IsoUpnishad : The Science of Soul

 Story of chintamuni  & Captured Elephant

Chapter 6 : Converstaion with RAin 

May you continue your discipline & devotion on this Path. May you perfectly establish in peace, Samadhi, Cosmic bliss.

Listen carefully, What happened when Queen changed her form into a Sage and appeared in front of King.

Queen in form of sage came where King was sitting. King was practicing meditation but on his forehead only sign of worries was visible. Still sage waiting for him to open eyes. After an hour king open his eyes and gaze at Sage. Sage was spreading divine rays and king was keen interested to talk to him. King woke up from his seat and paid homage to the sage. Sage too returned due respect to the King.

King Said, I am glad to see you, I am able to sense some divine rays from your form. By your visit here, I may get benefit.

Sage said: You are in this forest performing high tapas, you have given up everything for sake of liberation. The one who follow the path of liberation, what other benefit he look for? May your mind attain peace & you attain liberation from all delusion.

King Said: O Sage, You are well aware of my condition. I am following this path for past many years, but yet I have not tasted divine fruit. This tapas, my renunciation all has not helped me to attain liberation yet. May I know who are you,  what is your name, What is the cause of Divine Rays from your form. Do you possess Atmic Gyana.

Sage said: I am Son of a Sage Narada, who attain cosmic vision & possess knowledge of Brahman. As my birth was in family of liberated sage, so since childhood I was following my father teachings which blessed me with Atmic Wisdom. My name is Kumba Muni. Under my mother & father guidance I continually practice Vedas & attained Gyana of Veda & witness Cosmic vision & attained Atmic Wisdom.

The king believed whatever khumba Muni Said. King again paid homage to the Sage & said I am fortunate I could meet a person who has Atmic Wisdom. I am feeling joy witnessing you in this forest. Talking to you who possess great knowledge is another grand delight for me.  

Muni Smiled and asked the king ; What is your name, Who are you, What is your Origin?

The king answered : O Muni, I was ruling my kingdom, but my mind attain desire to taste divine fruit. My mind inspired me to depart to forest in search of peace & liberation. My name is Sikhitvya and I have renounced my kingdom,my all belonging, my wife only to attain liberation. I was in search of liberation from all pains & worries of the world. But it is increasing. I came here & thought I will attain peace & will drink nectar by given up kingship, by settling down in forest following renunciation. But instead of of the nectar of bliss I only attain poison.

Khumba Muni replied: O King, I will tell you one story which you may not understand , but I will explain hidden meaning. Once there was a man who wants to attain a Chintamuni, which is a stone which fulfill all desires. . The man had desire to attain but he never seen this chintamuni stone. He went in search of ChintamuniAs soon as he stepped out and covered a short distanced Luckily he passed by the lucky stone, but unlucky he was as he could not understand that was Chintamuni. So he ignored that stone. He thought it might be only a common stone as he could not find this much rare stone so easily in such a short distance. He thought, he would need to go deep in forest, would need to cover long distance & need to face hurdles to attain it. So he left that stone and went to the fore in search. After a long search which was full of hurdles, he found a man in forest who seemed like a Sidha & a sage. The man thought to ask him as he will be known where I can get this. He asked the man whom he thought was a Sidha. His name was Rikhala. Rikhala thought he would fool the man. Rikhala said nearby in forest I heard chintamuni stone can be found. Tomorrow morning I will take you to that direction. Now it will not be safe to that direction. The man slept in his cottage. At night Rikhala went to that direction which he planned to visit morning with the man and throw one shining glass stone and came back. He did marking on the way so that in morning he could recognize the path. Next morning he assist the man to the direction where they both went in search of chintamuni. Rikhala followed the marking, and went reached near to the place where he throw the stone, He took long time to search. Suddenly the man found that stone which Rikhala throw and he picked up and asked to Rikhala, See I believe this is chintamuni, because of you I found. The man was overjoyed and gave all his wealth with the hope that chintamuni will bring all what he desired. So he left that place handing over all wealth and belonging to Rikhala. He went to a beautiful place with hope that all his desired will be fulfill with chintamuni. He took out that stone and ask, O chintamuni, I ask you to build a beautiful palace for my residence with all comforts. Because it was not Chintamuni at all, nothing happened. He again asked but nothing happened because it was merely a ordinary stone of glass. The man was suffering without wealth,was more miserable. His worries increased instead of getting vanished.

