Outward appearances, inner motives and all that greed

Though quite brief, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa's parables or teaching stories contain profound, layered messages.
Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
Sri Ramakrishna ParamahamsaPhoto | Wikipedia
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Swami Vivekananda’s birthday, by the English calendar, was on January 12, but his birth anniversary, or Jayanti, according to the panchang or Indian calendar, is on January 21 this year. We cannot think of him without thinking of his guru, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, so it might be apt to recall some of the guru’s parables or teaching stories. Though quite brief, they contain profound, layered messages.

A popular parable goes that a crooked jeweller pretended to be very pious. His forehead was marked with sandalwood paste, he wore a tulsi mala and kept a japmala on his wrist all the time. So, people tended to trust him and brought him their business, sure that such a pious man would never cheat them. Whenever a group of customers entered his shop, he would exclaim, “Keshava, Keshava!” After a while, one of his shop attendants would answer, “Gopala, Gopala,” and after another pause, a second attendant would say, “Hari, Hari”. Soon after, a third attendant would say, “Hara, Hara”. Since these were all names of God, the pleased customers considered the jeweller a genuine, God-loving person.

But the jeweller and his gang used these names as a secret code. When the jeweller said, “Keshava, Keshava”, he asked, “What kind of people are these?”  The man who said “Gopala, Gopala” conveyed his estimate of the customers that they were as ignorant and, therefore, as gullible as a herd of cows. The man who said, “Hari, Hari” then asked, through his words, “Is it safe to cheat them?” And the man who said, “Hara, Hara”, having also observed them carefully, gave them the go-ahead with his words.

The moral of this story is that we should try not to be instantly taken in by outward appearances, since there are many charlatans masquerading as holy men or even regular people pretending to be pious who put on a good act and try to make fools of us.

Another parable is frightening because it shows how we are sometimes our worst enemies. This is because we are thoughtless and greedy. Whereas if we thought things through to their consequences, as in “If I do this, that will happen”, chances are that we’ll avoid harming ourselves. This is not to say, ‘Don’t take risks.’ If we never take risks or try to learn new skills, we may stagnate and end up leading dull, monotonous, and unsatisfying lives. The message here is, ‘Don’t be so unaware and heedless that you fail to consider the consequences.’

The tale goes that a solo traveller crossed a vast, dry plain in the burning heat of mid-day. Tired and thirsty, he spotted a tree, by and by, in whose shade he thankfully sat down and stretched his legs. Little did he guess that he was under a kalpataru or wish-giving tree. Presently, he wished that he had a nice, soft bed to rest on for a while. Suddenly, a comfortable bed appeared with cool, soft sheets and many pillows. Delighted, the traveller lay down on it and began to relax. After a while, he began to think how nice it would be if a young woman would press his tired legs. Lo and behold, a damsel appeared and started doing just that.

Supremely happy, the traveller thought to himself, “Now, if only I had some good food to eat, I’m so hungry.” At once, a low, beautifully painted six-sided table appeared next to him with a large brass tray on it, holding silver dishes of food and also a jug of cool, scented water. The young damsel respectfully served him, and he ate like a king, relishing every bite of the delicious, high-quality food.

After this royal repast, the traveller lay back on the bed and fell to thinking over these marvellous events. He was now attached to these luxuries and wanted them always. This desire made him begin to worry that they would vanish. As his thoughts darkened, he forgot that he had only to think of something and it had manifested. Lost in wanting to keep everything, he allowed this stray thought to take shape out of his steadily increasing mental darkness: “What if a tiger suddenly attacked me?” The next second, a huge, fierce tiger appeared. It leapt at him, roaring, broke his neck and drank his blood.

Yet another parable holds up an unsparing mirror to what might be our true inner motive in doing certain outward things. A man celebrated Durga Puja out in rural Bengal with great pomp. Goat after goat was sacrificed, and rich curries were offered to the goddess. The entire village was invited, and landlords from neighbouring villages. The feasting went on for days, and everybody went away rubbing their bellies with utmost satisfaction. But after some years, there was a sharp decline in scale, and gradually, in place of goats, pumpkins were offered and made into a squishy curry. A curious neighbour ventured to ask, “How is it, sir, that your sacrifice has become such a simple affair?” The man glared at the neighbour for asking what should have been obvious. “Don’t you see,” he snapped, “that my teeth have gone?”

I’ll conclude with a personal favourite about God’s existence. Some say that since ‘science’ does not mention it, God cannot exist, right? The parable goes that a man told another man, “Two days ago, I saw a house fall down with a terrific crash.” The other man said, “Just a moment, I’ll check.” He looked at the newspaper and did not see it reported. “It’s not in the paper, so I don’t believe you,” he scoffed.

(Views are personal)

Renuka Narayanan

(shebaba09@gmail.com)

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