In forest of Dandakaranaya, there lived a great sadhu. He was a simple man with very little material possessions. He used to meditate whole day and sleep under a banyan tree at night. To avoid sleeping on bare ground, he collected three rock stones which he flattened by rubbing with wood. While sleeping, he used to keep one of them under his head, another under the waist and the third under his feet. He also had a cotton sheet which he used to cover his body while sleeping. The stones were very useful. They helped him avoid getting wet when it rained. As his body used to be on the stones, the rain water would flow underneath without wetting him. Also, the Sadhu used to keep the three stones one above the other such that it became a chair when he was meditating. The sadhu was quite content with his life. During the day, someone would bring him food and he would contently eat whatever he got.
One day, a King was hunting in the forest and he suddenly saw the sadhu sleeping on his stones. The king felt pity for the sadhu and thought that he should do something to alleviate his suffering. Once he came back to his palace, he instructed his soldiers to go back to the forest and politely invite the sadhu to stay in the palace. The soldiers went to the forest and invited the Sadhu to King’s palace. The Sadhu was very surprised with the invite. The sadhu was planning to crossover to another kingdom for the winters, he though he might as well spend some time at the king’s palace since it was on the way. The Sadhu put his sheet, the three stones and his Kamandal in his jhola and left with the soldiers.
The King was happy to receive the Sadhu. The Sadhu was offered a sumptuous dinner, and arrangements were made for him to sleep on a huge bed with silk sheets on it. The sadhu sat on the bed, took out the three stones from his jhola, spread them on the bed, covered himself with the sheet and slept peacefully!
The next morning the king came to check on him and asked, “Swamiji, did you sleep comfortably?”
The Sadhu replied, “I am always comfortable.” The king was surprised to hear that reply. He said, “Swamiji, I saw you sleeping on those stones in the forest. It must be very uncomfortable. I hope this bed is comfortable for you.”
The Sadhu replied, “I have the same bed, here in the palace as well as in the forest. I get the same happiness everywhere. There is nothing wanting either in the forest or here.”
The king was surprised to hear the reply. He looked at the bed and realized that the Sadhu was still sleeping on his three stones. The King immediately realized his foolishness, knelt before the sadhu and said, “Swamiji, I brought you here with the intention of making you happy. I did not know that you are always in a state of happiness, and so I behaved in this foolish manner. Please excuse me and bless me.”
The Sadhu blessed him and left.
The END
Learnings
1.This is a story of detachment. The sadhu gave up all interest in whatever the material world had to offer him and he was quite content with whatever he had.
2.This story is also a great reminder to us that we might think that other person is suffering but the suffering is only in our thoughts while that person may not be experiencing any discomfort at all. Our own perspective may not be the right way to judge the condition of others. When we are judging others, most of the times it is our mental condition that is getting reflected….
3. Pain and pleasure are very subjective. The way we look at them is only the habit of our mind getting projected onto the outside world. The king believed that if he did not have the material possessions, then he would suffer. He was also projecting the same thinking on the Sadhu but Sadhu though very differently and sleeping on the stones was a state of happiness for him.
4. When we are at peace with ourselves, we will see that the world is also a perfect place. Gandhiji said, "We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. Lets meditate on that..
STORY CREDIT: This story is taken from Spiritual Stories as Told By Ramana Maharishi – English, Published by Sri Ramana Ashram
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