== BULL & HUMAN BEHAVIOUR ==
Namaskar,
We have all seen how Baba uses all kinds of colourful analogies to help
deliver His message and put forth an important point for our betterment
and learning.
Some of these analogies are very easy to understand, some less so. It
depends upon the person and their experience.
What cannot be denied, however, is that each of these analogies hold
great meaning and insight into the life of every spiritual aspirant. So
we should strive to understand every morsel of Baba's analogies.
WHAT IS NEEDED TO BE UNDERSTOOD
Baba has given one analogy about bulls and the burden of having an
inflated ego, asmita'. The analogy relates of course to our human
experience and sadhaka life.
To gain clear understanding of Baba's teaching, three things are needed:
(1) Knowledge about bulls;
(2) knowledge of Hindi or Sanskrit, and;
(3) knowledge of Baba's spiritual teachings on vanity, ego and devotion.
Once all the above three components are known, then the reader will have
complete understanding of Baba's teaching in this analogy.
Since I was not aware of the above I consulted with my acarya and now
share what I learned with all of you. Perhaps this is known to you
already, perhaps not. In either case we get opportunity to once again
review and contemplate Baba's divine teaching.
ABOUT BULLS
First off, as you may know, bulls can be quite terrifying creatures.
They have big, sharp horns, a menacing look, and a potentially nasty
disposition. Not only that, they are huge and can weigh up to 1000kg or
2200lbs or more, even as much as 2000kg or 4400lbs. So they can be quite
intimidating and ferocious.
Often these bulls live in areas where they are the biggest animals, as
usually there are no elephants nor whales where bulls reside. So when
full-grown and healthy, bulls consider themselves to be the strongest
entity alive.
When they walk this earth they are well-known for making this type of
sound, "Hmmm". This is their natural sound, especially when they are angry.
ABOUT HINDI
The next component needed to understand the analogy are two simple Hindi
words.
The term "ham" in Hindi and other Indian languages means "I". And the
term "tum" in Hindi means "you".
That is also essential to understand Baba's teaching.
EGO, VANITY & DEVOTION
Then of course we all know that ego or I-ness has an inverse
relationship with devotion. The aim of our human life is to realise that
Parama Purusa is the Supreme Subject and Supreme Doer in the universe,
not our little "I" feeling.
We are to think, "O' Parama Purusa You are everything, because of Your
grace everything happens."
Baba says, "By His mercy one can [do] anything and everything. Without
His mercy even a blade of grass cannot move." (AV-30)
Baba says, "Gurukrpa' hi kevalam - “The Guru’s grace is everything.”
This alone is the supreme truth. This is the be-all and end-all of
life." (AFPS-8)
With this idea in mind, then one can lead a devotional life, realising
that His love, presence and touch guide us in all circumstances.
Baba says, "Through devotion you should realize that He is the life of
your life, the Lord of your inner heart." (APH-7)
By his grace, with devotion we can practically feel that He is the
be-all and end-all of life.
However, a devotional outlook is categorically impossible when one is
sunk in their own egoistic feeling. Then one thinks, "I am great, I have
done so many things, I am the king of the mountain" etc. In that case
one will give all credit to themselves, and not even think of Parama
Purusa.
Baba says, "“I did this, I did that, I’m not an ordinary man” – like
this. In devotion there is no scope for being puffed up with vanity."
(SS-21)
Thus the more one gets absorbed in their own petty ego, the less one is
able to realise Him. Ego, or asmita', then is the main stumbling block
in leading a devotional life.
HOW BABA WRITES THE ANALOGY
With the above understanding about bulls, Hindi and ego, then we can
best understand Baba's below analogy and how it relates with human life.
Baba says, "People say that a bull, when he is in the fullness of his
strength, [calls] Ham, meaning “I am great.” After he dies, the
[cotton-spinner] makes a bow with strings from his intestines, and it
produces the sound Tun, Tun, meaning “You are great.” Thus will fall the
ego ultimately. Therefore the wise will take the “You are great” stance
from the very beginning." (AV-23)
LITERAL EXPLANATION
Since the bull thinks it is so strong and walks around all day calling
"hmmm", "hmmm, "hmmm" - similar to the Hindi word "ham" meaning "I" -
Baba is making the joke that a bull is totally stuck in its own unit
ego, touting its own greatness, day in & day out.
However a day is sure to come when it will die and its body parts and
intestines will be used as a string on a machine to spin cotton. Then
the sound of that bull will be "tun", "tun" - similar to the Hindi word
"tum" meaning "You". Thus after its death, when its ego is crushed, then
and only then does the bull recognise Parama Purusa and repeat, "You are
everything."
Best then is to overcome the pitfalls of the ego early in life, and sing
His praises each and every day - why wait until death, like the bull does.
This is the humorous yet highly significant meaning of Baba's analogy.
WHAT IT ALL MEANS
With regards to our human life, we all know how when people gain success
and gather name, fame, prosperity, and fortune, then they often think
that they are really great - then their ego is on the top.
In that case, they are prone to a fall. In social life, their ego will
be a problem. But in their spiritual life it will be deadly.
