Hide And Seek

“I got you’, said Mayuresh holding my hand with his trunk while playing hide and seek in the forests of Hemakuta.

“How did you know I was here? I hid in the best hiding spot. There was no chance you could have found me.” I asked him, startled.

“Well, insight.” He exclaimed.

“Oh, sometimes I forget that I am asking the epitome of intellect and auspiciousness, how did he find me! My bad.” I said to myself, indicating him the statement.

“Well, I can give you the answer but it will be chargeable .”

“Yes, Master! Here’s your fee.”

I unknot the cotton pouch and gave him his favorite sweet that mother had packed for us because Mayuresh was always hungry. We found a place to sit and he started explaining.

“Let me tell you what insight is. All the substance that one gathers, whether it be through books, scriptures, or through exploring various research papers are simply information. They hold no existential value to the seeker. Memorizing and vomiting it out in front of others may help one gain some respect in social settings but this causes tremendous harm to the seeker as instead of making one humble such praise inflates one’s false ego, makes one arrogant and deludes one to believe that one has gained tremendous knowledge when one gathered is just mere information.”

“Then what is knowledge?” I asked, now more intrigued.

“Another one!” He said, pointing towards the cloth.

“Here you go. but tell me.”

He put the sweet with his trunk and put his inside his mouth. Satisfied with its taste, he continued.

“When starts contemplating the information that one has gathered, it starts to transform into knowledge. By applying it into practice, the seeker gets desired or undesired outcomes. Those outcomes, refine it more and the knowledge starts to seep deep down to the subconscious to form the basis of intellect which decides what is appropriate or inappropriate for the seeker, which is known as insight. But when one stays on the path of Dharma or rightful duty, with the grace of Parabrahma, what one earns is Tatvagyan or pure distilled crystallized consciousness which is original and not sourced from anywhere. It changes the perception and transforms the seeker on an existential basis. That, my friend, is real Gyan.”

“But there are so many who are roaming around the society claiming to be knowledgeable, holding various posts and titles. How can one differentiate whether they are knowledgeable or not?”

“That is very simple..” He said.

” Just look for these qualities in the person, the abundance of these will determine how knowledgeable he/she is. First and foremost, compassion. See if he/she has an unbridled response to everyone around him/her, if he/she is all-inclusive. Those who have a claim to have seen God and have supernatural powers, if they don’t have this quality, it means either they are lying or hallucinating. In either of the above, they need professional help. Second is humility. The more the tree has fruits, the more it bends towards the ground. Those who truly have powers or knowledge will be more humble but not at the cost of demeaning their values and morals. Third, gratefulness. See if despite all the adversities they face, are they content and joyful? See, if they are childlike most of the time instead of being rigid with what they have acquired. Then comes self-discipline. How does he/she react when situations are not pleasant around him/her? Empathy. Can he/she experience the pain of others, giving away from his/her comfort zone to help others? And the last but the most difficult, forgiveness, Doe the person seeks forgiveness when he/she commits something wrong or forgives the other much without hustle? Those who exhibit such qualities will already be entitled to have the next, detachment. See if they do the work with dedication but are content with whatever the results are. Those who have the above qualities, no matter which age, social strata, or level of literacy they belong to, they are truly knowledgeable.”

As he finished saying this, he showed me the fallen tusk of his.

” Isn’t it the one that was cut by your father’s disciple, Bhargava? But why are you showing it to me?”

He said,” It serves as a reminder that in life if you want to expand and grow, the proportion of reverence that you have towards a particular process should always be greater to proportion of intellect that you invest in it. If you have more intellect than reverence in the process, then you are bound to find faults with the process with the one who is teaching it. If it does not fit the logical ways of the intellect, you will become suspicious of the process and the teacher thinking, he/she doesn’t know anything and will leave halfway. This will only harm you, no one else. Later you will make yourself into a problem and will start making hell out of others’ lives. So, when you take a process, whether it is for spiritual or material growth, put aside your intellect for the time being and have complete reverence and trust in the process.”

Saying this, he took the whole pouch and put all the sweets in his mouth and said,

” See, don’t think how these are made, just enjoy its taste.”