The Pearl of Wisdom - Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

The Earthen Pot and the Brass Vessel

Guru: Son, it is a very rare wonder for a man to be born wise. The Formless Lord, the Faultless King, the Greatest Creator, the Primordial Compassionate One, the Effulgence that governs the several universes, that Formless Ruler was determined to create man and woman as human. He replaced Darkness with Grace and converted the four purest essences of Duty, Charity, Generosity and Patience into the four elements. His Grace of Light made bliss of Maya (the world of illusory pleasures) and made the incomparable breath (heartbeat) the temple of the King’s Grace.

The person who performs his duties conscientiously, with kindness and pleasure becomes his slave. He forgets the world of joyful illusion and is determined to live accepting God as the One and Only One. With words of grace and with eyes and mouth full of smiling happiness he is advised at length.

“O Son, listen. You are going to leave this world of the devas (spiritual world) and are about to enter the land of trick and illusion, “Maya Jaalam” (the city of magic) in the country of self - destructive possessive people. I am about to place this pure life inside an “impure house.”

Be there. Be cautious and dumb for ten months, according to God’s bidding. Be in protective custody. You will learn the heavenly bliss and the tricks of mesmerism. There will be dirt everywhere. Wherever you look, you will see hell. What can be said of the dark-roomed prison? My son, take care and escape. Thereafter, you will see the town of which I mentioned earlier. Here you will live ten months, learning the novelties of the place. Use the magic of silence in this mesmeric self-destructive city full of many secrets, all of which you must master within this ten month period.

In this pleasurable city of “Mamakaram“ (City of Possessiveness) you will find “Manunessan “ (the non-human) eating with joy the fruit of the “Eddi “ tree ( the tree of poison ) to his heart’s content and having poisoned himself thus, stays in the jungle of the poisoned garden, with the poison tormenting his entire body and weakening him till he is withered with a dried-up tongue which oozes out blue saliva. His shrinking bowels send out a foul odour. This is the world of hell. But my son, all this creation of man is ten and ten, making a total of twenty months. Having been silent, you must continue to be silent, absorbing the inner secret, which continues to remain a secret.

Only then will man in this world become human. In the self-destructive country there will be crores of qualities which defy description and make it impossible for man, the human to live there. You cannot bear it and you cannot see.

There will be those who loiter dangerously with no self-control, from whom you must try to escape cautiously. I shall tell you about some of the ways that man moves about on earth.

I will give you something to be sold for a week at the market-place of dishevelled heads in the self-destructive country. Do not lose the stuff or waste the money realised from the sale. You must market it for a week and sell it yourself and bring the profit to me. If you gain a profit, you will be able to stay in a palace for several weeks. It is very rare to attain this magnificent palace. It is also very rare for a person in the self-destructive country to enter this palace.

But listen. I shall tell you. It is customary for me to give two things to those who visit this country. One is the earthen pot and the other is the brass vessel. At the time of the creation of the Atma ( soul ) these two vessels are shown.

The Atma is asked, “ Which of these do you want ? You are free to accept what you like.”

The Atma (soul) replies, “ O Father, My God, what are the attributes of these two? Please teach me, O Father!” Thus the soul inquires from God.

“ Listen,” He says, “those who choose the earthen pot and go to the country of self-destruction will be without food for the stomach, will be without clothes to wear and will be without water to quench their thirst. They will have no house, no dwelling place and no abode to live. They will get wet in the rain and scorched in the sun. They will wander about in the market place of the self-destructive country, senseless with fatigue and exhaustion. The inhabitants of the City of Mamakaram ( the City of Possessivenss ) in the self-destructive country will dance carrying the symbol of the City of Mamakaram thinking that all that glitters is gold. They do not like those with the earthen pot which they think is not worth a cent. They treat gold like sand, dispel duty and destroy virtue. They will say, “ Your earthen pot will break if you place it down. It will break if it falls down accidently. It will get shattered into pieces and become pulp if a stone strikes it. The person who carries the earthen pot will undergo misery, be abused and go to unnatural places. You will stand with your mouth shut and fold your hands. You will shed copious tears and your heart will weep. You will wonder as this confusion worse confounded. But even at this stage, you must guard your pot very carefully. If you crack it, you will see the seventh house. “”

Disciple: Swami. O guru, what is the meaning of the seventh house? Where is it? Please explain it to me.

Guru: O Son, I have not finished my story. But I shall answer your question. Listen, son. It is said that there are seven hells. It is the seventh hell which is intermingled within us. These seven hells are the seven evil qualities of the desire for land, desire for woman, desire for gold, arrogance, anger, “mine” and “yours.”

They are known as the seven “Abans” These seven hells harm the borrowed house of man. If man can conquer and win victory over these seven evil qualities through his human qualities, he will gain the eight heavens.

I shall tell you a subtle way to overcome the seven hells. There is a big pond . If you want to build a bund for this pond, you must estimate the quantity of water in the pond. You must also estimate the amount of rain water that falls into the pond. These estimates must be done before the bund could be built. Do you understand what I say ?

Disciple: No, Swami. Please explain it to me.

Guru: O son, listen to me. The life of a true man is like a heavy rainfall. The pond is the sharpness of his intellect. The bund is patience and forbearance. The one who has these qualities is the true man who will try to overcome the seven hells of the borrowed house. At this stage all the rains of the world will fall on him and rush towards him, calling out to the believers of the Primal One, “Who do you think you are?” These torrents of water will attack him, hit him, break him and try to destroy the bund. The seven “Abans” (evils) of man are the waves of water which will constantly wage war with the devotees. We must trample the seven“Abans” and trample them with our feet.

