to say, " O Lord, do Thou grant me more wealth, more power, more territories ! ' At once the Fakir rose up and was about to steal out of the room when the Emperor beckoned him to be seated again.

At the end of the prayer, Akbar asked the Fakir, " Sir, you came to see me. How is it then that you wanted to depart without saying anything to me? The Fakir said, "The object of my visit to Your Majesty . . . well, I need not trouble you with that." When Akbar repeatedly pressed him to say what he wanted, the Fakir at last said, 44 Your Majesty, many people come to me to be taught, but for want of money I am unable to see to their comforts. So I thought it well to come to Your Majesty for help." Akbar then asked why he was about to go away without having told him the object of his visit. The Fakir replied, M When I saw that you were yourself a beggar, begging of the Lord for fortune and power and territory, I said to myself, ' Why should I go a-begging to a person who is himself a beggar ? I had better beg of the Lord Himself, if indeed it is not possible for me to do without begging altogether'."

A Brahmin met a Sannyasin, and both had a long talk on worldly and religious topics. At last the Sannyasin said to the Brahmin : " Behold, child, there is no depending upon anyone in this world. None whom you call your own is yours. The Brahmin would not believe it. How could he think that those for whom he was toiling day and night, that is, the members of his own family, were not his friends on whom he could count for help? So the Brahmin said: "Sir, when I am troubled with even a slight headache, my mother is so much concerned that she is ready to give up even her life gladly if it will only bring relief to me. That such a mother is not a friend whom I can depend upon, is something I cannot conceive." The Sannyasin replied: " If such be the case, then of course she is a friend. But, to tell you the truth, you are greatly mistaken. Never believe for a moment that your mother, wife and son will sacrifice their lives for your sake. You can verify the truth of this if you like; go home and feign excruciating pain in your stomach and groan with it; I will come and show yoirsome fun."

The Brahmin acted accordingly. Physicians were called in, but no one could afford any relief. The mother of the patient was sighing and sorrowing; the wife and children were crying. The Sannyasin turned up at this moment.

" The disease is of a serious nature, said the Sannyasin, "and I do not see any chance of the patient's recovery unless someone comes forward to give up his or her life for the sake of the patient. At this, all of them looked aghast. The Sannyasin, addressing the old mother of the patient, said: "To live or to die will be the same thing to you, if in your old age you lose your son who earns for himself and for you all. If you can give your life in exchange for his, I can save your son. If you, as his mother, cannot make this sacrifice for him, who else in this world will care to do it ? "

The old woman blubbered forth through her tears: Revered father, I am ready to do anything you order for the sake of my son. But the thing is, my own life. . . and what is my life in comparison to that of my son ? The thought—what will become of my little ones after my death —makes me a coward. Unfortunate that I am, these little ones are in my way.

While listening to this dialogue between the Sannyasin and the mother-in-law, the wife of the patient wept bitterly and said, addressing her own parents, " For your sake, dear father and mother, I cannot make the sacrifice." The Sannyasin turned to her and asked her whether she would not sacrifice her life for the sake of her husband, now that his mother had fallen back. The wife said : " The wretch that I am ! If widowhood is to be my lot, be it so. I cannot make up my mind to cause grief to my father and mother for the loss of their child." In this way every one wriggled out of the difficulty. Then the Sannyasin told the patient: Look now, no one is ready here to sacrifice a life for you. Do you understand now what I meant by saying that there was no depending upon anybody in this world? When the Brahmin saw all this, he abandoned his so-called home and followed the Sannyasin.

A disciple said to his Guru that his wife loved him very much and so he could not renounce the world. The disciple used to practise Hathayoga. To convince him of the hollowness of his plea, the Guru taught him some secrets of this branch of Yoga. One day all on a sudden there was great consternation in the disciple's house, and wailings and sobbings were heard all around. The neighbours came running to the house and saw the Hatha Yogi disciple in a room, quite motionless, in a peculiar convoluted posture. They all thought that life was extinct in the body. The wife of the man was crying: " Alas I where have you gone, dear ? Why have you forsaken us ? Ah ! we never knew that such a calamity would befall us ! In the meantime the relatives brought a cot to take the corpse out for cremation. Then they found themselves face to face with a serious difficulty. As the man was in a contorted posture, his body would not come out through the door. Seeing that, one of the neighbours brought an axe and began to cut the wooden frame of the door. Till then the wife was weeping in an uncontrollable fit of sorrow; but no sooner did she hear the sound of the axe than she ran to the spot, and, though still weeping, anxiously enquired what they were about. One of the neighbours told her that they were cutting the door as her husband s body could not otherwise be taken out owing to its peculiar posture. " No, no,' cried out the wife, " don't do so now. 1 have been widowed, and there is none to look after me. I have to bring up my fatherless children. If you now cut the door, it cannot be repaired again. Whatever was to happen has happened to my husband. You had better cut his hands and legs and take him out. Hearing this, the Hatha Yogi at once stood up, the effect of the drug having gone by this time, and bawled out, M Woman, you want to cut my hands and legs ? And so saying, he went away with his Guru renouncing hearth and home