By
Wild Grass
I
once heard Master mention a library about a half-hour's walk from Her abode
in the Himalayas. Each morning, She would prepare a simple packet of dry
food and make Her way to the library on foot. When She was occasionally
overcome by fatigue, She would spread out a cloth at a suitable spot alog
the way and take out some chapatis. (Indian flat bread) She would then pick
wild vegetables from the roadside, wash them with melted snow, sprinkle
some salt on them, and place them by Her side. This would be Master's sumptuous
meal - a delicious sandwich made of a chapati, wild vegetables, and salt.
She would also drink newly melted snow to quench Her thirst. Above Her would
be the azure sky dotted with clusters of white clouds, which made the lofty
mountain peaks appear even bluer than usual, and their snowy caps even whiter.
Beneath Her were little green sprouts peeping out from the earth, waiting
for a chance to grow. From the distance, sincere voices singing in praise
of God floated through the thin air as pilgrims trekked up the mountain
paths. When Master hummed the hymns for us, Her sweet voice, like silver
jingle bells, left us so intoxicated that we could not tell whether we were
in Heaven or on earth.
Master
often tells stories and parables in Her teachings. One of these stories
was about a Russian czar named Peter, who once disguised himself as a civilian
and went to Europe to learn ship-building techniques. There, he encountered
a group of Russian criminals whom he had banished. These people had no homeland
or relatives, and life was rigorous. Czar Peter befriended and worked with
them, and when he had completed his training and was about to return home,
he asked them, "Do you want to go home?" "Of course, we do,"
they replied, "but the Czar will not let us return!" Czar Peter
then told them, "I am a friend of the Czar. It will be all right for
you to return with me." Some of the exiled men did not believe him,
and thought, "He is just an ordinary civilian like we are. How can
he make the Czar forgive us?" So they decided to stay. Others figured,
"He is a good man. Why would he deceive us?" So they returned
to their homeland and became free.
Similar
incidents have occurred involving great Masters through the ages. They could
not claim to be Gods, but could only say that they were friends of Gods,
because sentient beings were blinded by their ignorance and deep preconceptions.
During meditation, a female spiritual practitioner once reached a very high
dimension and beheld her Master as God. When she woke up from samadhi, she
complained to her Master, "You have always insisted that you are just
a very common, ordinary person. But when I went to Paradise, I saw that
you are God! You have been deceiving me all along." Her Master responded,
"I am so sorry! But you would not have believed me even if I had told
you!" Only through diligent meditation can we realize how great a Master
is, because it may be detrimental for Hirm if Heirs Greatness were revealed
to ordinary people.
In
India, there was a very famous Master who had many disciples. As a result,
He became a target of envy among other disbelieving masters, who often caused
Him trouble. One day, an Indian prince died of an illness, and the king
sought help from all the famous doctors, but none could revive the prince.
A number of evil men persuaded the king to seek help of this Enlightened
Master. The Master gently refused despite their coercion.
"You
say that your God is the most high and you are connected to Hirm. If you
pray to Hirm, surely Hes will help us!" Enlightened Masters usually
do not expose their magical powers, but this Master was compelled to give
in to the men's demands. "All right, I'll do it since you are going
to slay me whether I do it or not!" Saying this, he prayed to God,
"Please revive this child with Your merciful and loving power!"
But the boy remained still, so the king and everyone else continued to force
Hirm to prove His power. Finally, He said, "All right! Now I command
you to wake up." And the prince came back to life. Those men became
furious and complained to the king, "You see how arrogant he is. God's
power failed to save the prince, yet his command succeeded. He wants to
show that he is greater than God. This is blasphemy. He must be executed."
They insisted that the Master be executed, and He received the terrifying
penalty of having his flesh cut off piece by piece.
All
Enlightened Masters suffer great pain and ordeals. They put Themselves in
grave situations and risk great danger coming here to save sentient beings.
For example, Jesus Christ was crucified; Shakyamuni Buddha was framed and
stoned; and many other great Masters suffered similar fates. This is why
it is so hard for us to find Enlightened Masters even when They do come
to this world, because They must protect Themselves for the benefit of sentient
beings. When we gain this realization, we can only be even more grateful
to our Master for braving great ordeals and enduring heavy toil to teach
sentient beings, thus giving us a chance to follow Her and learn from Her.
