॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
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The kurara bird
Once a kurara bird (a sea hawk) was flying gleefully holding in his beak a piece of meat he had found. At once, many big hawks descended on him, ready to kill him for that morsel of food. The crow, unable to face their onslaught, dropped the piece. At once they all left him and flew after that piece. This shows how acquiring possessions in the hope of enjoyment brings more threats and dangers. Hence possessiveness is not worth it at all!
The child
Have you seen how carefree a child is? He doesn't overthink "I and mine". That's what makes him carefree. The Avadhuta says that he has learnt this lesson and hence he has no family or possessions to care about and hence wanders आत्मक्रीड आत्मरतिर्विचरामीह बालवत् sporting in the self, loving the self, moving about like a child.
The young girl
Once, a family came seeking a bride, and this young girl who was of interest to them was all alone at home. She respectfully received them and went inside to pound the corn to prepare a meal for them. As she wielded the pestle, the shellac bangles on her hands made a steady and disturbing sound. Careful not to make such a noise, she started breaking the bangles, and the noise stopped only when she had only one bangle on each hand. The Avadhuta observed this and realised that what we call good company is all noise, and being alone is the best condition.
The arrow maker
There was once an expert arrow maker. He was so buried in his work and bent on perfection that when the king came to his workshop, the arrow maker did not even notice his presence!
मन एकत्र संयुञ्ज्याज्जितश्वासो जितासन: । वैराग्याभ्यासयोगेन ध्रियमाणमतन्द्रित: ॥
T: The lesson here is that the mind should be one-pointed, with both the breath and posture balanced to perfection. This will create a detached intensity and perfection, which accomplishes the goal without sweat.
What is liberation? By degrees, one attains the detachment that exhausts the Karma bondage. Sattva overcomes Rajas and Tamas, and finally, even Sattva vanishes, to create a state of Nirvana, somewhat like a fire that dies down when there is no fuel.
The snake
The snake finds any suitable hole to dwell in. He does not build his own nest or hole or home. A wandering monk is just like him.
एको नारायणो देव: पूर्वसृष्टं स्वमायया । संहृत्य कालकलया कल्पान्त इदमीश्वर: ।
एक एवाद्वितीयोऽभूदात्माधारोऽखिलाश्रय: ॥
कालेनात्मानुभावेन साम्यं नीतासु शक्तिषु । सत्त्वादिष्वादिपुरुष: प्रधानपुरुषेश्वर: ॥
परावराणां परम आस्ते कैवल्यसंज्ञित: । केवलानुभवानन्दसन्दोहो निरुपाधिक: ॥
T: The Lord of the universe, Narayana, is the worshipable God of all living entities. Without extraneous assistance, the Lord creates this universe by His own Shakti, and at the time of annihilation the Lord destroys the universe through His personal expansion as Kaala and withdraws all of the cosmos, including all the conditioned living entities, within Himself. Thus, His unlimited Self is the shelter and reservoir of all Shaktis. The subtle PRADHANA, the basis of all cosmic manifestation, is conserved within the Lord and is in this way not different from Him. After dissolution, the Lord remains alone.
During the manifestation of this universe, He remains the supreme controller of equilibrium, PRADHANA, as well as the living entities. He is worshipped by the liberated ones, gods and even bound souls in various ways. Being eternally free from any material attributes, the Lord is identical to the totality of ANANDA, which one experiences by seeing the Lord’s spiritual form. The Lord thus exhibits the fullest meaning of the word “liberation.”
All creation in its Sattva Rajas and Tamas composition is threaded by Mahattattva that the Lord creates through his Maya Shakti. That is what makes the world run. It is a bit like how the spider spins his web from his salivary extrusion; at the end of the day, he can swallow all of it back.
Meditation is powerful. If anyone totally focuses on one thing or person and meditates intensely and single-mindedly, he surely attains his goal. This is the power enshrined in the human mind! The Lord created so many species but finally made man with this capacity through His great compassion. This is what enables one to liberate oneself by seeking.
The Avadhuta explains how he made his own body his Guru. The body creates experiences and attachments. One's life is full of these "I and mine" thoughts, endeavours and experiences of joys and sorrows. The Avadhuta succinctly describes the troubles a man faces with many wives and much sexual craving. Finally, before a tree falls, the tree leaves behind a seed to create another tree. In the same way, one body while perishing leaves behind Karma to create another body for a continued experience of one's Karma!
The Avadhuta concludes that he has learnt from all these Gurus and has realised his Self.
एवं सञ्जातवैराग्यो विज्ञानालोक आत्मनि । विचरामि महीमेतां मुक्तसङ्गोऽनहङ्कृत: ॥
न ह्येकस्माद् गुरोर्ज्ञानं सुस्थिरं स्यात् सुपुष्कलम् । ब्रह्मैतदद्वितीयं वै गीयते बहुधर्षिभि: ॥
T: Having learned from my spiritual masters, I remain situated in the realization of Paramatma/Bhagavan, and, fully renounced, wander the earth without attachment or false ego. Although the Absolute Truth is one without a second, the sages have described Him in many different ways. Therefore one may not be able to acquire very firm or complete knowledge from one spiritual master. That is why internalisation requires self-effort.
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Sri Krishna concluded this story he was narrating to Uddhava and stated that after King Yadu expressed his gratitude and respect, the Avadhuta walked away serenely.
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