Nithyananda, Sweet Stories & Perspective

A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral. ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

How much is reality? How much our perspective?

Three small sweet stories told by Nithyananda on his blog - Nithyananda Newsletter

("We all are ready to categorize and label all that we see in our lives. In the event, we simply rob life of its spontaneity. We categorize people, places, situations, everything that comes our way.")

A man once went to a movie theatre to watch a film.
The film started with the caption(logo) of a famous International Studio, which had produced that film.
The man said to himself, “Oh! I’ve seen this movie before!” and got up and walked away.


One man went to Switzerland for a holiday and returned after a month.
He met his friend one evening and decided to go out for a meal.
The friend asked him, “So did you enjoy the beautiful scenery in Switzerland?”
The man replied, “Yes, kind of. But the mountains kept coming in the way.”


("Anything that you see becomes merely a supportive argument to your already formed conclusions.")

One man was telling his friend, “Do you know, I really made a fool of myself.”
The friend asked, “Why, what happened?”
The man said, “I replaced ten cracked windows in my house and then discovered that I had a crack in my glasses!”

How nice it is to look at things with a fresh perspective. Every moment has it's own unique flavor whether we recognize it or not. I've just eaten a handful of beautiful rich red cherries. All delicious yet none of them the exact same taste - the mixture of sweet & sour shifts bite to bite changing in complexity. Each moment an intersection of who we are mixed with all the elements seen and unseen - simply infinite.

On Home & Possesions

A wonderful quote from On Possessions in the book Simple Truths: Clear & Gentle Guidance on the Big Issues in Life by Kent Nerburn that I am currently reading (and recommend).

"We wake up one day and find ourselves surrounded by possessions that mean nothing to us. Our freedom gone; our lightness of being is gone. In their place is a sense of responsibility and ownership. We have become curators of our own cluttered reality."

Wicked good line - curator of our own cluttered reality. It struck "home" for me as I have yet to master the art of decluttering. While have possessions that I love and use, there are those that are strewn about in piles (papers to file), and tucked in drawers and closets "in case". In what case, I would actually need a particular broken item I don't know.

I am, continually, hopeful that I am letting go of more unused and unneeded items  than I am carting home. Wouldn't it be amazing to only be surrounded by beloved items all in their own sacred places? Guess I could just love everything that's here. Huh, could be easier than another trip to Goodwill after all.

And, now, as Swami Nithyananda(Swamiji) would say A small story - a true one he told us at a retreat this year:

There was a man who was very rich and seeking enlightenment. He decided to give away all his possessions, become a monk, and live at one of the monasteries Swamji was staying at when he was younger. This man would get up every morning and go sit on the same piece of earth. He would become very disturbed if anyone else tried to sit there.

So letting go of physical possessions is neither a requirement or the way to enlightenment. The man was still attached to what he believed he owned - A spot.

May your love your surroundings and hold your home as sacred