Stories Part 2
April 26, 2025
Stories Part 2
Stories have different purposes. Some inspire, some scare us, some instruct us, some heal us, and some intrigue us. Stories are as numerous as the purposes of each life on earth.
I heard an old story in India from my friend and teacher Daaji, the spiritual leader of the Heartfulness movement in Hyderabad, India. The story is:
A man was desperate to rescue his betrothed who was imprisoned in a high tower across a raging river. In the dead of night, the man went to the river’s edge. He looked for ways to cross the river, but it was full of crocodiles, so he could not swim to the other side. He spied a large log at the river’s edge and climbed upon it. Lying on the log, he paddled to the other side of the river. When he arrived, he went to the nearby tower and saw a rope hanging down from his betrothed’s balcony. Though it was very dark, he hoisted himself up the rope onto the balcony, where he met his love.
As dawn broke, the lady asked her love, “How did you get up this high tower’s wall?” And he replied, “You left a rope hanging for me.” Then she said, “No, I didn’t leave a rope for you.” So, they went over to the “rope” and saw it was not a rope but a mammoth snake clinging to the wall. They were astonished. “How did you cross the river?” she asked. And he said, “I got on a huge log and paddled my way across. Together, they looked from the tower down at the river’s edge and saw the ‘log’ on which he paddled across the river. However, what they saw was not a log but a corpse floating in the water.
Daaji comments that this story is about how our perceptions are altered according to our state of mind and emotions.
Yes, an unhealthy ego state can trick us into seeing and sensing what we want to see and feel. This can happen not only when we perceive things positively, but when we see things negatively. According to our ego type, and whether or not it has a distorted view of reality, we may perceive circumstances as harmful even though they are not, and we may see things as benign when they are not. We may forget this vital truth, but the story reminds us.
Self-inquiry: Why would our ego ever make things look worse than they are?
Dear God,
For stories that help me remember, I give thanks. Amen
