Book Title: Journey to Enlightenment Part 01
Author(s): Chitrabhanu, Chetana Catherine Florida, Nirmala Hanke, Raksha Penni Helsene
Publisher: Create Space
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when we are empty we want something from someone else. But that person is not going to give us what we want because he or she does not have it.
Once a man was going to the market to sell ghee, which is butter that has been purified in liquid form. The man filled his pot with water and put a little warm ghee on the top. When ghee is put on water it hardens, so it appeared that the pot was completely filled with ghee. Along the way, he met a man who said, "What is in this pot of yours?" "It is ghee for sale," replied the man. "Let me see," said the second. He looked in and saw the whole pot filled with ghee. So he said, "How would you like to make a bargain? I have two bracelets which are made of gold. I can give you the bracelets if you give me the ghee." The first man said, "Very good", knowing the pot was full of water. But the other man had brass bracelets with only a little glitter of gold. So he thought, "This is not such a bad business to have so much ghee for some bracelets of brass."
So they were both very happy. But when they reached home, they both discovered that they had played a trick on each other. Sometimes two empty people think that they have made a good bargain. They meet once or twice and think "Oh, I have something good here," because the partner is handsome or wealthy. But when they discover the emptiness after two or three months, they say "Oh my God! Now how can I get rid of him?" Or "What is the way out from here?" Really it is difficult for us to understand, but if we don't understand, it will become more difficult for us to remove the pain.
Masters are those souls who master their own mind. They don't want to master the people or collect followers. They know the futility of the ego. In ego, you create something and then you suffer. You don't know when the mind of the disciple is going to turn crazy, and then you have to please him until you can correct the craziness. It is a headache! To be free from this headache, detachment is the answer.
The Nature of the Mind
The mind can turn against anything; it has a habit to revolt against what it does not understand. It attacks and in that way it thinks it can save itself. If it does not strike, it feels it will not save itself. To save face it uses a device to strike out at what it does not grasp or cannot conquer. Sometimes when the mind does not understand the teacher or Master, it strikes out against him also. It happens to all the teachers in one way or another from time to time. So the wise man wants to conquer his mind and his senses and that is all. He says, "Those who are ready, let them understand. Those who are not ready, let them learn through suffering." Suffering becomes their master. They gain from pain.
There are some people who are not happy unless they become unhappy. They find some reason to have a discussion and create a fight, and they spoil their evening instead of sitting in silence, having peace and seeing beauty. That is why, if you are going away for the weekend with friends and you want to have a very pleasant time, better take some time for silence. Then you will enjoy nature. Otherwise you might come home with fighting, quarreling and disputing moods.
On the Wings of Light and Love - 119
