Foolish Dog

A man once approached a Mahapurusha and asked of him, “Oh learned one! Who was your Guru?”

The seer said, “A dog”.

Astonished, the man asked, “A dog? How can that be possible?”

The seer explained, “Once, I was resting under a tree, on the bank of a stream. I noticed a dog, a common, mangy, stray dog standing nearby. It looked both hungry as well as thirsty. As I watched, it went towards the stream, but no sooner did it bend to drink, then it dashed back whining piteously. I understood that it had been scared by its own reflection in the water. It sat afar for a while. But thirst overcame its fear of the ‘other dog’, and it slowly approached the stream at another point and bent to drink. And once again the same story. Whining piteously it retreated.

Here the Mahapurusha said, “The dog is not a very intelligent animal. It has a small skull and therefore, not much between the ears.”

Continuing the story he said, “The dog then dashed to the other side of the stream, no doubt, thinking cleverly that the fearsome ‘other dog’ was on the other bank and so it could safely quench its thirst. But you can guess what happened. Finally, overcome by thirst, it leaped into the water. Drenched, swimming to keep afloat, it nevertheless could have its fill of water.”

“So it is with us humans too. We sit to meditate but when faced with our own reflections we draw back in horror and quit, like the foolish dog.
Remember, you are existence-knowldge-bliss. Revel in the self.”