Dear Friends,
Namaste!
One of the most important pre-requisites for starting off on the Treasure Hunt is to ‘empty our cup’. Sounds Greek? Pray read on…
Long long ago there lived on a high mountain a Zen master whose fame had spread like the fragrance of a fully blossomed flower! There also lived, in one of the villages at the foot of that mountain, a man named Mr. Know-all. He was so called because he thought he knew all that is there to know!
Now, we know that on the pyramid of Human Evolution, there exist four slabs. The bottom-most slab comprises people who do not know that they do not know. Then comes the slab that has people who know that they do not know. Above that is the slab of people who do not know that they know. The top most slab (top of the pyramid) is actually of the people who know that they know!
Our friend, Mr. Know-all, belonged – in spite of his cockiness and like majority of the people – to the bottom-most slab. Naturally, the wise and the elderly around him would urge him to at least pay a visit to the Zen master living at the top of the mountain and take his advice. Although he used to scoff at the mere suggestion, one day - may be out of curiosity - he decided to give it a try.
Wearily he trudged up the mountain and landed at the Zen master’s doorstep. The Zen master welcomed him and ushered him inside his hut.
“Look here, sir,” said Mr. Know-all to the master, “I know people think you are very wise and all that. And they told me you would have something valuable to tell me. However, I feel quite at a loss to comprehend what a sage living on a mountain away from humanity would have to tell to a man-of-the-world like ME. No disrespect, but you know what I mean?”
“I understand perfectly” said the Zen master. “Why don’t you make yourself comfortable while I get you some tea? It must have been a stiff climb.”
So the Zen master prepared tea while his guest tried to relax but could only wait impatiently. Soon the master came out with a tea cup and the kettle containing steaming tea.
“There” he placed the tea cup on the table in front of Mr. Know-all. Slowly he started pouring tea into the cup and at the same time started talking to him – looking straight into his eyes.
With in no time the cup got filled to the brim and the tea started spilling out. Seemingly oblivious of the fact, the master went on talking and pouring…
“Hello, sir,” cried Mr. Know-all, alarmed, “Stop pouring tea. It’s all spilling out. My cup is already full!”
The Zen master suddenly appeared to come to himself, looked at the cup and shook his head, “You are right my friend. Your cup is already full. Unless you empty your cup, I will not be able to pour any more tea into it!”
Of course, none of us will commit the mistake Mr. Know-all did when we are undertaking the Treasure Hunt. For, we understand that before taking the first baby steps on the Yoga path, it is vitally important that we empty our cup. We wipe our slate clean. We keep a very open mind. We leave behind all our ideas, concepts, assumptions, preconceived notions, experiences, feelings, ‘knowledge’ about Yoga. We know that unless our cup is empty, it will not be possible for the Supreme Knowledge to get into our system, get internalized and guide us during our journey so that we land up with the much coveted Treasure without fail!
We are going to give it our best shot because we are serious about getting what is our birth-right, what we fully deserve. We are serious about fulfilling our potential and about having fun in the process!!
On this premise, let’s get all set now to concentrate on step one - understanding the basic terms, conditions and rules of the game. What does the Yoga jargon really mean, what are the dos, what are the don’ts. What’s mandatory, what’s negotiable. What are the extremes and what’s the ‘middle way’. Once we understand the fundamentals, it will give us the right perspective, the right mindset, the right vision, the right priorities, the right approach to play this game and win. And let’s make ourselves one promise – WIN WE WILL!
Let’s start at the very beginning. Let’s understand what “Yoga” is – and more importantly, what it is not! For, misconceptions around this word – as we shall see next Tuesday - our galore.
But before that, let’s ask ourselves one hard question – “Is my cup empty?”
Wiedersehen…
No comments:
Post a Comment