One day the king hunted all night. When he returned the next morning, his guru was waiting for him. But the king decided: “First I will rest a little.” After some time he woke up and said:
— Guruji, I have a question. I slept a little and had a dream in which I was a beggar. One day I went to a village to beg and saw many other beggars. But they were all going in the opposite direction. I went to the village, they came from it. One of the beggars said to me: “Where are you going? Come with us. Today is the king’s birthday, he will distribute clothes, a lot of food and money.” I went with them. I ate, got new clothes and decided today to wash, dress in new clothes and eat like a king. While I was washing, the dog stole my food. I grabbed a stick and chased the dog. Having taken the food from her, I woke up. At that moment I was a beggar who came to the king to beg on my own birthday! Guruji, what is the truth? Who was I at that moment: a king or a beggar?
The Guru replied:
- Both are dreams. Currently we are also talking in a dream. The whole world is sleeping. The dream means begging. Everyone is asking for something of their own. Kings also beg. Everyone begs.
While everyone is sleeping, you need to wake up. He who remains in his Self, thinks in his Self, speaks from his Self—he alone is truly awakened. If you forget about this, if “I am not I, I need something else,” then this is a dream, and you are chasing the dog to take food from it.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru