Lessons from the Inner I

The path to spirituality often appears littered with jargon. And so we are told of dharma and karma, of moksha and nyaya, of satya and ahimsa. Yet as every struggling aspirant meanders through this labyrinth, he meets either a guru or a concept and has his moment of revelation. He glimpses The Truth. He thinks he has arrived! And yet….

A Sufi story makes a point. A judge was hearing a case. The prosecuting lawyer presented his version with eloquence. “You’re right, “ said the judge. Immediately, the defending lawyer said “Your honour, you have not heard my side of the story.” And with that, he explained his brief. “You’re right, “ the judge applauded. The court bailiff said, “Judge, they can’t both be right.” The judge said, “You’re right”. The question is: What made us think truth is singular?

But that’s not the only prejudice we suffer from. Our heads are stuffed with notions of good and bad, right and wrong. A Zen perspective: A student wished to impress the master who invited him to share a cup of tea. He spoke at great length. The master, began to pour the tea. He continued to pour, till it overflowed.

“Master,” commented the lad, “Stop pouring. It is not going into the cup.” “That’s very observant,” replied the master. “I was demonstrating your mental state.” When the mind is cluttered with the furniture of ideas, there is only one thing for truth to do — vacate the premises.