Vedantic Tales : The Wayfarer

Thou, the wayfarer answered.

I am a sinner, Buckshee said miserably. And suddenly that fact stabbed his heart for the first time, and he began to weep. It was as though someone had snatched away the bold and gaudy dress of a master bandit, revealing only a tawdry. and cringing thief. I am nothing, he said. I kill people because I am worse than they. I am worse than the fools and the hypocrites. That is why I kill them. I have killed fifty two people. Fifty two! And you were to be the fifty third. am lower than the low. And yet you say I am the Self! Bosh!

All are the Self, the wayfarer said, the slayer and the slain, the wicked and the good. But he who kills for the sake of his pride or for the sake of his own life, will never attain to the Knowledge of that Self. Only he who worships the Self in all attains to the Self. Truly, none are wicked and none are good; there are only those who close their eyes to the Self, and those who, closing their eyes to all else, open them to the Self.

Please tell me more of this Self, sir, Buckshee said.

Indeed, it is for that alone, the wayfarer answered, that I arrested your arm in mid air. Come, I will tell you.

He led the way to Banshee's ambush under the banyan as though he had known all along of its existence. And there the two men, sitting cross legged, faced each other, and the wayfarer spoke to Buckshee, giving him his first instruction in spiritual life.

To begin with, he said, you must follow the path of righteousness, for only thus can your evil deeds be washed away and your heart and mind be made pure and able to receive the Knowledge of the Self. After you have lived as I shall tell you and have cleansed your heart and mind, only then will you be ready for initiation. At that time I will send for you. Now listen closely, and I will tell you the way of life that is the preparation for the Knowledge of the Self.

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