Fallen of ’I’

Two sages were travelling along the hazardous paths of a thick forest. Their relationship was that of father and son. The son was in front and the father behind. The path was lonely and frightening. Suddenly they heard the roar of a lion. The father said to the son, ”Come behind me: there is danger ahead.” The son laughed and continued to walk in the lead. Again his father warned him. Suddenly, the lion was facing them. Death was imminent. The son said, ”Since I am not the body, where is the danger? Isn’t this what you always preach?” The father ran away, shouting, ”Mad boy, keep away from the lion.” But the son continued to walk ahead, laughing.

Already, the lion had pounced upon him. Already, he had fallen, but he saw clearly that that which had fallen was not ’I’. He was not the body, and so he could not die. Now he understood what his father used to say. And the difference is immense. His father was sad, the tears welling up in his eyes. But the son had remained a witness, in life as in death. He had no misery, no pain.

He remained unmoved, and unattached because whatever was happening to his body was happening outside. He himself was not involved in any way