The bund of the pond is the virtuous wife of a married man who with her patience and calmness will tolerate the gushing waters of the pond and not permit the waves to rise. Such a woman is a Letchmi of the world ( Goddess of Prosperity ). Her destined husband is the pond. The rain water will attempt to destroy the bund swelling up the miseries of the world. Mindful of these dangers she is like the bund, using her patience and calmness to prevent the waters from rising high. She is the virtuous wife. Married life is said to be great, to voice one opinion. You must realise this.

In the same way, if a man is to become a true man, he must build a bund of patience and calmness. His sharpness of intellect must be equal to the bund. His intellect and his body must be able to overcome the waves of misery and afflictions that will try to overpower him like the rain in the pond. If he so conducts his life he will triumph over the seven “Abans” (evils). He is the real male. Know this son, gem of my eyes.

The duty of the person who chooses the earthen pot is to keep it unbroken and safe for one week. He has to sell it at the market place in the country of self-destruction and bring to me every cent of the sale. Then he can stay with me in this place for several thousands of years. He will have to stay only one week in the country of self-destruction but with me he can spend countless weeks. Be mindful of this.

The special qualities of the earthen pot are poverty, illness, difficulties, sorrow and lack of pleasure. Whoever takes the earthen pot for one week will experience charity, compassion, generosity, virtue, truth, patience, duty, justice, human qualities and the fear of God. He will experience thoughts of death, softness of heart, flood of compassion and the fear of Allahu-ta-aalaa, the Blissful One. His kindness will not deviate from his words even an iota, day in and day out. His heart will be full of kindness and ever-increasing joy. He will find happiness even amidst sorrow. People will praise him and celebrate his glory. He will take his place in “ Manimadam “ ( Palace of Pearls ).

Those who listen to these words intensely and with clarity will become pure of soul and say, “ O God ! When I hear these words I become frightened. When I hear of the country of self-destruction my head trembles. Lord ! I do not want this. Nor do I want this pot. O King ! O God of Compassion ! Gem of My Eye , place Your Compassionate Foot on my head. This alone is sufficient. Give me only that.”

So He places His Holy Foot on the shining head. This is the “Awwal “ (Writing on the Tablet). Those who receive this will exceed in love, experience supreme bliss, overflow with happiness with the Lamp of Light in his heart, which will illuminate everywhere with effulgence. He will glitter as the exalted “Swamiyar “ commanding praise, dignity, respect and compassion. This is the writing of the“Awwal” which each man receives as the destiny written on his head. He who receives the earthen pot will reach Paradise. He will be born as human and live as human with human qualities. Such a person who has received the earthen pot, will very, very rarely witness hell.

There will be many who come to the state of Yoga and some will pronounce words of wisdom. The soul who has chosen the brass vessel is born on the earth and enjoys life to the fullest. He sings, dances, enjoys the company of friends and plays games. Where is stone? Where is God ? He believes that all that glitters is gold and lives the way he desires. He transforms his impatience into wisdom and haste into respectful anger. He wanders where he pleases. He accepts the country of self-destruction as his own and Mamakaram ( City of Possessiveness ) as his own. “ Look here ! The brass is shining. Buy this without any hesitation. It is pure brass. It won’t break. Even if it breaks, it can be mended. It won’t bend. Even if it bends, it can be straightened. Look at it in the sun. See how it blinds your eye. Look at it in the shade and see how beautiful it is ! Is there such beauty anywhere else ? It is not available in the market. You cannot go and come back. It is a pleasure to see it every time. You cannot see its like again. Look ! It is shining. There will be no repetition of this birth. These are our things. Our shop with our things. This is shining brass! Nowhere else have I seen a place like this market of the self-destructive country. This will never be offered again. Come ! Come ! Come with confidence and look. This is the place to feast your eye and to play. It will give you pleasure. “

So saying these entrancing words, he takes away all goodness and truth and makes it appear that impermanent things last forever. He glorifies the shining quality of brass.

“Look at this brass vessel. I shall drop it down. If it bends, I shall straighten it. If it breaks, I shall mend it. It can never be destroyed. It is flawless. It is not easily available. It will bring joy too.”

But the person with wisdom and knowledge and the person with the six levels of wisdom are not captivated by these words. The secret of the market place in the country of self-destruction is known to the self-realised man. Thus with song, dance and joyous words, the pure life called the soul is shown the two types of circumstances, that surround the two vessels in the country of self-destruction.

All those who choose the brass vessel will perform ten times more the many actions mentioned above. Those who chose to enjoy for a week the worldly pleasures of money, property, possession, freedom, wife, child, calf, cow, house, high-storeys, studies, employment, respect, illusion and esteem will at the end of it find they are afflicted by deep sorrow and ruinous hell. There will be none even to inquire after them. The beautiful appearance of the shinning brass vessel will lead them to this fate.

But son, it is very rare to be able to reach “Manimadam” (Palace of Pearls). It is also very rare to receive the exalted foot of the King ! The rare human who achieves this state is called “Swamiyar “. It is the “ Swamiyar “ who gains knowledge as pure effulgence and wants only to keep his head beneath His Glorious Foot saying, “ You are The One I want, “ who is ordained to be a “Swamiyar “ according to the fate written on his head. To find such a person, my son, is a great rarity. Do you see, my son, the secret characteristics of the four types of swamis? Among these swamis, you must search for the swami, whose words are the great words of joyous grace. Know this my disciples, gems of my eyes.