Post by Tapan Mukherjee on Sept 17, 2007 10:10:23 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]Questions for Angiras[/glow]
In ancient India, a very wise man named Angiras (Ung-gee-ross) lived in a hut in the forest. He had inherited all his wisdom from his father, grandfather and great-grandfather. One day he was seated in front of the hut when a young man from the village came up to him. This was a man well-known as the owner of land, wise in the ways of the world. He said to the sage, "People speak of knowing this subject and that science, and they brag about it; I want to know from you if there is something I can learn which will explain everything to me."
Angiras looked at him steadily. "There are really two kinds of knowledge," he replied, "and one of them is higher and the other is lower. The lower knowledge is of hymns and scriptures, rituals, grammar, poetry, astrology and other such sciences... but the higher knowledge leads a man to that which never dies. That is called the Indestructible."
"Yes, sir," said the young man. "That is what I want to know about."
"Then, listen well. The Indestructible cannot be picked up like this stick or that stone. It belongs to no family, nor to any caste. It neither sees nor hears, It has no hands or feet, It is forever. Wherever you go It is there; you cannot leave It; It is all around you.
"But It is very fine, very subtle, and that is why you do not see It. Everything else has come out of this Indestructible, you see. You know how a spider spins out her thread from her own body, and draws it back with her arms, or how plants grow from the soil, or how hair grows on a person's body. In that same way, the whole universe emerges from that Indestructible Being.
Thus did my ancestors see in their wisdom, and thus did they impart the knowledge to me, and, more than that, thus have I seen for myself."
"Sir," the young man said, "I need you to teach me more. I have been thinking within myself, 'What am I working toward, after all, in this short life? Just to satisfy some little desires? But how can that lead me to something which is forever?' So I decided to gather some firewood and go in search of a teacher of holy wisdom. And people told me about you. 'Is he learned,' I asked, 'one whose mind is filled with Truth?' Now I come to you in all faith and reverence: please teach me further."
In those days, the sages and saints, who made their homes in the fields or forests, lived a very simple life. They would build a small fire for performing the ceremonies prescribed in their scriptures, or for cooking their food and for warmth in the winter. So when a seeker of Truth wanted to become a pupil of such a sage, he would gather firewood in a bundle and go to him with this fuel as a gift and sign of respect.
Now Angiras understood that here was one whose mind was not constantly restless with desires, one who was fit to receive the higher knowledge. And he began to tell him more of the indestructible being called Brahman.
In ancient India, a very wise man named Angiras (Ung-gee-ross) lived in a hut in the forest. He had inherited all his wisdom from his father, grandfather and great-grandfather. One day he was seated in front of the hut when a young man from the village came up to him. This was a man well-known as the owner of land, wise in the ways of the world. He said to the sage, "People speak of knowing this subject and that science, and they brag about it; I want to know from you if there is something I can learn which will explain everything to me."
Angiras looked at him steadily. "There are really two kinds of knowledge," he replied, "and one of them is higher and the other is lower. The lower knowledge is of hymns and scriptures, rituals, grammar, poetry, astrology and other such sciences... but the higher knowledge leads a man to that which never dies. That is called the Indestructible."
"Yes, sir," said the young man. "That is what I want to know about."
"Then, listen well. The Indestructible cannot be picked up like this stick or that stone. It belongs to no family, nor to any caste. It neither sees nor hears, It has no hands or feet, It is forever. Wherever you go It is there; you cannot leave It; It is all around you.
"But It is very fine, very subtle, and that is why you do not see It. Everything else has come out of this Indestructible, you see. You know how a spider spins out her thread from her own body, and draws it back with her arms, or how plants grow from the soil, or how hair grows on a person's body. In that same way, the whole universe emerges from that Indestructible Being.
Thus did my ancestors see in their wisdom, and thus did they impart the knowledge to me, and, more than that, thus have I seen for myself."
"Sir," the young man said, "I need you to teach me more. I have been thinking within myself, 'What am I working toward, after all, in this short life? Just to satisfy some little desires? But how can that lead me to something which is forever?' So I decided to gather some firewood and go in search of a teacher of holy wisdom. And people told me about you. 'Is he learned,' I asked, 'one whose mind is filled with Truth?' Now I come to you in all faith and reverence: please teach me further."
In those days, the sages and saints, who made their homes in the fields or forests, lived a very simple life. They would build a small fire for performing the ceremonies prescribed in their scriptures, or for cooking their food and for warmth in the winter. So when a seeker of Truth wanted to become a pupil of such a sage, he would gather firewood in a bundle and go to him with this fuel as a gift and sign of respect.
Now Angiras understood that here was one whose mind was not constantly restless with desires, one who was fit to receive the higher knowledge. And he began to tell him more of the indestructible being called Brahman.
