Orange Juice And Thirsty Monkeys

I was at a family function recently .

After the rituals , we were all chatting in groups .


Some elderly people had started a discussion about philosophy .


One person was saying if we read the scriptures carefully , under a guru , we will find 'The Truth ' about Self and Divinity .

But two others were vehemently denying that . Their argument was , reading what others have said will only give intellectual satisfaction . To really know the Self , we have to go within ourselves and discover by ourselves , without wasting time on reading books .


It was interesting to hear both sides arguing convincingly .


This following is the kind of conversation they had .


ABC : " Without a Guru , it is impossible to know which path to take . We will easily get lost and confused "


XYZ : " Even the Gurus say , the truth is within ourselves , not in the books . We have to experience it ourselves . We just have to have that desire to Seek it "


ABC : " How will we know where to look, what to seek and how to find it , without the scriptures and a Guru guiding us ? "


XYZ : " How did those who made those Scriptures know ? no one guided them ."


ABC : " They were rare self realised souls , we have to benefit from their experience and knowledge ."


XYZ : " Self exploration is more valuable than borrowed bookish knowledge . Ramana Maharishi is the best example . "


ABC : " He might have had basic grounding in scriptures in previoius birth and got realisatiin in this Birth . It is definitely a Guru who will deliver The Self "


XYZ : " No. A thirsty monkey will find water , eventually "


Exactly at that moment , the cook served us orange juice and one elderly lady commented , " Juice has found the thirsty monkeys " .


It was an enjoyable evening , providing a lot of matter to think about .

 

@iamsrihere
Thank you .
Yes I have read saicharitra .
This debate is an old one and never ending

 

@Thyagarajan
Thank you for the comment .
We certainly cannot spite poor Darwin and become monkeys now . But. Sadly , our Minds are still Monkeys !
Realisation will come when it has to come , to a mind readied for it.

 

@ PushpavalliSrinivasan
What you say is so true . Only that ery rare gnyani can understand everything by himself. Ordinary people like us have to depend on words of elders and seers .
Thank you for stopping by.

 

@periamma ,
Thank you for sharing thoughts .
Experiences make us think deeply and analyse . But confusion persits . Thats when we need scriptures and explanations of seers for clarity . Still, introspection is always needed .