Theos-Talk Archives (April 2003 Message tt00087)

Friday, April 18, 2003

Dear Friend:

Looking back in memory to the myths and stories of early years I seem
to recall another version of this : The story of the three (3) GUNAS
or attributes that I had heard ran as follows:

During the realm of the just King Vikramaditya who ruled in ancient
Ujjain, famed for his justice and wisdom, as he was one of the
Rajrishees, a certain one of his subjects found himself in a
paradoxical situation which could only be solved by the superior
wisdom of the King. The question was one that involved action (Rajas).
Was the answer: to remain unchanged, bound in status quo --
immobility (Tamas); or was it to seek for a superior Law (Satva)
that would guide action (Rajas), through its all-compensating
righteousness.

Those associated with him and the claim agreed, when he asked to be
accompanied by the claimant, the Local Court vakeel, and the Judge who
had not been able to find a solution. These four then went together
to Ujjain, to place their problem before King Vikramaditya at his next
Durbar.

When they arrived at the Durbar Hall, they were witness to a most
peculiar scene.

A dove chased by a hawk fluttered to the King and begged for
sanctuary. The King opening his robe allowed the dove to take refuge
on the royal breast. The hawk, frustrated, landed in front of the
King and claimed justice.

Vikramaditya asked the hawk to state his case. Said the hawk: "You,
by giving refuge to my just prey cause my children to starve and die a
terrible death. You are breaking the law of Nature that allows me
this prey to feed my starving children."

The King instantly called for his sword.

When this was placed in his hand, he turned and said to the hawk "You
are right. And, since I am the one who chooses to give protection to
the weak, and the defenseless, I must pay equal tribute to the strong
who have a just claim."

"Permit me to offer you an equivalent weight of my own body to take to
your young, who have no right to die because of my charity. Choose."

The Hawk said: "I choose your heart."

The King as he bared his chest and prepared, to the horror of all
present, to plunge his sword into it allowed a single tear to fall
from his right eye. "Stop," cried the hawk. "I will accept no
unwilling sacrifice." Calmly the King then said: "The right side of
my body weeps, that it is not permitted to also participate in the
sacrifice of the left side." . As his arm and sword descended, both
the Hawk and the Dove cried: "Stay."

They assumed the Divine Forms of Indra and Indrani -- King of
Justice, and his royal Queen of the Heavens. They declared that in
Heaven the Gods, admiring King Vikramaditya's justice on Earth, had
decided to test it, as he was eligible to enter Heaven.


They declared that the test had been met, and all were satisfied, and
the King was freed of his bond, because of his ready and fearless
obedience to the GREAT LAW KARMA, and to the protection of the least
of his subjects.

The visiting party of 4, seeing this, knelt in front of the King, and
on being asked to rise and state their reason for visiting him, said
that the scene they had witnessed solved their problem. The King
gazed on them with his insight.

"Yea," said Vikramaditya, "It is always so: Wisdom in just action is
also merciful, it allows Tamas to learn and grow and change. Be ye
reconciled. Let the divine will guide you ever."

=========

DTB


-----Original Message-----
From: nisk
Sent:	Thursday, April 17, 2003 5:55 AM
To:
Subject:	Re: On Separation -- Or is there only UNITY of the GUNAS ?

dalval14@earthlink.net writes:

> In the BHAGAVAD GITA Krishna speaks in several places of the "gunas"
> [-- the 3 great qualities of nature -- our Universe and
ourselves --]
> They are 1. SATTVA ( Spirit), 2. TAMAS (Matter), and, 3.
RAJAS
> (Activity, characterized by desire and will, the latter being the
> potency of Law universal. Any two "Gunas" in combination, is
balanced
> by the contrast of the third. Krishna says they are Purity and
> Universality (SATTVA), Forms and Selfish limitations (TAMAS) and
Mind,
> discrimination and ignorance (RAJAS). As an example, in our own
> psychological nature we can see ( because of the impartiality of
the
> universal Spiritual Consciousness), that "Mind" is dual, depending
on
> which of the counterbalancing two (SATTVA and TAMAS) it is
confronted
> by.[Chapters XIV and XVII]
>
============================================
I heard an interesting simile given by a Yogin.

His story was of 3 bandits.

In a certain town a man was interested in traveling to another town
some
miles away but to get there he must travel through a forest known to
be
inhabited by bandits.
The man went anyway because of pressing business.
On his way there, sure enough, he was set upon by the three bandits.
Now , the first bandit (Tamas)spoke up and said "Bind him to that tree
and
kill him and let's be on our way with his wallet".
The second bandit(Rajas) tied him to the tree and just took his wallet
but
left the job to the third bandit.
The third bandit (Sattva) Looked at the man in pity and after the
other two
had wondered off untied the man and told him to go back home and
never
venture there again.
An apt description of the Gunas. IMHO

CUT