THE STOIC MASTER
Ravaged by a lifetime of Wrong Thinking and wanderings away from the Path of Righteousness; the TROUBLED MIND ended up slumbering in a sewage gutter. Eons seemed to pass before it felt the annoyance of a cane incessantly tapping its shoulder.
“Despite your many follies, old friend, I AM STILL HERE,” commented the Stoic Master.
After a few more irritating strokes, the Troubled Mind FINALLY gained consciousness. Startled, the Troubled Mind looked up and blurted, “How can it be? How did YOU get here?”
In dismissing fashion, the Stoic Master replied, (helping the Troubled Mind up), “I’ve always been here. You merely awoke.”
“I don’t understand,” uttered the Troubled Mind, wiping the grime off its clothes, “I have done NOTHING to garner your presence. Can’t you see that I am SOILED by my many sins? Please, leave me alone, I am irreparable…”
“Self-Condemnation, HUH! That was yesterday,” reassured the Stoic Master; “The past is just an illusion. Think no more of it.”
Befuddled, the Troubled Mind objected, “How can I think no more of it, when my present circumstances remain the same! ...LOOK AT ME!”
With BEAMING eyes, the Stoic Master enlightened, “I DISAGREE! Everything’s different now- because you’re different, and, that my friend, makes ALL the difference.”
The Troubled Mind looked about agitated, and then further complained, “How am I different? TELL ME! I FEEL no different.” Then, confessed, “I fear the impulse to do wrong STILL consumes me!”
“Quite understandable,” the Stoic Master sympathized, and then illumined: “As long as you are ‘OF BODY’, it will never leave you. But, behind the temptation to transgress- lies the opportunity to transcend! Both are equally attainable. The amount of work is the same.”
“Then tell me; how can DEFILEMENT be CLEANSED?” bemoaned the Troubled Mind, “My transgressions are way too many.”
The Stoic Master SMILED, looking straight in the eyes of its counterpart and asserted, “THAT’S JUST MY GAME…No more False Self for you, comrade.” Then, playfully struck the Troubled Mind’s shoulder with its cane, and proclaimed, “I’m here to wipe the slate CLEAN!”
Unable to fathom the power behind the proclamation, the Troubled Mind stood dumfounded and groping, rubbing its sore shoulder.
The Stoic Master continued, “You asked me, how are you different?”
“YES!” the Troubled Mind immediately responded, desperately awaiting an answer.
Grinning, the Stoic Master calmly asked, “Can you see me?”
The Troubled Mind quickly replied attempting to deflect ignorance and mask its confusion, “Of course I can.”
The Stoic Master SHOOK Its head in negation, and then reiterated, “Can you ‘REALLY’ see me?... THINK now, before you speak. CAN... YOU... SEE... ME?”
At first, the Troubled Mind remained puzzled by such a question, but after introspecting, it immediately realized the IRREFUTABLE STRENGTH WITHIN! This epiphany caused an overwhelming sense of peace, and the Mind was no longer troubled.
From this stillness, the Mind declared with resounding conviction, “I SEE YOU! ...I really CAN see you!”
“Of course, you can,” commented the Stoic Master, “That’s why I’m here.”
“THEN WHAT?” beseeched the Mind.
“THEN- that makes all the difference, my friend,” illumed the Stoic Master, smiling, “Finally, your Inner Eye has opened!”
Suddenly, the Mind’s newfound awareness caused a HIGHER CONSCIOUSNESS. “Forgive me Teacher,” the Mind spoke with humility, bowing with honor.
Abruptly quelling the Mind of any self-incrimination, the Stoic Master empathetically placed its hand upon the body’s shoulder and consoled, “There’s nothing to forgive. Even if it took a lifetime- you’re RIGHT ON TRACK....It’s all over now…Relax.”
“But I need some time to change, Teacher,” implored the Mind.
Don’t wait for change- there is NO TIME to wait,” counselled the Stoic master, “and DON’T TELL ME CHANGE TAKES TIME; because the only time it takes to change- is EVERY TIME!” Afterwards the Stoic Master HOWLED with laughter at the paradox.
After breathing a sigh of relief, the Mind respectfully asked, “By the way- what is your name?”
As the two casually strolled forward, the Stoic Master intimated, “All the SEERS call me, ATMAN.”
P.S. Consider these two scriptures:
1 John 4-4: Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.
1 Corinthians 3:16: Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
Note: When the Atman (the Inward-Super Mind/the Spirit of God) & the Troubled Mind (the Outward-Lower Mind/common consciousness) are not ONE- it creates a DIVIDED SELFHOOD and the manifestation of a False Self. Thus, our cause for wrong actions and grief.
B.P.S. Every mans’ ONUS: To overcome their False Self. With that Tao- To that end…from the Lookout Post.