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| II | ||||
The
Twenty-four Teachers |
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From the Uddhava Gita of the Bhagavantam |
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A
wise man should not swerve from the Dharma even though he is oppressed by
those who are themselves under the direction of providence. This forbearance I have learned from the earth, which is
rarely appreciated for itself. It is trampled over and treated as dirt but
it continues to be the source of life and nourishment. Although all its
treasures may be taken from it, it continues to give, never thinking of
itself but only of the good of others. Like
the wind, the Yogi should not be attached to objects, although he resides
in a physical body and they may be all around him. His mind should remain
unaffected by the good and evil consequences of objects just as the wind
remains unaffected by the good or bad odor of objects over which it blows.
The wind may be charged with odor but the odor is not the attribute of the
wind. The soul enters the body and the attributes of the body seem to be
its own, but it is not so. I
have learned from the sky that I am all-pervading, that I am not limited
by the body, just as clouds cannot affect the sky. The sky is not touched
by anything. It pervades everywhere and is independent of limitations due
to time and place. Such is
the case for the sage, as well. Naturally
pure and sweet water purifies whatever it comes in contact with. So is the
sage among men. Like the holy water he purifies others by the mere sight
and nearness to him. He eats the food offered by pious devotees and
thereby, burns up their past and future evils. Fire
is one and the same although it may have entered different fuels where it
may burn in a rectangular, circular or angular shape, where it may have a
red or blue or white flame, where it may be gentle or raging and give
warmth or destruction; but despite all these various forms the fire does
not change. It remains the same. The
Lord of the universe enters all the various objects, high and low, created
by His own Maya, and appears to be like everyone of these objects, just as
fire does in different fuels. Flames are subject to change but not fire;
so also the body undergoes birth and death but not the Atma. The
waning and waxing of the moon is not due to any condition of the moon or
any change in its substance; it is due only to the changing angle of the
sun, whose rays get reflected by the moon. Birth, growth, decay, death are
states of the body but not of Atma. The Atma remains ever as it is,
although it seems to undergo change, just as the moon appears to change
owing to astronomical motions. The
sun draws water by its rays but then gives it all away in time. So also,
the sage takes in but only in order to give, not to add to his own
possessions. |
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