Once Gautam Buddha was having a meeting with one of the most intelligent emperors of those days. Just in the middle of their dialogue an old monk, about seventy years old, entered to touch Buddha’s feet. The monk asked the emperor to forgive him because he was interfering in their conversation.
The monk told the Buddha, "I have been ordered to go to the nearby village. I cannot go without touching the feet of my master. Soon there will be sunset and we are not allowed to travel during night. Since your discussion was going on and on, I had to disturb you. Please forgive me."
Gautam Buddha asked the monk, "How old are you?"
Although the emperor was very much puzzled at this question, the old monk replied, "Forgive me master, I am quite late. I am only four years old!" Now, the emperor was even more puzzled, because he could see that, the monk was more than seventy years old.
The Buddha looked at the confused emperor and said, "He took sannyas only four years ago and that is his real birth. The first birth is only an opportunity for the second birth. If the second birth does not happen then the first birth is meaningless!”
Moral of the Story …
Friends, this story is quite meaningful! In fact, four years is a long time, even a minute of awareness is equal to eternity. Most of us simply vegetate, we do not live or do not come in contact with the living waters of life. Most of us only grow old, never grow up.
Between our birth and death there is only a horizontal line, no peaks of delight, no peaks of ecstasy, no depths of love, peace and silence. It is just a horizontal, flat routine from the cradle to the grave. Most of us just come and go. Friends, how many of us have the gratitude towards numerous blessing of life? How many of us think that, "Existence has chosen me and not anybody else in my place. Without me existence will be little incomplete. I never deserved it, but this life is a sheer gift for me given out of the abundance of existence."
Friends, life without awareness is like a signature on water, which goes on disappearing. Moments of awareness are immensely significant and it does not require time, it requires only depth. Each such moment filled with a deep contentment, a profound silence, a joyful dance, an eternity of rejoicing, a fragrance that is not of this world, not of time and space but belongs to the beyond.
Nothing can be more important than to come in contact with the immortal, timeless, deathless source of life. Friends, to be with the master is the indirect way to be in touch with the godliness of existence….!
Have a Blissful Day Friends!
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