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Episode 4 - Story of a teacher and his pupil - Kena Upanishad

Episode 4 - Story of a teacher and his pupil - Kena Upanishad

FromStories from Upanishads


Episode 4 - Story of a teacher and his pupil - Kena Upanishad

FromStories from Upanishads

ratings:
Length:
19 minutes
Released:
Sep 30, 2022
Format:
Podcast episode

Description

=====================TRANSCRIPT ==============================Today’s story is about a teacher and his pupil. The teacher was about to begin the day’s lesson when he saw that his student had an unusual inquisitiveness. The concerned teacher asked the pupil -“Son, what’s the matter? Why are you so disturbed today? What troubles you?” The startled pupil said “O Guru, From whom comes all of it - my thoughts, my sight, my hearing, my breath? Who is he who controls all of it?” The teacher smiled and took a deep breath. He knew all his great students will one day ask similar questions at some point. So he told the pupil -“O Son, he is hearing behind the hearing, the speech behind the speech, the sight behind the sight, he is in a place beyond reach.”The pupil gave a confused look at the teacher. The teacher continued explaining to him further -“He is inconceivable, cannot be described, He is Brahman, the Supreme One!” Although the pupil had a fair bit of idea about the Brahman, concepts were still murky. He knew that Brahman, was not Indra, the king of heaven or Agni, the lord of fire. He wasn’t someone you could please by offering sacrifices in the pious fire altars. He is much more than these. The pupil smiled and said, he understood it and thanked the teacher. The teacher smiled and thought -If only Brahman was so simple to understand if only he could be understood by mere human intelligence. The teacher told the pupil, -“If you say so, very well, my son! Perhaps you do understand Brahman. But remember that you know only the part which HE chooses to reveal us here on earth! The Brahman is… that dwells in the gods is yet to be discovered! Think about it, meditate and contemplate!” The pupil declared -“I might NOT be knowing him well but at the same time I understand his existence and importance! I need to know much   more than this!” The teacher was impressed by the pupil’s honesty and spine for truthfulness. He said to this courageous student -“The problem with Brahman is that one who knows him, doesn’t know him! One who sees him hasn’t seen him!”Hearing this the student was very sad. He wondered then how will he understand Brahman. His quest is all futile. Perhaps the Brahman cannot be understood but can be experienced. However, the ones who have experienced him, cannot describe it because they themselves didn’t realise what had happened! The teacher could understand the pupil’s distress, so he said-“However he who sees Him in each and every being, he is blessed in worlds both seen or unseen.”Friends, do you find any similarity with this concept - one who sees the creator in each and every being or thing! The story of Prahlad has this concept if you remember! Let's get back to the story. The teacher’s explanation enlightened the student! His eyes gleamed in a ray of hope. The student excitedly said -“Belief in the supreme being in all beings! Maybe someday I would be able to understand Him. But will I be able to RECOGNISE him?” Understanding the student’s dilemma the teacher said -“Let me tell you a story about a Dev-asura war! Once upon a time, the gods won the battle against the asuras (the demons). The proud and victorious gods started congratulating each other! They were extremely overjoyed and started to boast about their achievement. “We fought this war all by ourselves…without anyone’s help!” Exclaimed one of the gods.“We are all powerful and invincible” exclaimed another!“Be it demons or anyone else we can defeat whoever crosses our paths!” Shouted another god!Overjoyed and undefeated gods started drinking soma (the ecstatic nectar of heaven).” “They didn’t pause for a moment to think about and thank the real reason behind their victory, which was the Brahman! Experiencing such disrespectful behaviour from the gods, Brahman appeared in front of them! The gods were too drunk and filled with ecstasy and didn’t even recognise or realise Brahman’s existence!They saw a spectre! They cried out - “What kind of apparition is thi
Released:
Sep 30, 2022
Format:
Podcast episode

Titles in the series (29)

Upanishads have a wealth of stories and tales which enrich us with various concepts of "Self-realization", "Brahman" or the "Supreme-Being", "Aatman" or the "Supreme-Self" and many other foundational building blocks of Santana Dharma. These stories are not only engaging but leave us with an ever-lasting resonance of thoughts. Many of these stories are pretty popular such as the Story of Nachiketa and his dialogues with the Lord of Death or the tale of Gargi or Satyakama. However, each time you hear them will provide you with a different aspect. So if you are tired after work, if you are down or if you are stressed out; listen to these stories and enrich yourself to the fullest. I will try my best to bring these stories in the simplest language so that they can be enjoyed and understood. So please subscribe, download or follow the podcast series to ensure that you don't miss out on any of these interesting stories. Untill then... Aum Shantih, Shantih, Shantih!!!