I just thought it might be too lengthy for me to bother to read it.
Let's see now. At least earlier he has not had the same appalling
problems of in communication as t3rinty has.
The whole thing is basically MDG telling everyone here that they have misinterpreted him, are labeling him, are misinterpreting MMY, etc--but that none of it affects him and that he still loves us. :) But this story about GD is kind of nice, so to save you the trouble of wading through quite a few MBs, here it is:
YOUNG GURU DEV AND THE CAVE
Maharishi tells the story of a young Guru Dev, who may have been
around 11 or 12 years old at the time, and was a newcomer to the
ashram of his Master:
The Master had given young Guru Dev instruction in meditation. And
he quietly told him to leave the hustle and bustle of the ashram and
go practice in silence, in the caves in the hills nearby. So for
some time, young Guru Dev was not seen much around the ashram.
The Master's ashram had many people in it, including some senior
disciples who had been with the Master for decades, and were very
learned in the Vedas. They had some subtle ego about their posi-
tion, and some resentment of the obvious deep relationship young
Guru Dev, a mere boy, had developed so quickly with their Master.
So, when he disappeared from the ashram, they were secretly pleased,
assuming that he'd done something to displease the Master, or was
found to be too young and immature to handle the ashram life.
One day, after many months had passed, a holiday approached and
the Master expressed to his senior staff a desire to take a re-
treat of silence in a cave up in the hills. He sent his top dis-
ciple to the hills to seek out and prepare a proper cave for him
to reside in. He reminded the disciple that young Guru Dev was
living in one of those caves, and because of his familiarity with
the area, he should be consulted about the cave selection.
So the chief disciple arrived at the caves in the hills, and sought
out young Guru Dev, finding him meditating in his cave.
The chief disciple said: "I am on a very important mission for the
Master. He has sent me here to find him an empty cave in which to
reside. Please help me to find one suitable for him - unoccupied,
clean, large, dry, etc. - since you are familiar with this area."
After a brief hesitation, young Guru Dev said: "Please tell the
Master: 'There is no empty cave here'".
The chief disciple, thinking that the young boy was not taking the
mission seriously, said: "Of course there are empty caves here; I
passed some on my way to find you. Please help me to find a suit-
able one! The Master has commanded it."
Quietly, but firmly, young Guru Dev said: "Are you not here on a
mission for the Master? Are you not his messenger?"
The chief disciple answered: "Yes, but..."
"No 'buts'" said young Guru Dev. "You may be the chief disciple,
but today your role is that of a messenger. You were instructed
to bring me a question, and now your job is to take my answer back
to the Master. Respectfully, I ask that you please do just that,
do your duty. The question from the Master, to be asked of me, was
'Is there a suitable empty cave there?' The answer I'd like you to
deliver, word-for-word, is: 'There is no empty cave here'."
The chief disciple, astounded at the audacity of this young boy to
speak to him this way, left. He surveyed some caves on his own and
then went back to the ashram to report on his mission, and especial-
ly this arrogant boy's behavior, to the Master.
But first, he discussed this rudeness with the other senior disci-
ples. They agreed that it would be most instructive (and embarras-
sing), to young Guru Dev, and to other young disciples, to have this
issue raised in the ashram-wide satsang that happened with the Master
each afternoon. They knew that young Guru Dev came down from his cave
each Friday for supplies, and attended the satsang, and they waited
patiently overnight, since the next day was Friday.
Overnight, the ashram was abuzz with rumors of the young boy who had
disrespected the chief disciple, and the Master. Everyone made a
point to attend the afternoon satsang to see what the Master would
do to this insolent boy.
At the appropriate time in the satsang, the elder disciples moved
to broach the subject. But rather than appear blatantly accusatory,
they instead chose to bring up the subject in the form of a hypo-
thetical knowledge question. They asked: "Master, is it not a great
sin for a disciple to disrespect or disobey the Master?" "And is
that sin not extended to the senior disciples of the Master, acting
on his business?" "Master, is not the punishment for such a serious
offense, banishment from the ashram?"
To all of these, the Master responded "yes".
Having set the stage in this way, the senior disciple then related
the behavior of young Guru Dev the previous day, and the members
of the ashram were shocked.
The Master strongly said: "Young man, step forward and explain your
behavior to the whole ashram."
Young Guru Dev stepped into the center of the gathering, directly
in front of the Master, clasped his hands in devotion, and pros-
trated to the Master. When the Master directed him to rise, he
calmly spoke these words:
"Master, when your chief disciple found me, and asked me that ques-
tion from you, I knew that it had a deeper meaning than the appar-
ent surface one. Surely, with all these great, long-time disciples,
with all their wisdom and experience, and with all those here who've
spent much time in those caves, and some who live there now, and
with your own great spiritual vision, I knew that you did not actual-
ly need my advice on picking a physical cave. So the meaning of your
question was immediately obvious. You were asking me something much
deeper, about the condition of my spiritual practice that you had
assigned me and sent me to the hills to do.
"And when I looked inside, and surveyed the situation, I realized that
somehow you had been very successful in your work with me, because
when I looked into the only cave about which I had any valuable infor-
mation, my heart cave, I found that it was completely full - full with
you. No matter where I looked, there was not a bit of vacant space
there; there was no place that you were not already. So I respectfully
told the chief disciple: please report to the Master, and tell him
'There is no vacant cave here'. It was the simple, obvious, truthful
answer to your real question."
With that, the whole ashram was astounded, for they saw that where
they had perceived an insolent young boy, there was a devotee who
had innocently accomplished what they dreamed of, who had become
the true reflection of the Master. Everyone, from the chief disci
ple to the barest beginner in the ashram, felt the wave of love that
connected the Master and young Guru Dev, and were reminded how im-
portant it is to put their attention on the depth of things, rather
than let their attention get caught in the boundaries.
