Atman, A Collection of Parables

By Edó Bon

Through the ages, Self-realization as expounded in Eastern philosophies has intrigued yet mystified those seeking an understanding of their own existence, truth and purpose in life. Parables have commonly been used to transmit this esoteric wisdom because they transcend the limitations of language by calling upon the intuition to clarify its subtle import. For this reason, they are comprehensible to all ages and levels of understanding.
The parables of this collection put into story the fundamentals of Self-realization and serve as pointers toward actualizing this goal. They are based on the instruction set forth in Atma Vichara, or Self-enquiry, which derives from ancient Hindu Advaita Vedanta teachings.

• Language: English
• Publisher: One Source Press
• Release date: Jul 18, 2019
• ISBN: 9781370824823

Edó Bon

Edó Bon is a novelist and short story writer whose writings capture the essence of Eastern wisdom while offering readers insights and pointers to self-realization. Under various pen names, he has written three other books: India Calling: A Decade of Perceptions by Sando Shaw; Contemplations on the Self and Forever Freed From Birth by A. Saranagati; and Song of the Father by Ramon Bachty.

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Introduction

To be ignorant of one’s inherent, unchanging nature is the root cause of every form of human suffering: physical, mental and emotional. Conversely, having knowledge of one’s nature brings suffering to an end. Atma Vichara is a means to that end.

Atma Vichara are Sanskrit words: atma meaning the Self — pure consciousness that is the underlying essence of the individual — and vichara meaning to enquire into or acutely observe. Following the guidance of Atma Vichara, aspirants direct their attention inward toward the source of their thoughts rather than engage the mind in their outward movement. When thoughts are viewed in this way, the compulsive reaction to follow one thought after the next wanes, and the mind becomes quiet.

Then, aspirants concentrate their attention on who remains when their thoughts are absent while surrendering the temptation to invite a single mental commentary during the investigation. The concepts one has of oneself unwind and fall away as the mind is released from its incessant chatter and purified of the spurious notion that it is an individualized self. This experience is like waking from a dream.

Everyone experiences moments of Self-realization, but most of them are veiled by thoughts and go unnoticed. The Self is absolute, having no opposite, and cannot be defined with language, which is based on duality (i.e., light is understood in relation to darkness). Yet its nature is described as an amalgamation of existence, consciousness and bliss.

Self-enquiry carries the connotation of questioning, as in trying to figure out or visualize. However, the term in this sense is misleading because what is being sought is not a concept; the Self is without context, circumstance, condition, color or form. It is known only by the act of being, as sight is known by the act of seeing.

Initially the novice might perceive the Self, which becomes apparent when the mind is still, as inert nothingness. Yet with steady abidance, the wonder and splendor of its dynamic nature diminishes that which was once perceived as reality.

The origin of this simple instruction can be traced back to primordial Eastern wisdom. Unlike meditation practices that have allotted time periods, Atma Vichara is a continuous reflection — a steady abidance in the Self. And whereas meditation practices generally use an object of concentration, such as a word or sound, to first quiet the mind in order for the Self to be realized, the object of concentration in Atma Vichara is the Self itself. For this reason, it is often referred to as the pathless path, because it entails no journey: it begins at the destination.

Nobody

Where you headed? he asked the man passing beside him.

Nowhere in particular.

Mind if I join you for a spell? he asked the wanderer.

Sure. Come along.

Where are you from, anyways? questioned the follower.

Nowhere in particular.

Nowhere? I mean … where do you keep your stuff?

Just have these clothes I’m wearing. And them I’m just borrowing.

Ain’t you afraid of becoming destitute?

Nope. Learned long ago that being afraid of things I don’t know about or trying to always please my senses only leads to misery.

You saying you don’t own nothing at all?

What I own everybody wants but few folks have.

Now, what could that be?

You don’t know? — Continuous happiness, of course.

"Continuous? How does one go about getting that?"

By doing absolutely nothing at all. It’s our natural way of being — when paying no mind to the mind chatter, that is.

Is that so? What-all you spend your time doing anyway?

Nothing.

Nothing? questioned the follower, crinkling his nose. Well then, who do you answer to?

Now how is nobody supposed to answer to somebody?

Nobody? If you’re nobody, how is it I can see you plain as day walking right here beside me?

You’re mistaking me to be my body, aren’t you? But if that were so, it would always be the same, not constantly changing like it’s been doing since it was a baby. Who I am never changes.

All right. So you don’t have a place to live or own anything, and you don’t answer to anybody, said the follower as he began smirking. Nobody must have an age. Right?