I know you have not understood this story. But this story has hidden meaning which I will tell you in a while, now I will tell you one more story.

Once an elephant was trapped by a mahout, and captured. The elephant was most gigantic with lon tusks, skillful trunk, and thick weight skin. The elephant seems very large& dangerous compare to other elephants. The Mahout restrained him with chains and brought him to the city. Elephant turn mad because of the loss of his liberty. Also city roads and chains were discomfort for his body. The Mahout seated on back of elephant and was taking him to the training center. With powerful tusks elephant shook and the tied chain got unlock. The Mahout fell on ground. The giant elephant, bemused by freedom, passed over the Mahout without hurting him. He ran towards the forest. The Mahout could have lost his life but that time Mahout thought about the loss of wealth by this incident. He planned to go back and again capture the elephant. Again Mahout set up trap and dug a dugout and waited there. After a longtime elephant passed from that place and fell into dugout. This time Mahout tied the elephant with more chains. So once again the powerful animal was imprisoned.

If this elephant would have killed the Mahout at the time when he shook due to which Mahout fell down in front of his feet on the ground, and then he would not have been imprisoned again. He might easily have crushed him but he ignored him and ran away.

The king was listening both stories attentively. But king was curious to know inner meaning. So he said O Muni, you said you will tell me hidden meaning, Please tell me why you narrated  the story of lucky stone and the story of elephant.

Muni Replied : The story of man who had wealth but in search of Chintamuni due to ignorance who lost all. That man is like you. That Man when came out in search of Chintamuni, covering short distance he found chintamuni stone but he thought so easily he cannot attain it and due to ignorance he left htat and went far away toward deep woods in search. Like that you at your palace attain discourse from wise learnt one who taught you the practice of liberation path. Your wife too practiced and she informed you about the liberation which can be attain by disciplined regular practice. But Due to ignorance you did not follow the teachings. With this story I mean to convey, in order to attain liberation, you have forsaken your kingdom, wealth,wife, Advise of the wise learnt one which were the real lucky stone and you have come to forest which is the stone of glass.

True Renunciation means our mind should cease desire. When mind realize impure desires and it start ceasing all impure desire that is known as Renunciation. By physical renunciation, running  away far from material possession, wealth, relations brings no benefit in path of liberation. The true renunciation was developing in you , slowly, in mid of your worldly surroundings but your mind set up wrong ideal of renunciation. Following delusion your mind was enveloped by the impression of meaning of renunciation that you have to leave your kingdom, comforts, possessions, wealth and need to set up in forest. The renunciation of mere physical materials object never generates true happiness. You found lucky stone at your palace but you ignored and you are holding a stone of glass by settling down in this forest.

By giving up all, running to forest your mind did not attain peace, liberation. You could not attain divine fruit and drink the nectar of bliss within. The valuable lucky stone was laid before you in palace but you did not believe on that lucky stone, instead of that you believed that in forest you will attain peace & bliss. Leaving lucky stone behind what advantage you have gained by finding the stone of glass in this forest, This you have to think, O king. So this was first story meaning which you need to rethink deeply and concentrate on your fault.

The wise say those who reject the enjoyment which comes from their daily lives are self destructive.

Now the second story. The gigantic elephant also I applied to you. Gigantic elephant is our mind. The Mahout is Ignorance. The chains are our desires. In the palace due to ignorance you could not attain liberation, but bonds of desires become everyday strong, Instead of ceasing desire or attain renunciation of cessation of desires, your mind attained new desire to run toward forest which brought more pains for you like elephant due to ignorance did not kill the mahout and once again he was imprisoned with more powerful chains.

So these both stories I explained to you for your benefit.

 

Rain, the conversation between Muni & kings goes on, but in next class I will tell you, as it is very helpful discourse for the seeker of spirituality. As of now you may spend your time at your own leisure.

 

May we establish perfectly in peace,smadhi, cosmic bliss. May we sing praises of Divine. May we chant holy mantra, do kirtan, play instrument in glory of Divine. May we taste the divine nectar everyday.