(19) Story of the Bhikshu -2

[7]

Instantly there was a world around him that belonged to the Apsaraa identity. The Apsaraa was not aware of her king identity at all.

There was a heavenly palace; beautiful garden with blossoming flowers; loving friends and so on. The life was filled with various pleasures. There was nothing more one could ask for. But she was not satisfied with her life. She was frustrated. Only if she could be more beautiful!  Only if she had eyes like the doe! How wonderful it would be! Then Indra would be at her feet begging for her love. She would then be the queen of the three worlds!

One day after a tiring day of amorous sports, the Apsaraa slept on her bed thinking about the doe-like eyes she did not have. She dreamt that she was a doe.

[8]

Instantly there was a world around her that belonged to the doe identity.

The doe was not aware of her Apsaraa identity at all. The doe had vast grassy lands to graze and spent her life enjoying the various plants and creepers abounding in that forest-land. One day enjoying the taste of a delicious creeper she fell asleep and dreamt that she was a creeper filled with leaves, flowers and fruits.

[9]

The creeper was a new life with new identity. It had just a life-principle; yet the mind of the Bhikshu was deep inside the identity of creeper asleep in the inert state of creeper-ness. The creeper grew long and high towering over the surrounding trees and appeared beautiful like a forest Goddess decked in flowers. Bees were always hovering over it attracted by the flowers. Then the hidden mind of the Bhikshu woke up and being conscious only of the bees around his creeper-form, instantly turned into the identity of a bee.

  

[10]

The bee was just a bee only intent on sucking honey from flowers. It flew here and there doing its job and on one of its wanderings entered a lotus groove. The lotus honey was more delicious and the bee never could be away from the flowers. It remained always stuck to the lotus stalks. Unfortunately forest elephants arrived at that part of the forest searching for water holes and in their mad rush trampled all the lotuses. The bee which

was resting on the lotus stalk also got crushed under the elephant’s foot. At that moment Bhikshu’s mind woke up for a second and saw the huge form the elephant towering above him before the bee got crushed.

  

[11]

Instantly Bhikshu’s mind was in the identity of an elephant violent and rough. He was the leader of all other elephants and wildly roamed in the forest uprooting trees and crushing plants and little animals mercilessly under his foot.

Once in one of his wild ventures, he fell into a hole dug for catching elephants. He was chained and dragged away. He was taken away by the soldiers to get trained for battles. Soon the elephant was the favorite of the king and was a sure participant in all the battles the king fought. 

Once in a battle that was fought at night, he was pierced by swords and knives and died. His face had been always covered by rut and remained stuck with bees. So he had died only concentrating on driving the bees with his ears; and the Bhikshu’s mind now got once again the identity of a bee.

[12]

Again the bee stayed always close to the lotuses.

When again he died as a bee the mind of the Bhikshu had only the idea of the lotus and it took on the identity of a lotus instantly. And again one day he was crushed by the elephant’s foot. But this time the Bhikshu’s mind inside the lotus was aware of the swans nearby and it took on the identity of a swan instantly.

[13]

In this manner he wandered through various lives of various identities and life-experiences which were completely separated from each other.

It was the ninety-eighth life now and he was a swan again.

Somehow randomly the mind of the Bhikshu inside the swan had absorbed the idea from some conversations that were taking place between some Sages that there were swans in BrahmaLoka. The swan died of some infection but the wish for becoming Brahma’s swan did not die. The mind instantly took the identity of Brahma’s swan in BrahmaLoka.

In no time the divine swan acquired all the knowledge of Brahman and was liberated.

[14]

The swan always followed Brahma wherever he went, out of devotion for him. Once, Brahma visited the world of Rudra along with many Sages and his favorite pet-swan. The swan was fascinated by the dispassionate form of Rudra and instantly the Bhikshu’s mind inside the swan took the identity of Rudra.

Nobody actually can become the Trinities by just wishing so. The Trinities originate from Chit directly and cannot be copied. To bind them to their unique identities they maintain extreme love and attachment for their spouses; and this excessive love for their spouses is their uniqueness which cannot be taken over by any mind of any one of any creation.

Here the Bhikshu’s mind had only the form of a Rudra with the necessary knowledge belonging to the position and he lived as the Lord of the city which was similar to the real Rudra’s world.

[15]

Rudra, who was now endowed with knowledge, instantly knew all that had happened in all the lives he had taken. He also knew the hundred births of his starting from Bhikshu’s identity.

He understood why and how all those lives had occurred.

Through his dreams he had lived as all those Jeevas and had created those worlds through his mind.

He decided to give knowledge to all those other Jeevas also.

Rudra first went to the hut where the Bhikshu had lived. There he saw the Bhikshu lying on the ground like a corpse.

