Disciple: Respected Guru, How do our senses perceive and comprehend the world? What forces orchestrate the breath of life in us? What makes the eyes see and the ears hear?
Guru: You have asked an important question! The senses and breath are just instruments. It’s the Divine Energy, called the Self, that operates everything. This is the only immortal part of us.
Disciple: Respected Guru, can you explain Divine Energy to me?
Guru, with a smile: Nobody can describe Divine Energy!
Disciple, a tad bit irritated, but his voice tinged in reverence: Respected Guru, isn’t this a paradox in our spiritual path? Nobody can describe Divine Energy, but we must understand it to attain liberation. Am I missing something here?
Guru, still smiling: You don’t attain liberation by “understanding” Divine Energy, dear son. You get there by “realizing” Divine Energy. Understanding is intellectual, but realizing is experiential. Let me narrate a tale to you.
The story of Indra and Divine Energy follows as narrated by the Guru.
Once upon a time, a great war erupted between the Devas and Asuras, two different homo species. The former was a sophisticated species, while the latter was more unrefined in their methods of living, earning them the reputation of the wicked.
The Devas believed in law and order, but the Asuras were always driven by greed. They wanted everything they saw and attempted to grab it by force, which often caused such battles.
In this particular battle, the Asuras initially had the upper hand. However, a divine person ensured the Devas were triumphant. Sadly, though, the Devas, intoxicated by their victory, took the divine person for granted and did not even express a word of gratitude to them.
Further demonstrating their ego, the Devas arranged a victory parade. As they walked with puffed-up chests, a luminous soul appeared before them. They were shocked to see the radiance of this person, which confused them.
“We don’t know who that is, but if we can’t understand something, that’s a threat. So, we must fight and win them,” the Devas decided.
Consequently, they sent some of their most influential leaders to confront that luminous soul. Strangely, nobody could battle that person because their presence made the Devas weak in their knees.
“Who are you?” A Deva asked, rather arrogantly. “You must have heard of me. I am Agni, the most powerful Deva.”
“Your name sounds familiar,” the luminous person said. “But tell me, what exactly can you do?”
“I can reduce everything that comes my way to ashes,” replied Agni.
The luminous person picked up a piece of straw and placed it before Agni. “Please burn this,” they said, looking rather amused.
“I have the power to burn an entire forest! You want me to burn this straw,” Agni said, shaking his head in disbelief.
With all his might, possessed by ego and overconfidence, Agni flung a weapon at the straw. Yet, the straw remained untouched. Perplexed, Agni used some of his most potent weapons, but nothing worked.
Seeing Agni struggle, another Deva named Vayu stepped forward to help. Nonetheless, the straw proved to be a challenge to him as well. The same happened to the King of Devas, Indra. He, too, was defeated by a humble piece of straw.
The luminous person laughed at the Devas and left as quietly as they arrived. The Devas, whose egos had been crushed, were distraught. Disgraced by his failure, Indra’s mind raced with questions, “Who is this luminous person? Why did they treat me thus?”
Unable to find a solution, Indra meditated upon the Divine Mother. Much to his delight, Mother Parvati, the living form of Divine Energy, appeared before him. She seemed like a splendorous image made of molten gold, and her very presence kindled a sense of bliss in him.
Mother Parvati left without saying a word, but Indra realized his mistake. “I am sorry,” he muttered, hoping Nature would take his apology to the unknown luminous soul.
Disciple: Respected Guru, I did not understand. How does this story help me?
Guru: Divine Energy resides in everyone, not just in Mother Parvati. By her presence, the Mother Goddess demonstrated how the presence of Divine Energy felt. Indra realized it was the same presence he felt with the luminous person he had underestimated.
Disciple: Respected Guru, if Divine Energy shined through both of them, why did Indra feel anger in the presence of the luminous person but joy when the Mother Goddess appeared?
Guru: Divine Energy that shines through anyone is but a mirror, it merely reflects your sentiments. Indra had tried to understand and conquer that person using his intellect. Even worse, in his bloated ego, he had challenged someone through whom Divine Energy shone. So, he felt angry and sad.
Guru (continued): However, he invoked Mother Parvati when his ego had been removed. He felt happy to see her. Yet again, the Divine Energy that shone through her acted as a mirror. So, he felt blissful.
Disciple bowed in reverence:
Respected Guru, thank you for enlightening me. I made the same mistake as Indra. I must stop analyzing and trying to conquer Divine Energy. Instead, I must feel love and faith for Divine Energy, which resides in all. You, my Guru, represent Divine Energy, so I surrender my mind to you. Please remove my ego so I feel eternally closer to Divine Energy.
My retelling of a tale from the Kena Upanishad.
Love,
Sri Devi Om
Image: As per my friend-mentor Om Swami’s research, the Devas belonged to the Homo Neanderthalensis species. The picture is my imagination, through AI, of that homo species dressed as the king of their times.
