A lesson learnt from a Guru.
How do we express our humility? Are we ashamed to be humble, modest and meek? The word humiliation is used often and when one examines the meaning it appears that it has been a blow to our pride. We are mortified, we suffer ignominy and shame.
I wish to share with you a story about Swami Niranjananda. He was the chief guest at a Yoga Conference. We all went to hear him speak. He is a brilliant speaker and we were very restless. The organizer of the conference and other speakers went on and on. They disregarded the time. The audience was restive. They clapped but the speakers and the chairman droned on and on.
Finally, it ended. There were only five minutes left, when it was Swami Niranjana’s turn. Swami Niranjana sat in padmasana, right through the two hour fifty minutes of the chairman’s and other speakers’ patter. He folded his hands and chanted Aum three times. There was a standing ovation for him for fifteen minutes.
It was a lesson in humility and grace. I can never forget his serene expression. So often when we publicly speak, we are irritated with the words of the speaker ahead of us. We think that we are running out of time. Swami Niranjana’s demonstration of humility taught all of us who were in the audience to be respectful and humble. He displayed atmabhava for the speakers and us. My takeaway was a lifelong lesson in humility. He did not feel humiliation as he was listening unbiased and was not aware of the few minutes he got.
Aim Hrim Klim