He said-“Hey Bhikshu! Wake up!”

Immediately the Bhikshu stood up and saluted him. Rudra touched him on the head and the Bhikshu understood that the Rudra who was standing there in front of him was his own Self.

Both of them held their hands and traveled through enormous distances in space and reached that world where Jeevata lived. There they found Jeevata lying on the ground like a corpse. Rudra woke him up and made him remember everything.

Then the three of them together went to the Brahmin’s world which was in another part of the Chit-space.

In this manner waking up all the dream-Jeevas one by one, Rudra at last reached his own world.

All of them were amazed by seeing each other as there was only a single person there in hundred bodies.

Then the Bhikshu who had become a Rudra told Jeevata and other unenlightened Jeevas to go back to their own worlds and live there as their own new identities. After the life was over there, they could return to him and become Rudras themselves.

They all agreed and returned to their worlds.

After living a full life in each of their worlds, they returned again to Rudra’s world. All of them now had the same forms and same knowledge.

Each of them was the Rudra of his own world.

Yet like Ganas or attendants they all served the Supreme Rudra, the form of Shiva who was born from Chit-space.

BHIKSHU’S STORY ENDS

  

Sage Vasishta finished the story and looking at his favorite student and said-

“Rama!

This world is also a dream of some person named Brahma.

We are all living our lives in his dream!

This Bhikshu had very few Vaasanaas (latent tendencies) hidden in his mind; so he had only hundred dreams. But Brahma had the job of channelizing countless Vaasanaas and had to have countless dreams.

All the people, objects, animals you see around you are the dream identities of Brahma!

Brahma has already realized that he is the Supreme Brahman by nature.

Now he wakes up each one of us through Vedas and scriptures calling out loudly- “Hey You! You are Brahman! You are myself!”

He allows us to live our lives as we are and asks us to realize the Self.

Once we all do what he says, we will all stand together as so many Chits.

Since Chit is one, we will all be as the one single blissful state of the Self.”

Rama understood all that his Guru explained; yet had some questions about the Bhikshu’s story. He said-

“Brahman! If every thought or idea will become a world, experienced by some identity or other, then tell me if the Bhikshu of your story really exists somewhere or not?”

Vasishta smiled and looked at Rama in an amused way. He said-

“Yes! He has to be there somewhere in this world!

I will meditate tonight and tell you the answer tomorrow”

 000

Next day in the discourse-hall, Vasishta spoke to Rama-

“Rama!  Through my power of knowledge, I searched the entire world in my mind, piece by piece, for seeing that Bhikshu. I could not find him anywhere.

Yet I did not give up and continued my search for him inside my mind for some more time. At last my effort was rewarded and I found him in a place called ‘Vihaara’, in a city called ‘Valmika’, in a country called ‘Jina’.

I saw that his private meditation-room was locked from inside and all his disciples were sitting outside the room with anxiety written on their faces. The Bhikshu had been inside the room for twenty one days absorbed in contemplation. Within those twenty one days, he has experienced the lives of Jeevata and others counting up to thousands of years or more and has attained the Rudra state.”

King Dasharatha who was also listening intently to the story interrupted his Guru’s speech and said-

“Lord! Tell me where that Bhikshu can be found!

I will send my ministers in search of him; bring him here; and honor him.”

Sage Vasishta reminded him that the Bhikshu was now in the Rudra-state and could not be approached by ordinary human beings

Sage Vasishta turned towards Rama and continued his speech-

“Rama! Observe how ‘time’ is just a measure of experience for a mind and not absolute! Within twenty one days Bhikshu experienced so many lives!

Jeevas also experience a whole creation-span of time within a momentary dream of Brahma!

In the Bhikshu’s world, the disciples will wait for a few more days as per their Guru’s order and will break open the door on the thirtieth day. They will find the lifeless and deteriorated body of their Guru. They will cremate it as per their custom and worship his statue-forms.

And Rama! Another interesting thing I found out! Listen!

After observing this Bhikshu in this creation, I peeped into other creations also within my mind. I saw two more Bhikshus in two other creations doing the same thing as this Bhikshu.

Bhikshu of our world is the second one actually.

Many more Bhikshus exist in many more creations with the same character or different.

Why only the Bhikshu? All these kings, ministers, Brahmins, and people will be found in many creations with similar characters and similar forms; or they might be half-similar; or they might be completely different!

Rama!

Maayaa is very powerful!

She can produce any Jeeva anywhere however many times she wants!

Only a person who realizes the Self is freed of her clutches.

You are already in the Brahman-state!

Do whatever duties are yours perfectly well and live in the world happily as a JeevanMukta!”

END