ENTERING THE WORLD OF FRAGRANCE

ENTERING THE WORLD OF FRAGRANCE

 

Baba said, "You do away, destroy the Teli's wall (sense of difference) between us, so that we can see and meet each other face to face". Sri Sai Satcharitra, Ch. 35.

 

There was a very close friendship between a bumble bee and a worm. Once Bee said to Worm, ''Why do you live in muck and faeces? Come to my garden. There are roses and jasmines. You'll be thrilled by their fragrance.'' Worm gave it serious thought, ''I'll go and visit his garden, but what if there's nothing to eat there? I may starve to death.'' As a precaution he rolled up two small balls of dirt and faeces and plugged them into his nostrills. Bumble Bee, unaware of this, asked him to climb onto his back. Off they flew. In the garden the air was sweet with fragrance. The bee placed the worm on top of a rose and asked, ''Well, what do you think of the fragrance?''

 

''Nothing special. I still smell the same old odour,'' the worm retorted, not impressed at all.

Bee was confused, ''Why does my friend fail to enjoy the fragrance?'' he asked himself. Then he took a closer look at the worm and found two tiny balls of faces fitted up his nostrils.

He made a plan for removing them. Taking the worm to a pool of water, he offered him the chance to swim. They both dived into the water. Bee then climbed upon the worm's back and pushed his head under water. Water rushed into the worm's nose and mouth and made him burst out with violent sneezing. This procedure forced out the mess that was blocking Worm's nose. Quickly picking up the worm the bee returned to the rose, ''Ah... Ah... what ascent! It's fabulous... The scent of rose is wonderful.''

The worm praised the flowers no end. ''The fragrance was always here, but it was you who chose not to enjoy it. You had stuffed your nose with muck and excreta.'' Bee scolded his friend and then took him to savour the scents of other flowers in the garden.


This is what happens when people come to sit in the spiritual assemblies or come to serve the Enlightened Sadhu for wisdom. They come to the divine atmosphere fragrant with the goodness of God, but have secretly filled their hearts with filth and desires of the world. Therefore, even while sitting in spiritual discourses, they smell the odour of the world. It is when the Enlightened Sadhu splashes him in the ocean of wisdom and cleanses him of this world's mess that he enjoys the happiness of God.