Sunday. I went to the centre to attend the lecture of Swamiji who came from Providence. After the speech was over, Swamiji asked the audience if they have any questions. At first, no hands were seen to be raised.
Swamiji: "So no question? very good! That means everything has been well-answered!"
devotees: ( laugh)
Then few hands raised; and so spiritual squeezing, like wine from the grape juice, went on half an hour.
Some audience asked, "Swamji, how to understand that my practice of meditation is going on the right path; is there any stage or landmark of progress which will give the meditator self-confidence and satisfaction? Swamiji replied, "it is one of the frequently asked questions." He narrated a story: There was a gardener nearby a forest which was full of monkeys. The gardener used to give a treat with rejected produce from his garden to the monkeys. One day he summoned their leader and said, "Listen I am going to my village for one month; Please water to the plants of my garden regularly so that they don't die." The leader agreed to obey. But coming back after one month, the gardener saw all the plants died. He became furious. He asked annoyedly to the monkey-leader, "Why didn't you pour water to the plants?
The leader replied emphatically, "I did it every day as you told me. But I did something more,
"What is that 'more'?
Monkey: "Every day I uprooted each plant to examine whether its root consuming water properly!"
Devotees:(laugh)
Then Swamiji adviced calmly, "just concentrate on meditation only; if you try to seek the progress like the monkey, you will be looser."
Another devotee complained about some book, "Swamiji, It is copied and not....."
Interrupting him Swamiji commented," in this digital age nothing is original; To claim Original itself is a mistake."
