Truth At Any Cost
THE Chhandogya Upanishad has a beautiful story. Let us begin with it. Satyakam asked his mother, Jabala, “Mother, I want to live the life of a student of supreme...
The Only Flaw Of The Palace
There is the story of a king who once built a special palace. He made it so impregnable that no enemy could enter it. We also, in life, make...
In Search Of A Guide
I will tell you one Sufi story: A man is going in search of truth. As he comes out of his city, he finds an old man sitting under...
Tutor And Ghosts
Shambu Babu, my newly appointed tutor, coughed when he entered the room, fixed his tie, tried to stand upright and said, “Listen, boy, I have heard many stories about...
Self And No-Self
I have told many times the story of Bodhidharma and his meeting with the Chinese emperor Wu — a very strange meeting, very fruitful. Emperor Wu perhaps was at...
Masters And Their Birth
The first incident happened before Ashtavakra was born. Nothing is known of what came afterwards but this is an incident while he was still in the womb. His father,...
Lazarus, Come Out!
YOU HAVE heard the story of Lazarus — that is a story of man as such. It is said Lazarus died. Jesus loved him very much. His sisters informed...
Conditions For Initiation
I have heard a very old Tibetan story: There was a great sage who would not initiate anybody, who would not make anybody a disciple. And his fame spread...
Subtle Essence
Let me tell you another story, again from the Chhandogya Upanishad. “Fetch me from a fruit of the nyagrodh tree,” asked the father, the great sage Uddalak, to his...
The Monk Who Seduced A Prostitute
One day one of Buddha’s sannyasins was passing through a street where he had gone to beg. The most beautiful woman of that town, the prostitute of the town,...