The Lesson to be Unlearned

“What are you doing?”I asked, intrigued.

“Well, dear. The strings of Kachchapi have been lose. I am adjusting it before starting my Swar Sadhna.” As she said it, she started adjusting the strings meticulously as she had done it earlier.

“But Maa!” I continued with a sense of awe,” You are the source of all the Vidyas, all the Gyan, and all the Shiksha that exist in the universe. But still you practice like every other. Why do you do this when your divine glance is enough to  enlighten  any living being in this ever-expanding cosmos?”

She kept the Kachchapi by the side and asked me to sit beside her. As she patted my head, she continued, “Son, knowledge is not something to be acquired,  because you acquire what is not a part of you, but knowledge, it is the very nature of a conscious being. And the acquisition of knowledge is just but a simple effort for a conscious being.”

I looked in her eyes and asked her, completely intrigued,” But Maa, if that were true then every one of us would have been enlightened by now. But people now are even struggling to remember what they have just heard, saw, or read. Is there any way that they can overcome this limitation?”

A serene smile bloomed over her face and she said, “Because they believe that they know too much. Knowledge is pure in itself. When anyone starts to believe that they know enough, their minds are filled with arrogance and there can only be one thing at a time. It is either knowledge or arrogance. So one should be humble enough to realize that they actually don’t know anything and are sitting like a beggar to take this valuable pearl that has only been bestowed upon them because of the almighty’s grace. Those who learn anything keeping this in mind, their learning will stay for eternity. When they learn, they should also inculcate the Bhava or the emotion associated with the above realization, just thinking would not suffice. After they have learned, they should be assertive enough to apply the lesson in their day to day lives. It is very essential that they do it if they want their lesson transformed into wisdom. And very imperative point, they must teach it to someone, no matter in what way, but they must teach it, otherwise it will become extinct.”

As she completed, she showed me her Sphatik mala and said, “See this. With the rosary, I chant and meditate on Parabrahma, so that I can receive the  Brahmagyan. As I receive it, I transform it into musical notes which I apply, as I practice on my Kachchapi and teach it to those beings who are receptive enough. In doing this, even I go through all the processes that I have stated earlier.”

“But with all due respect Mahadevi! My question remains the same. You do not need to go through all this but still you do. Why?”

The smile on her face became more radiant and she said,” Tell me, Son, out of everything that you have learned and imbibed from us. why could do it so effortlessly? What was the very reason?”

I replied,” That is so easy to answer. I saw what you all did and I just incorporated those in my actions. You all didn’t try to preach me anything. You all just demonstrated the knowledge through your behavior and actions and hence I learned it.”

As I finished saying this, my eyes widened and I quickly looked up to her and asked, “So this was the reason that you….”

She nodded her head as a sign of approval with the smile still intact.

I laid myself on her feet and asked,” Maa, will you teach me?”

As she placed her lotus hands on my head, She answered,” Sure, but you must do the same.”

“Sure, Mahadevi.”