One day, Adi Shankaracharya was walking through the village with his disciples when they saw a man dragging a cow by a rope. Adi Shankaracharya told the man to wait and asked his disciples to surround them. He intended to teach them something, and that’s when he asked, ‘Tell me who is bound to whom? Is the cow bound to this man or the man is bound to the cow?’
Thereby, the disciples said without hesitation – of course, the cow is bound to the man since the man is the master. He is holding the rope. So, the cow has to follow him wherever he goes. The man is the master, and the cow is the slave.
On this, Shankaracharya took a sharp weapon from his back and cut the rope. As a result, the cow ran away from the master, and the man ran after his cow. Shankaracharya pointed out the man who helplessly ran behind the cow and the innocent animal with no interest in the man. Instead, the animal tried to escape from this man.
So, the prime message here is that the same incident happens with our minds, like the cow. All the nonsense we carry inside our minds, like anger, jealousy, hate, fear, etc., is not interested in us. Instead, we are interested in it. We keep it together for years, not wanting to pour the toxic emotions and free our minds. We do not want to release the grip but further want to entangle us in those emotions.
All these gaps build has filled our thoughts. If we understand its uselessness, it will disappear like that cow, escape, disappear, and run to safety. Feeling free and relaxed is a choice. Why not take that choice and enjoy the beautiful life given to us in all her blossoms? Remember, an empty mind is a bliss.
Feature Image Credit: Pinterest.