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It is He Who is Always With Us
It is said in the Upanishad, for instance, that of the Panchabhutas,
it is said, “Mrityurdhaavati panchama iti.” Death is chasing
all these five things, the five senses. It is always behind. Then there
is another story of a woodcutter, who was cutting wood for his living
every day and bringing a head-load home every evening, selling part
of it, using part of it, going on for years like this. And one day in
the jungle he is tying up his bundle of firewood to take home – he feels
afraid. For no reason, he feels a strange presence, you see, and he
starts walking fast. And pit-pat, pit-pat, pit-pat, the footsteps are
following behind. He runs. The footsteps run behind him. Finally, you
know, he makes a terrific effort, trying to run away from this thing
which is following him, and falls exhausted, and then he sees – God.
He says, “What is this? I have been looking for you all my life. Where
have you been?” He says, “my son, it was always me who was trying to
catch you, trying to follow you and catch you, but you have been eternally
running away from me. Today you are caught!”
So you see, on one side we have this idea of death, who is
pursuing us inexorably with his loop in his hand, like the lasso of,
you know, the Western cowboy. In the Hindu tradition, it is the lasso
which is thrown around – it is called the yama-paasha, and
it works in such a way that the soul is removed from the body. The body
falls, and the soul goes away with the Yama-dhoota or Yama himself.
Simultaneously, God is also following.
Now, whom should we think is following us? Who is it, who
is following me all my life? If I am afraid, I think it is death. If
I am a devotee, I think it is my Master. Master always said, “Think
the Master is behind you in everything that you are doing. On the stray
occasions when you are afraid – for instance, when you are going to
a new place in the darkness, think the Master is going in front of you.”
So, fear puts the Master in front. Devotion puts Him just behind. In
both cases He must be with us – in fear, during temptation, in confidence.
Without the Master we are nothing. Either He must be in front of me,
or He must be behind me. Preferably He should be all around me, surrounding
me like the praetorian guard around the emperor.
It is said you know that, when the saints die, they tell
their sishyas, the disciples, “the moment for meeting my beloved
has come. It is not that Yamadev, riding on a black buffalo, it is the
beloved, because he who liberates me must be my beloved. Who will liberate
me from this stupid life that we are leading? Only somebody who loves
me will liberated me. Who will let you out of this jail? Has somebody
come and released you? If somebody comes and releases you, he must be
the beloved. He must be the one who loves you and says, “Come, enough
of this imprisonment, what are you doing here, 25 years, 50 years, 75
years, still in jail? Chhi, come out.” That is the Guru.
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