RAMANA MAHARSHI - STORY OF SAINT NAMDEV ENLIGHTENMENT

                                                                                   

Ramana Maharshi : “Vithoba found Nam Dev had not yet realised the Supreme Truth and wanted to teach him. When Jnaneswar and Nam Dev returned from their pilgrimage, Gora Kumbhar gave a feast to all the saints in his place and among them were Jnaneswar and Nam Dev. At the feast, Jnaneswar in collusion with Gora, told Gora publicly, ‘You are a potter, daily engaged in making pots and testing them to see which are properly baked and which are not. These pots before you (i.e., the saints) are the pots of Brahma. See which of these are sound and which  not.’

Thereupon Gora said, ‘Yes Swami, I shall do so’, and took up the stick with which he used to tap his pots to test their soundness; and holding it aloft in his hand he went to each of his guests and tapped each on the head as he usually did to his pots. Each guest humbly submitted to such tapping. But when Gora approached Nam Dev, the latter indignantly called out: ‘You potter, what do you mean by coming  to  tap  me  with  that  stick?’

Gora thereupon told Jnaneswar, ‘Swami, all the other pots have been properly baked. This one, (i.e., Nam Dev) alone is not yet properly baked.’ All the assembled guests burst into laughter. Nam Dev felt greatly humiliated and ran up to Vitthal with whom he was on the most intimate terms, playing with him, eating with him, sleeping with him, and so on. Nam Dev complained of this humiliation which had happened to him, the closest friend and companion of Vitthal.

Vitthal (who of course knew all this) pretended to sympathise with him, asked for all the details of the happenings at Gora’s house and after hearing everything said, ‘Why should you not have kept quiet and submitted to the tapping, as all the others did? That is why all this trouble has come.’ Thereupon Nam Dev cried all the more and said, ‘You also want to join the others and humiliate me. Why should I have submitted like the others? Am I not your closest friend, your child?’ Vitthal said, ‘You have not yet properly understood the truth.

And you won’t understand if I tell you. But go to the saint who is in a ruined temple in such and such a forest. He will be able to give you enlightenment.’ Nam Dev accordingly went there and found an old, unassuming man sleeping in a corner of the temple with his feet on a Siva lingam. Nam Dev could hardly believe this was the man from whom he — the companion of Vitthal — was to gain enlightenment. However, as there was none else there, Nam Dev went near  the  man  and  clapped  his  hands.

The old man woke up with a start and, seeing Nam Dev, said, ‘Oh, you are Nam Dev whom Vitthal has sent here. Come!’ Nam Dev was dumb-founded and began to think, ‘This must be a great man.’

Still he thought it was revolting that any man, however great, should be resting his feet on a lingam. He asked the old man, ‘You seem to be a great personage. But is it proper for you to have your feet on a lingam?’

The old man replied, ‘Oh, are  my  feet  on a lingam? Where is it? Please remove my feet elsewhere.’
Nam  Dev removed the feet and put them in various places. Wherever they were put, there was a Siva lingam. Finally, he took them on his lap and he himself became a Siva lingam.

Then he realised the truth and the old gentleman said, ‘Now you can go back’.” Bhagavan added, “It is to be noted that only when he surrendered himself, and touched the feet of his guru, enlightenment came. After this final enlightenment Nam Dev returned to his house and for some days did not go to Vitthal at the temple, though it had been his habit not only to visit Vitthal every day, but to spend most of his time with Vitthal at the temple.

So after a few days, