Swami Sankarananda explains that people identify themselves with all kinds of beliefs about the world since childhood. This upbringing ingrains subconscious thought patterns into people’s minds that make them imagine their own versions of reality, and then act accordingly seeing difference and strife everywhere. To counteract this, we should teach children spirituality starting from a young age.
Swami Sankarananda gives several great examples of this in the talk. The second example is particularly interesting. A man was walking with his donkeys through a forest when it began to get dark and he had to take shelter for the night. A forest monk dwelling nearbylet the man stay in his cottage for the night.
The man settled in but needed to tie his donkeys so they wouldn’t run away at night. But they had no rope. So the monk advised the man to act like he is tying the donkeys, i.e.to imitate what he does every day. It worked, the donkeys all stayed in one place thinking they were tied. But the next morning, when the man tried to go with them, the donkeys wouldn’t move. The monk advised the man to act like he is untying them so they would believe they are now free. It worked, and the donkeys began to move again.
This is exactly what the worldly person feels like. There is no rope around their neck, but people feel bound as if we are bound. The guru comes along and teaches: “realize you are free!” Actually, it’s more like realizing that you are not bound. Untie the imaginary rope!
This video was recorded from Swamiji's tour with Bhagavan in Barcelona, Spain in 2012.
Biography of Swami Sankarananda
Swami Sankarananda gives several great examples of this in the talk. The second example is particularly interesting. A man was walking with his donkeys through a forest when it began to get dark and he had to take shelter for the night. A forest monk dwelling nearby
The man settled in but needed to tie his donkeys so they wouldn’t run away at night. But they had no rope. So the monk advised the man to act like he is tying the donkeys, i.e.
This is exactly what the worldly person feels like. There is no rope around their neck, but people feel bound as if we are bound. The guru comes along and teaches: “realize you are free!” Actually, it’s more like realizing that you are not bound. Untie the imaginary rope!
This video was recorded from Swamiji's tour with Bhagavan in Barcelona, Spain in 2012.
Biography of Swami Sankarananda
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