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Dog - An Epitome of Obedience
When we are with the Master, we should not have desires - not even
for a sitting, not even for Upadesam (advice), not even for questions
and answers, nothing! We should be like the dog, which is just happy
enough to lie down at the feet of the Master and look at his face! Now
Babuji himself used the example of the dog. So don't think I am insulting
you! Because Babuji always praised the devotion of a dog for its Master.
It was one of his standing jokes that if you reverse dog you get God.
See, he wanted dog-like devotion in us, unquestioning obedience. Now
I would say there are few abhyasis who are willing to obey without knowing
why they should obey. We want to know why we should obey, before we
become obedient.
We must have the attitude of the dog, love for the Master, faith in
the Master, obedience of the Master. This is what an abhyasi is expected
to have. We must become as if we are the perfect dog before Him. It
eats when he gives it food. The perfect dog eats only when the master
feeds it. If a stranger comes and gives something, it will not take.
If the Master says "sit" and he goes away, three days later
it must still be sitting there. When he says "come", it goes
with him. It does not ask, "Where are you going? Why are you going?
When will we come back home?"
You must have read that story of Ayaz which Babuji has written in Voice
Real, about a tree made of jewels and gold and silver, which was
taken from India to some place in the middle East by the king Mohammed
Ghazni. He had a slave called Ayaz. The king was always praising Ayaz's
obedience and his devotion to himself. All the nobles and courtiers
were jealous and they used to ask Mohammed Ghazni, "Why are you
praising him so much?" One day he decided to teach them a lesson.
So, he called his nobles and courtiers one by one and said, "Destroy
this tree of gold and silver and jewels." No one was willing to
destroy such a valuable tree made of jewels. Then he called Ayaz. He
said, "Destroy this tree." Ayaz pulled out his sword and cut
it into pieces. The king said, "You see! This is why I love him."
Now, you have got a parallel in the story of Parasurama, and in the
Jewish tradition you have the story of Abraham.
So the test is always there: "Are you willing to obey without
knowing why you have to obey?" Babuji always used to say, "We
do it with the doctor, we do it if we are in the military service, we
do it with the police. But with the Master, we are not willing to do
it." With the Master, we want to know why we should do this or
why we should do that. So, that was Babuji's sorrow, which was ever
present in His heart. A police constable can get obedience from the
public; a doctor can get obedience from his patients; a boss can have
obedience in his office; but He, as the Master, could not get your obedience
- unquestioning obedience. It is so, because you are only his disciple
and he is only a Master, you see!
Obedience means the service of the Master. The way of service means
the way of obedience. I cannot choose in what way I shall serve
my Master. I shall serve Him in the way He says.
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