Where Does Wisdom Dwell

From Zen Ramblings

The king said:
'Venerable Nagasena, where does wisdom dwell?
''Nowhere, O king.
''Then, Sir, there is no such thing as wisdom.
''Where does the wind dwell, O king?
''Not anywhere, Sir.
''So there is no such thing as wind.
''Well answered, Nagasena!'

I would have preferred "every where" to "no where", but we all get the message either way. For a few minutes, I was not sure if I wanted to post this Zen Rambling or not, as it conveys a trite message - we all know this! However, I went ahead and posted it, as I believe that most of us have not yet internalized the concept that the God is every where!

For example, many of us prefer not to sleep with our feet towards a God's picture or a statue, out of respect. On placing a statue or a photo of the God, we invocate God into that object, and we revere it as if the Supreme is present in it. I believe that it is a good practice. But, when we turn our feet the other way, are we implying that the omni-present God is not present in that direction?

To further illustrate this, here is an analogy that I can think of (as I am tying this). Let us say that we have a problem which can be solved by formulating three simultaneous equations with three unknowns. I can think of three kinds of people with reference to this problem.

Type I - those who cannot solve it as they are clueless;

Type II - those who know enough algebra to assume that the unknowns are x,y, and z, set up equations, and solve them;

Type III - those who do not have to set up equations to solve the problem. These type IIIs will have so much practice that they don't even need a pen and a paper. The answer just pops up in their heads.

I think those of us who try not to keep our feet towards God's statues and photos are Type IIs! It definitely is a good thing as we are moving in the right direction. I think characters like Sabari and Kannappa are Type IIIs.

When Sabari offered fruits to Lord Rama, she didn't bother about proper etiquette for dealing with the Kings or Incarnations! She was blessed with this unconditional, pure, and abundant love for God. So, whatever she did, Lord Rama was wise enough (of course) to understand her spirit.

I think we all should adhere to our Type II behavior, and humbly strive (meditate and beg God for wisdom) for becoming a Type III.

We live in a world where more and more of our responses to events are becoming programmed involuntary reactions (అసంకల్పిత ప్రతీకార చర్యలు! - this is one of the phrases that I loved in my Telugu Medium education through Intermediate) - like saying "how are you doing" when we accost strangers and "you must be kidding!" when someone reveals their age (whether we mean it or not). While it is good socially, I think this kind of artificiality when taken to excess, adversely affects spiritual progress. With this, I end my ramblings for the day and the week! My apologies for errors due my typing in haste:-)