STORY OF GANDHI

In the same Kosala State, once upon a time there lived a bramhin near Sarayu
river. He was well versed in all the knowledge. He was peaceful, silent, introvert
and contemplative. He was faraway from what is going on in the world.
Once he decided to meditate for a long time. He found a most beautiful spot.
Lotuses and lilies bloomed and spread perfume all day and all night, black deers
roamed, and peacocks danced. He made a deluxe cottage, sowed vines and bushes
all around and sat in deep meditation. Eight years passed. Lord Visnu appeared and
asked, "Varambruhi. Please ask whatever you wish for."

"My Lord, I just wanted to see you. Oh, you are so beautiful."
"That is correct but ask for anything."
"Evamastu -- so be it." He said and vanished.
A long time passed happily. One day at the end of taking a bath in the river he
was chanting aghamarsan (sin absolving) mantras while still standing in navel deep
water.

Suddenly his mind slipped and he saw clearly exactly as in the waking state in
his home. Then he saw he just died. Family members are crying, his corpse is
decomposing. His mother is holding his dead body until all kinsmen arrived. They
gathered like birds and carried it to the cemetery, placed it on the pyre and set
fire. It burned into ashes. They came back to the home.

Then he saw himself entering in the womb of a corpse-eater chandali (a special
tribe who eat corpses as part of taking charge of keeping the streets clean) like a
worm. In ten months he came out as a ripened fruit from the tree. He grew up as
a tree grows. He was handsome. His mother loved him as did all the family. He
became sixteen years old. He would take a group of his dogs and go to the forest
for hunting, killing deers, birds and other animals. He was married and many kids
were born.

Suddenly a famine spread and all began dying. His wife, his kids all died, so he
left the village and walked and walked. He reached a State called Krant desha
where the king had just died leaving no son. As a custom an elephant with a garland
was released among all people, of the city and from abroad. The elephant moved
around with his trunk lifted up holding the most valuable garland. As soon as he
saw him he placed the garland on his neck and lifting him up by his trunk set him on
his back. The crowd rejoiced, and soon he was coronated. He concealed his caste.
He married with a beautiful wife, and began living like a king. Adorned with
innumerable valuable gems, pearls and diamonds, golden ornaments and silk suits he
enjoyed life for eight years. Once, surrounded by his friends, kinsmen and a small
army, he was going for hunting. On his way he came close to a colony of chandalas.
One of the chandalas recognized him. He also had left during the famine.

"Oh dear brother, how are you? I knew your talent of singing songs will attract
great wealth one day. Where are you now -- has the king hired you for his
musician?" He embraced him and requested him to visit his home.
King wanted him to get lost but he was overwhelmed with emotion. He didn't
leave, and everybody knew he was a chandala. They lamented, "Oh, they lost the
purity of their caste." The news spread all around. When the king returned to his
palace people ran away. Priests looked into the scriptures and couldn't find any
remedy for the sin of associating and dining with a chandala.

At last a huge fire was set in the middle of the city and like moths all the royal
family -- men, women, all began entering into the fire. His most beloved queen
lamenting seriously entered the fire. King saw and felt ashamed, humiliated and
heartbroken. He too came to the fire and jumped into the burning flame. When
the king felt the burning pain the body of the bramhin Gandhi shook which was still
in the water -- standing navel deep reciting the mantra. It was only twelve minutes
that passed. He completed the oblution. But his heart kept wondering.
Whatever he saw was so clear that he became puzzled and confused. He kept
thinking of the vow -- what a terrible stand did I witness. He came to his
hermitage and lived there a few days when he decided to go to his home and check
it out. But then a bramhin guest came from faraway. He hosted him for many
days. He was so lean and thin. He brought herbs, roots and fruits that can serve
as tonic for his weakness. One night he asked, "Why are you so weak?"