It’s the same as yours, replied the wanderer, returning the smirk. I am eternal. If I were anything other, I’d be stepping out of the eternal moment. And that would be like leaving the cool shade of a tree to stand out in the blazing hot sun.

"But surely I’m not talking to nobody … am I?"

Grinning from ear to ear, the wanderer looked into the follower’s eyes and asked, Who are you?

For a few moments, the follower appeared dazed. Well … I’m not sure who I am! But while I went looking for myself, I realized I’m not who I thought I was.

Find out who was looking. Then you’ll know who you are.

Where you running off to? came a yell from behind. As the follower turned around, he saw his brother running up to him, Did you forget you were supposed to help me load my truck? his brother asked.

My friend here and I, we’ve been talking about some important matters, said the follower as he turned back to his walking companion. Wha … Where did he go? He was just here!

Who was just here? You’ve been walking by yourself since I spotted you ten minutes ago. Who you think you with, anyway?

You sure I wasn’t with somebody?

Sure I’m sure!

Well, I’ll be danged! If I wasn’t with somebody, I guess nobody is who I really am.

Nanny

A herd of goats and a flock of sheep often grazed in close proximity without encroaching on each other’s territory. However, one kid and one lamb were oblivious to the imaginary boundaries and would seek each other out to play. In their love for one another, they were inseparable. But when the kid’s mother called him, his attention shifted, and he would scamper away. Left behind, the lamb would become melancholy and soon wander back to her flock.

One day when the kid’s mother called, the lamb followed him. Upon seeing his mother, the kid jumped up on her and the two began playing. Following her friend’s lead, the lamb jumped on his mother as well. The mother goat rebuffed the intruder by butting her. The lamb cried out in dismay, provoking the surrounding goats to chase her away.

The lamb continued to follow the kid to his herd each day but remained a short distance away. Determined to gain the acceptance of the goats, she made great efforts to learn their unfamiliar behaviors. In time, she could imitate their sounds and had mastered the sneeze they often made. She even gained the skill of holding her tail straight up in the air. Because she had adopted their ways, the goats accepted her and allowed her to join in their activities. Soon, she abandoned her own flock and became part of the herd.

As the lamb matured, she learned that being aggressive and fighting each member of the herd could win her a favorable position among them. Once again she applied her determination and, after much effort, earned the position of dominant nanny.

As the herd was grazing one day, a flock of sheep passed in front of them. The nanny was intrigued by their gentle manner and the courtesy they showed one another. She wandered among them, dropping her tail and mimicking their sounds with little effort. The weight of upholding her reigning power over the goats left her, and she experienced contentment.

The nanny attempted to establish a place among the sheep by displaying her aggression as she had learned from the goats. But they were not receptive to her advances and maintained a guarded distance from her whenever she approached. Standing between the herd of goats, where she held the highest position, and the flock of sheep, where she was not welcomed, she followed her instincts and ambled after the flock.

Day after day, the nanny stood behind the flock of sheep and studied their behaviors in an attempt to learn what was needed to gain their acceptance. But she could not find a single distinction that separated her from them.

After a while, she became discouraged and gave up hope of ever understanding them. Upon abandoning her desire, she fell into a trance-like ecstasy and meandered into the center of the flock. When she gained awareness of her surroundings, the sheep were expressing their fondness for her by rubbing and wiggling their bodies against hers. She returned their affections while realizing that to win their acceptance, she did not need to do anything at all.

space

The desire to understand something comes with an idea that there is something to be understood along with an imagining of what that something might be.

True understanding, however, is a natural phenomenon that occurs within pure consciousness when the mind is still.

Desire activates the mind, which precludes the natural phenomenon of true understanding.

Clouds

On one occasion eons ago, the Sky became infatuated with a group of clouds taking form within his atmosphere. Like dancing nymphs, they dazzled him with their display. Following that incident, his fascination with clouds grew.

Over time, the Sky came to recognize varying patterns among them to which he applied names and meanings. When seeing a particular type of cloud, he became happy, while other clouds irritated him or left him indifferent. He spent his time attempting to sustain those he enjoyed and destroy those he did not. Though he was joyful when he saw his beloved clouds, he was sad, sometimes angry, when they faded away. His mood swung from one extreme to another, mirroring the names and meanings he had created for the clouds.

The Sky soon became so absorbed with the clouds that he thought he was a cloud himself. A haze diminished his clarity and he soon forgot his celestial nature. Sometimes patches of himself would appear between the clouds and he experienced unparalleled happiness. But since these instances were only fleeting, he dismissed them as illusions.

The Sky’s clarity continued to diminish, limiting his vision to only trace outlines of clouds.

One day, while he was