WHO ARE YOU?

A sage once lived in a hermit at the outskirts of the township. He used to be at peace within himself. Passersby used to drop daily chores for his consumption. People used to pity him for not being part of the life they are all enjoying. Life was running as usual for all. No one could dare to question the living style of the sage.

Once in that town, a king of the nearby kingdom came and asked for direction of the sage. All the residents became more curious as to what is there in that sage, that a king himself is asking for his address. Soon the king sent his messenger to inform the sage that he is coming to meet him. But the messenger returned with a gloomy face. On being asked the reason of his position, he replied that the sage did not even care to open the door. He appears to be an arrogant person. The king asked his minister you must have certainly annoyed the sage. The minister said, no my honour, the sage only asked me a question- who are you? And I introduced myself, to which he remained silent and asked me to go away. The king then sent in his another senior minister. He also returned and described the attitude of the sage as totally arrogant and unbecoming of a human being. They all advised the king to return their kingdom or else to arrest the sage and take him away for the insult in the king’s honour.

The king however got the clue and pacified his council of ministers. He decided to knock at the door of the sage himself. He then walked on foot as a commoner and knocked the door of the sage. The sage asked the same question- who are you? The king replied- I don’t know. The sage then asked- what for you are at my door? The king replied- I don’t know. The sage came out of his meditation and took the king inside for the wisdom he was seeking for.

The moral of the story is if one wants to be seeker, he has to be first of all empty himself of all the labels, name, introductions, positions, egos and achievements. Whatever one achieves is only a milestone. If you proceed further you will find there is another world to be explored, some more lessons to be learned, some more love to be shared. Look at Sachin after achieving all the accolades and milestones and the highest civilian honour of the land, he has that appetite to do different for the cause of brilliance and honour of the land. We are all here as a guest so do your best and leave the best. Who are you? Let the God decide.

What is there in it? My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist! Or My name is Mukesh Bhatnagar and I am not a culprit! Or My name is Anna Hazare and I am a social activist! Or My name is Ramchandran  and I am CEO of a leading financial institution! Does all this makes a difference for a nation.

We are all here to play a part. Play it like a soul. And that is the essence of ‘Gita’ as well. Your actions will then become footprints. The famous verse of Gita says- ‘to action alone hast thou a right and never at all to its fruit; let not the fruits of action be thy motive; neither let there be in thee any attachment to inaction.’ Nothing matters except the goodwill, the willing fulfillment of the purpose of God. Man attains to the highest by doing work without attachment. Let others think-Who were you?