In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of the conversation between the “Avadhoota” Sanyasin and King Yadu, which focuses on some key learnings from twenty-five different items in this world. So far we’ve witnessed the key learnings from around thirteen of the twenty-five items and in yesterday’s episode, we had discussed about the learnings from “Gajaha” (Elephant), “Madhula” (Hunter) and “Harinaha” (Deer). In this, most of the lessons, as we’ve witnessed, pertains to different aspects of detachment that we should learn and adopt, as we move forward in life.
Moving on further thus, we’re going to witness the next important item in the list – Meenaha (Fish). All of us know how the fishermen trap fish into their nets. They tie a small piece of nice tasty food for the fish amidst the net and spread it across the water. Upon seeing these small food particles, the fish get attracted to the anticipated taste of the food particles and come closer to them. Once they try to grab the food particles, they get stuck to the net and with that, the fisherman pulls hundreds of them out of the water. Thus, we’re able to witness here that the fish is getting carried away by the attachment towards taste. This is where we also get carried away in our lives too – For instance, if someone is diabetic or is suffering from blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. the doctor would advise us to avoid certain food items in our diet. However, would we be able to control our tongue and obey the doctor’s advice fully? Many a times, we wouldn’t be able to do so, isn’t it? We would find some loopholes here and there and still try going towards our favourite food stuff, only to worsen our health condition more and more.
Similarly, if we’ve to progress spiritually, there should be restrictions in terms of the food that we consume. We’ve already discussed this in our earlier episodes as well – The food that we consume should be “Sathvic” in nature. In other words, the food should be balanced in terms of all the six different tastes such as sweet, sour, spice, etc. if one or two of the tastes are exceeding their limits, the food becomes more “Raajasic” or “Taamasic” in nature. “Raajasic” food would invoke unwanted emotions from within our body, which would eventually disturb our focus on our spiritual growth. Similarly, “Taamasic” food would make us more lazy and inactive. This would also eventually pull us out of our spiritual focus. Hence, the important learning from the fish is that, we should learn to be detached with respect to our tongue and its taste buds. We shouldn’t get carried away by any and every food item that exist in this world. We should know what to consume and what not to consume – Both for a healthy lifestyle as well as for our spiritual progress.
Moving further thus, we shall witness the important lessons to learn from “Pingala” (A prostitute woman). What can we learn from this woman? Everytime she would be in some sort of a mental trauma and guilt that she’s having unwanted physical contacts with many men around her. However, what she thinks is right – But what she does at the end of the day is still wrong. But, atleast she has the right attitude and mentality that she should not do what she was doing, isn’t it? From this, we can learn that if we have the right attitude towards life, Bhagawan would give us some opportunity in due course to correct ourselves. We should thus learn the positive attitude and intent from this woman as we progress in our lives.
Next, we’re going to witness some important lessons from “Kuraraha” (A small boy). We would see this in our daily life too – Two small friends would be playing cricket or any sport in the street, and one would hit the ball on to a house’s window and break the glass. Immediately the two kids would start fighting as to who hit the ball on the glass pane. Upon seeing this, the people residing in that house would come and start fighting with each other on the road with the parents of these children. Eventually it would become a fully blown fight between two families. However, next day, the two children would put their hands on each other’s shoulders and again start playing cricket happily together. But still, the families wouldn’t stop fighting! This is where we should understand the innocence of a child. A child doesn’t know to keep things in its mind and to take vengeance later. Similarly, a Yogi or a Mahatma is as innocent as a child. This innocence is one of the highest qualities that we can have as we move on in our lives.
So for today, let us understand these three important points and as we traverse with the next episode, we shall expand the point on “innocence” a little bit more, and move on with the next set of learnings! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 