Be humble, part 2

By Swami Paramatmananda

The ego is one of the greatest impediments on the spiritual path. Only when we are ready to bow down before the creation, will we become receptive to the Divine Grace. The story of Kabir, the great saint, and Dharam Das is the classic example of how important it is to overcome pride. Dharam Das was a wealthy merchant. Kabir knew that in their previous life they had been close friends. But in this life, they didn't know each other. He wanted to save his friend.

One day he went to Dharam Das's house in Benares and knocked on the door. It was wintertime, and Dharam Das and his wife were seated by the fireside. "Who is it?" asked the wife. "I am Kabir," Kabir shouted from the door. "I just want to say one thing: why are you killing innocent beings?" She said, "What are you talking about? We haven't killed anybody."

"No, no, you are killing innocent beings," said Kabir.

Dharam Das said to his wife, "No, listen to him. I've heard of Kabir. He is a great mahatma. He must know what he is talking about." But the wife said to Kabir, "It's a bunch of nonsense! My husband is very virtuous, and so am I. We don't kill anything"

"Break the wood that is burning in the fireplace," said Kabir, and with that he left. Dharam Das immediately picked up the piece of wood and broke it. Out came hundreds of ants. They were being burned alive inside the wood, and Kabir knew it. Dharam Das was shocked. He said, "I must see Kabir!" He opened the door and looked out, but there was no Kabir. He said, "O, what a loss! I could have received initiation from that great mahatma! Kabir knows everything. He knows me. He knows all the things that are hidden." But his wife retorted, "He's not a great saint. He's just an ordinary sadhu who pretends to be a mahatma. Arrange a feast for the sadhus, and you'll see Kabir come running to eat."

Dharam Das, like a fool, agreed to this proposal, and he arranged a big feast. Sure enough, hundreds of sadhus came from all directions. But Kabir wasn't there. After a while, Dharam Das's wife said, "Why don't we do it again somewhere else, far away, on the other side of the city?" So he did it again, and then again. This continued many times. He went to other cities and held feasts there as well. But Kabir never appeared. Finally Dharam Das had no money left. He had to sell his house, his wife left him, and he became a beggar. He was very depressed. Still, he had only one desire, and that was to see Kabir. One day he lost heart and went to the Ganges River. He said to himself, "I'm going to jump into the river. If I can't see my Guru, there is no reason for me to live." He was just about to jump into the water, when Kabir came walking along the river. Kabir went up to him, caught him by the arm and said, "Dharam Das! What are you doing?" Dharma Das said, "I wanted to die because I couldn't see you. For so long I was feeding everybody, but you never came. Why do you come to me now? If you had come to me then, when I had all that money, I could have served you in so many ways! Now I have nothing. I am nobody. I am a useless beggar." Kabir said, "I didn't come to you when you had so much because then you were very proud. Now you have nothing, and you know that you are nothing. Now you are ready for my grace. You are ready to receive initiation." And he initiated him. Dharam Das eventually became Kabir's successor in that tradition. It was only when he reached that point of humility that he could receive his Guru's grace. So it is humility that we need in order to develop spiritually.

Mother also says: "Experiences are the Guru of each person. Sorrow, my children, is the Guru that brings you closer to God." If we don't naturally become humble, we will experience many problems and sorrows. There's nothing like sorrow to humble us, and lead us to real happiness. Sorrow reduces our pride. It reduces the ego so that the presence of God or Mother can shine in us. Mother has various ways of making us miserable and humble. For example, you may think you have an important question. So you come to Mother with it. "Mother, what is the answer?" you ask. Mother looks at you for a moment and then turns and starts to talk to another person, as if you don't exist. "Mother, I'm here! Don't you see me?" you think. But then She turns to the other side and talks to someone else. What happened? "Doesn't Mother know anything? Doesn't She know how much I'm suffering?" Mother knows you more than you know yourself. She also knows what is good for you, which you do not know. That is why you have come to Her -- because you do not know. And She shows you the way, not by giving you an answer, but by ignoring you, pushing you (or what you think is you) away. That is our problem. We think the ego, the personality, the body, is our real Self. The scriptures say that this is where all the trouble starts. Right now it may not make much sense to most of us, but according to Mother, that is where all the trouble lies. When we are that identified with our personality, it will lead to nothing but difficulties.

When a disciple comes to a Zen Master with a question, the Master gives him a whack on the head. That's the answer to the question. What does it do? It stops your mind dead. In that space, where this big mind stops dead for a moment, it is humbled, it is shocked -- it is stilled. In that space, Reality can shine forth. And that Reality is always there.

We are all sitting here in this ocean of Brahman. It is shining fully. It is in and around each one of us. But our minds are like closed shells. Only the ego is present. The ego has to be broken. It has to open up somewhere; it has to melt somewhere. This is the reason why the Guru sometimes makes us suffer. Instead of giving a whack, Mother just looks the other way or ignores us. It may be difficult, but ultimately it's for our own good.

How should we respond to this? We should just pray to Mother or to God, "Thank you for these difficulties. Let me become humble. Let me become nothing." When I first came to Mother, I asked Her, "What should I do". She said, "You should become humble." She took a handful of sand from the ground and said, "If you want to realize God, become like this sand. Become nothing. People should be able to step on you, kick you, throw you, do anything to you, and you shouldn't care. You should feel, 'I am nothing, I am nobody -- what does it matter?' And at that moment, when you really feel that you are nothing, when you are not just saying it but are really feeling that you are nothing, then you will disappear and the All will shine. You will realize your oneness with the ocean of God. Now you stand as an individual, and that is why you do not feel it. So you have to become humble."

We have to become like small children. Small children are able to feel God's presence because they are naturally egoless. But because their mind and intellects are not developed, they are not aware of it. They are not trained to be aware of it. We have to consciously feel God. For that, humility is necessary. Those who are truly humble are the ones who are able to feel God.

Once a priest came to an island. He was walking along the shore when he came across three men sitting and praying. He asked, "To whom are you praying?" They said, "We're praying to God." He said, "What is the prayer?"

"We pray, 'We are three. You are three. Please bless us.'" The priest said, "What kind of prayer is that! Don't you know the formal prayers? I'll teach you one of the great prayers."
He spent the whole day teaching them a prayer. They could hardly speak English, but somehow they learnt it. The priest was very happy. He felt proud of himself for having managed to teach them to say a prayer in the proper way. He left the island and got into the ship. He visited many other islands and taught people how to become good devotees.

About a year later the priest happened to pass the island in a ship, when suddenly he and everyone else on the deck saw a light on the horizon. The light came closer and closer over the water. As it came near the boat, everybody was shocked. It was the three men! They were standing in this light, hovering above the water. They looked up at the priest and said, "We were looking for you! We thought you might be on this boat." The astounded priest managed to say, "You were looking for me? What's the matter?" They said, "Father, we forgot the prayer that you taught us." But the priest said to them, "That is alright. You just continue to pray, 'We are three. You are three. God bless us.'"

It is humility and simplicity we need if we wish to develop spiritually, if we wish to get rid of our pride and our ego so that we can feel the bliss and the radiance of Mother's glorious presence with us always, at every moment.