Because with a big ego, one will forget Him and accumulate all kinds of
samskaras, negative karma, and sink oneself in all sorts of burdens.
When one forgets that the Doership is Him and instead drowns in the
mantra, "I am great - I did this" etc, then there is not an iota of
scope for devotion.
Stuck up in that kind of egoistic superiority complex, they will create
hell in the their personal life and their spiritual life will be nil. As
Baba says below, theirs is a "Himalayan ignorance".
Baba says, "When people perceive something through the mind, they think
that their sight or perception alone is the factor which determines the
existence of an object. This sort of foolish presumption is called
asmita' [ego]. Such people cannot understand that not only behind their
cognition but also behind their sensation there exists the radiant
reflection of an Effulgent Entity. This radiance is reflected not only
in the crude and subtle but in the causal entity as well, and is the
perfect semblance of His characteristic identity. Ignorant people cannot
think of anything beyond what little light reflection they see on their
own unit entities; their sense entities remain confined within that very
limit. And that is why the ignorant materialists do not want to
recognize anything beyond his observable world. This flagrant disregard
on their part is not mere arrogance but Himalayan ignorance." (AMIWL-5)
The only way out is to escape the shackles of one's ego and accept Him
as the sole aim of life. That is the intelligent way to live. And that
should be started from this very moment, not when one is old an gray, or
even worse - dead, like the bull.
BABA'S BLESSING
By Baba's grace He has given us the perfect recipe for living a life
above the fray of ego and vanity, ensconced in the spiritual ideal that
He is everything and that all inspiration and energy stem from Him. Then
one can serve all without vanity and reach Him by surrendering unto His
sweet will. No one then should live their life like a bull, sunk in
their own false sense of prestige and vanity. That is Baba's teaching to
us all.
Baba says, "Now, this complete surrender, complete self-sacrifice, is to
be done. But how? What is the secret? All human egos, all egoistic
expressions, are based on the vanity moving around the self, moving
around the “I” feeling, the first expression of existence. “I am” is the
base, is the fundament, of all egos and all vanities. You know, when a
man learns much or earns much, his ego, his vanity, gets puffed up. The
man gets puffed up with vanity, and under such circumstances he becomes
so conscious of his little existence that it becomes very difficult for
him to surrender before the Supreme. What to speak of surrender, even if
a logical theory is placed before him, he does not like to accept it. He
thinks that if he accepts that theory, if he accepts that veracity, it
will be humiliating for him. This sort of psychology misguides him under
such circumstances. How to surrender? This can be done internally with
the help of dhya'na [meditation in which the psyche is directed towards
Consciousness], and externally by ascribing Godhood to all external
entities."
"While helping the poor people your vanity may increase. You may think:
“I have done this, I have done that. I am not an ordinary man.” This is
a psychic disease. Actually, vanity is a psychic disease, a psychic
ailment. But if, while helping a man, a poor man, or a diseased person,
you ascribe Godhood to him, that is, if you think, “I am not helping a
man, I am helping God in human structure,” then vanity will not be
encouraged. What will be the reaction within the person? “This body,
this mind, this wealth has been given to me by Parama Purus'a, and
Parama Purus'a has come before me, God has come before me, as a
suffering person, and I am paying back that thing to Him. That is, the
actual owner of this body, the actual owner of this mind is He, and His
wealth I am paying back to Him.” So there will be no vanity."
"And I said that the internal process is meditation. In meditation,
Parama Purus'a becomes your object and you become the subject. You
become the seer and He becomes the seen. But the inner spirit of
meditation is that while looking at Him internally with your inner eye,
you should think: “I am not meditating on Him nor am I seeing Him
mentally. What is actually happening is that He is seeing me; that is, I
am the object and He is the subject. He sees whatever I do, He sees
whatever I think, so I am His object and He is my subject.” This idea
helps in freeing oneself from the serpentine noose of ego and vanity."
(AV-14)
Namaskar,
Motilal
Note 1: MORE ON EGO / VANITY AND REALISING HIM
These below two posting clearly review the entire concept behind the
statement, "the umbrella of vanity", how that ruins one's life and how
one can feel His grace.
http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2009/02/unfortunate-umbrella.html
http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2009/03/date-sat-07-march-2009-230429-0000-to.html
Note 2: FURTHER READING ON BABA'S ANALOGIES
These below letters look at other interesting analogies that Baba uses
in His discourses to put forth His sublime teachings.
http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2009/08/early-catching-is-good.html
http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2009/08/story-of-three-thieves.html
http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2009/01/dog-analogy-is-right-one.html
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Practical Aspect of Mysticism
Baba says, "Mysticism is a never-ending endeavour to find a link between
finite and infinite." (AV-23, p.101)
Note: Here Baba is indirectly giving the guideline that in the realm of
devotion one should have a particular personal relation with Parama
Purusa. And these relations are known as "bhava"-- whether they be
sakhya bhava, dasya bhava, madhura bhava etc. So these various bhavas
are that very "link between finite and infinite". Because with the help
of these relations devotees gradually come in closer and closer
proximity with Parama Purusa. Until finally by linking up in this way
the sadhaka becomes one with Him.
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