As the bringer of many fruits to come, the words spelled in a book will bring many ideas in my mind.
The first of many comes as a contrast to the message written above; it conflicts with the act of “thinking”, of using the mind. And so it starts:
The mind is a wonderful instrument if it is used correctly. However, if it is misused, then it can become destructive. It doesn’t matter in what percentage you misuse your mind, because, in general, you don’t use it at all. It uses you! This is a disease. You think you are your mind. It’s an illusion. The instrument has taken hold of you.
Now you might argue that this is not true. Than in fact you do use your mind, and that you use it to do useful things.
As dogs love to chew bones, the mind loves to solve problems.
Are you able to stop thinking? To actually not think of anything for 1,2,30 seconds, 1 minute? I mean really for your mind to go blank. I can’t, can you?
If you can’t then your mind is the one using you. You identify yourself with it unconsciously, so you don’t even realize that you are its slave.
The first step to solving a problem is becoming aware that we have a problem. If there’s no problem, there’s nothing to solve.
So for now I realize my mind is in control of me. The natural goal would be to take control of it. Until then my mind and your mind will continue to keep us in a never ending state of agitation.
With a kind voice he began telling her the tale of the two brahmans and the woman at the river crossing:
There were two brahmans walking down a country road in India, a young disciple together with an older and much wiser brahman. As they were walking the road reached a river crossing. At that time there were no bridges to cross the rivers, so they had to go through the water. By the river bank there was a woman, and as the water was running high, due to the monsoon season, she asked the two men if they can help her cross the river? The young brahman utterly refused, as women were considered to be impure and it was forbidden for brahmans to come into contact with anything or anyone who was impure. However, the older brahman took the woman on his back and carried her across the river. Afterwards the brahmans continued on their way, the older brahman behaving as if nothing had happened, while the younger brahman was tormented by the fact that his companion carried that woman, as it was against the rules of their cast. For two hour the young brahman dwelled on that thought until he built up his courage and asked the older brahman why did he help that woman? His older companion replied: “I only carried her across the river, after which I ceased to carry her. However, you have been carrying her for the past two hours and you will carry her with you for a long time to come. That was what I had to do at that time, that was why I was there. I served my purpose.”
Finishing his tale-telling, he explained to her that we often carry with us all sorts of feeling related to experiences from the past, cluttering ourselves and not allowing anything new to come into our world. We need to move on, get over old experiences and embrace the new ones that will come. As the old saying goes “Out with the old, in with the new”, as long as we dwell and torment ourselves on old experiences, feelings, resents, nothing newer and better will take their place.
She understood the message behind the tale even before he started explaining it, however, his words served to make her realize the importance of this lesson.