Hari
OM
Application - that is what 'Workings-days' are about!
VEDANTA IN ACTION.
This is the title of a publication from CM which,
whilst it of course has items by Gurudev, also includes selections of writing
from other well-esteemed Gurus from the Vedantic tradition as well as leading
businessmen. Its focus is the working life. We shall be exploring these essays
for the next few weeks on Workings-day as, clearly, they pertain directly to
the premise of this section of AVBlog! As ever, you are encouraged to read back over previous
posts, to ensure full benefit.
We
now enter the third and final section of the booklet, and as with the previous
two sections, it is introduced with a lengthy quote, giving an example of what
follows.
3: Actionless Action.
"The very best and utmost of
attainments in this life is to remain still and let God act and speak in
thee." (Meister Eckhart)
The
king Muktachuda, having heard that his son, Hemachuda, had become a
jiivanmukta, consulted his other son. Both agreed that Hemachuda was not as
before, but that he had changed so that he was no longer affected by the
greatest of pleasures or the worst of sorrows; that he treated friend and foe
alike; that he was indifferent to loss or gain; that he engaged in royal duties
like an actor in a play; that he seemed like a man always intoxicated with
wine; and that he did his duty well, notwithstanding his absent-minded and
other-worldly look.
They
pondered the matter and wondered much. Then they sought him in private and
asked him the reason for his change. When they heard him speak of his state,
they too desired to be instructed by him, and finally became jiivanmuktas like
him.
The
ministers were, in their turn, desirous of attaining that state and eventually
reached it after receiving proper instructions from the king. So were the
citizens, the artisans and all classes of people in that city. All of them
gained the summum bonum of life and transcended desire, anger and lust. Even
the children and the very old people were no longer moved by passions.
There
were still worldly transactions in the ideal state, because the people
consciously acted their parts as the actors in a drama, in accord with the rest
of creation. A mother would rock the cradle with lullabies expressive of the
highest Truth; a master and his servants dealt with one another in the Light of
the Truth; players entertained the audience with plays depicting the Truth;
singers sang only songs on Truth; the court fools caricatured ignorance as
ludicrous; the academy only taught lessons on God-Knowledge.
The
whole state was thus composed only of sages and philosophers, be they men or
women, servants or dramatists or fashionable folk, whether artisans or
labourers, ministers or harlots. They nevertheless acted in their professions
in harmony with creation. They never cared to recapitulate the past or
speculate on the future with a view to gain pleasure or avoid pain, but acted
for the time being, laughing, rejoicing, crying or shouting like drunkards,
thus dissipated all their latent tendencies (vaasanas).
From the Tripura Rahasya (Mystery of The Trinity) which is attributed to Sri Dattatreya.