Once, a noble person was proceeding from one village to
another. He was followed by an ungodly man, who went on
criticizing and abusing the noble person all the way. But the
noble man was unaffected by the abusive attacks on him. He
never paid any heed to them, nor did he show any anger or
worry.
As they approached the village, the villagers came in
large numbers to welcome the noble man. This was noticed by
the other man also. The noble soul spoke to one of the villagers,
“Before attending to my needs, please serve this person
with some butter milk and food, since he is very much tired
from continuously abusing me all along the way.”
The critic then realized the greatness of the person whom
he had abused all along. He thought to himself, “He is unaffected
by abuse and is indifferent to praise or blame. He must
be very noble and worthy of veneration.”
He fell at the feet of
the noble soul and said, “Swami, even though I abused you so
much, you did not show any anger.”
The saintly man replied, “You simpleton, you do not realise
that the same spirit resides in you and me. What are you
condemning, the body or the self? If you are condemning the
self, you are condemning yourself, because the same self is
present in you and me. If you are abusing my body, I am, myself,
every moment condemning this body of mine, which is
made up of the five elements and is full of foul smelling dirt
and fecal matter. I decrying my own body because I am myself disgusted with it. So, if you are abusing my body, you are only
helping me.”
The nature of Brahman - Thinking that you are only a body is delusion (Bhramatathwa)
since you see multiplicity in unity. On the other hand,
when you see unity in multiplicity, you attain self realization
(Brahmatathwa). So, the perception of unity as diversity is
Bhramatathwa, while discerning unity in all things is Brahmatathwa
(perception of the divine).
(From the Divine Discourses of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)
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