"Because I reduce one morsel of my meals each passing day in dark fortnight.
On the 15th I observe total fast. From the next day I increase one by one morsel
till fifteen days. This I have done as a twelve krichra chandrayan fast."
"Sir, but that is done as confession to one's severe sin?" Gandhi asked.
"Yes, I did one. Not just one, hundreds of them. In fact I stayed in Kranta
State, I didn't know the king was a chandala. It was only the last day it was
revealed when a huge fire was set in midtown and all bramhins and ksatriyas
entered the fire. I was out of the city boundary so I didn't enter the fire but still
I needed to clean myself."

Gandhi was struck with wonder. After the guest left he decided to visit the
place by himself. He walked. Like a camel looking for thorns reaches into the jungle of thorns he
arrived at that village of chandalas. To his surprise he saw the place where he
used to come daily to work in the field when he grew young. He saw creepers and
trees he had planted. Some are dead, leafless, still standing, others still green
with flowers. Animals he had killed and placed their skeletons on certain treetops
he saw them too.

Then he entered the chandala village near his home. It was so dirty, so stinking,
nauseatic, vomiting -- stink of dead animals, stink of leather being cooked, stink of
bones being cooked to make glue, lipstick, candles, glycerin etc. There he used to
play with other dirty, stinking boys. Some of them are still around. Now they are
old with white hair, broken teeth, rest of them yellow, rotten; their bodies smelly,
clothes sweaty. Children defecated nearby. He also saw the pub where he used to
drink wine. There it was he was married with another ugly, stinky, harsh-toned
woman whose only quality was to produce babies and babysit them. Seeing all these
he was shocked and great dispassion arose.

He met a few persons and asked, "Do you remember here was a chandala with a
large black body who used to sing?"

"Oh yes, his name was Kantakjal (thorny water). He was born here, we played
together. Never went to school. ------------

"Just like the crow keeps on uttering harsh words eating left over impure food
stuff, same way mind sitting in the unclean home of this flesh, blood and bone
infested body keeps on running after anti-Self realisational substances like
sensational objects. Never is it quiet. Due to evil urges it is black like the crow.
As the crow has only one eye on each side of it's head, the mind is also only an
imitation of this limited vision as well because it rushes around looking for ways to
get sense objects.

"As to this inauspicious crow, Prince Rama, shoot it down by the pistol of pious
thinking.

"Mind is a vulture. To get flesh of sensual joy it hovers all around. Wherever it
sees hot dog of ego it jumps down and grabs. Better shoot it by the bullet of
discretion.

"Mind is lika a ghost. As a ghost possessed, haunted man talks meaningless and
suffers for no reason, similarly people of the world are suffering. Every one is
possessed and obsessed by both -- mind, the Mr. Ghost, and hankering, the Mrs.
Ghost. This Mr. and Mrs. Ghost can only be exorcised by mantra of dispassion.
Get them out. Kick out all these little apparition, goblins and vampires which
provoke identification with anything else other than the Self. Got to do that.

"Mind is like a monkey. The one which is very restless. Monkey sits on one
treetop, then it jumps onto another. You have to tame it. Wisely allure him for
spiritual gifts. Allure him, if he follows certain descipline, he can be allowed one
nonharmful sense gratification. Thus make him change his habit.
"Mind is like a rope, like a fetter. The whole world is chained up with the hard
knots of doer, action and their binding impressions. As there are innumerable
slaves tied in one rope so also all people are tied with one cosmic mind. To that
thick heavy rope, please cut through with the knife of disassociation and
detachment.

"Prince, this mind is a python. It is full of poison of hankering for sense
gratification. And with its horrifying hiss and sting it has burned down the most
beautiful lotuses of shama (mental control), dama (sense control) and dhairya
(patience). No one can kill this wicked python unless the discretion eagle arises in
the sky of your life. When this python is dead you become enlightened.
It cannot be destroyed by weapons of suffering fortune and death fire. It
disappears only by association of saints and study of scriptures.

"This mind is a cloud. Hankering lightening illumines. Wherever it rains it
destroys the harvest of wisdom and lotuses of sense and mental disciplines. By the
mantra of auspicious search for Truth it disperses.

"Rama, through the weapon of mind pierce the mind and drop both of them.
Function through intuition, then through consciousness itself."