A story about a wolf who went to the stream to drink the water, and this little lamb also came to the stream to drink some water. So the wolf said;“ Hey you dirty little lamb! What are you doing?! How dare you stick your filthy snout in my drinking water!” (laughter).
“No…..no Mr Wolf! I’m drinking from down stream from you so the water that I’m drinking is not at all contaminating your water.”
“Now listen. First of all you stick your filthy snout in my water and the next thing you give me lip as well…and you did the same thing last year!”
“ No Mr wolf. I wasn’t born last year”
“Now that’s enough - for this nonsense I will eat you!”
So, we see how envy includes the fact that we don’t let someone exist. You can be here in the temple – but you cannot exist: You cannot be your self: You have to be an exact copy of me… but in a more humble version (laughter). And in this way you have to behave exactly according to my world, because I am senior and I won’t let you exist. So a lot of people in relationships do not let others exist. They impose so much upon them with their ideas. As a result they oppress others, but in the vedic culture there is the concept of prajās – that one which has taken birth has the right to exist!
Just like we have a field with grains – and the birds they come to eat. And of course some farmers stand there with their guns……..mimicking “ You birds you come close to my grains. You better watch out right!”
So the birds they fly away at a distance …….and make fun of the farmer, and they will get their grains anyway. But the birds have a right to grains. The birds can take grains. It maybe that the farmer can make some arrangements to chase them away a little bit. He can put one of those scarecrows. You know with the scarecrows it’s already clear that the crows already sits on one of those (laughter). So it’s not very impressive. But it’s a comfortable sort of landing from where you can survey the grains (laughter) “Which one shall I have first?”So we don’t have a right to kill the birds or chase away the birds. The birds have the right to exist. Devotees also have the right to exist, that’s even more difficult than birds right? Other devotees in the temple they have the right to exist.
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Melbourne, October 2010)
