THE VOICE WITHIN

Human ability in its myriad manifestations may appear magical, but Sacinandana Swami tells the story of a wise native American who figured out the mystery.

Once, the native American and his friend were walking through Times Square in midtown New York during lunch hour. The streets were filled with people. Cars were honking their horns, taxicabs were squealing around corners, sirens were wailing, and the sounds of the metropolis were almost deafening. Suddenly, the native American said, “I hear a cricket.”

His friend was flabbergasted, “What? You must be crazy. You couldn’t possibly hear a cricket in all this noise!”

“No, I’m sure of it,” the native American said, “I hear a cricket.”

“That’s weird,” his friend insisted.

The native American listened carefully for a moment and then walked across the street to a big cement planter filled with shrubs. He looked under the branches and, sure enough, he found a small cricket. His friend was utterly amazed.

“That’s incredible,” he exclaimed, “You must have superhuman ears!”

“No,” the native American said. “My ears are no different from yours. It all depends on what you’re listening for.”

“But that can’t be!” said the friend, “I could never hear a cricket in this noise.”

“Yes, that’s true,” came the reply, “It depends on what is really important to you. Here, let me show you.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out a few coins, and discreetly dropped them on the sidewalk.

Then, with the noise of the crowded street still blaring in their ears, the two men noticed every head within twenty feet turn and look to see if the money that had tinkled on the pavement was theirs.

“See what I mean?” concluded the native American, “It all depends on what’s important to you.”

Swamy explains that what a person finds important also determines how well he or she has learnt. He illustrates this with another story of a sage testing two disciples at the end of their training.

Giving the two disciples equal sums of money, the sage said: “Take this money and use it to fill up your rooms with whatever you are able to purchase. In five days time I shall be back to inspect your work.”

On his return, the sage visited the room of the first disciple and saw it choc-full of all kinds of cheap knick-knacks. This disciple thought he had to, somehow or other, fill up his room, so he had been buying used things in seedy markets.

The sage found the second disciple waiting eagerly to welcome him. Returning most of the money his master had given, he said he had filled up his room ‘not once but twice’ with the little he had spent. It turned out had bought a lamp and incense sticks, and then lighted both in the middle of the room.

The delighted sage said, “You have understood truly. Life is very much like an empty room. It should be filled with the light of knowledge and the fragrance of service, not with the discarded filthy things of this world.”

— the harbinger

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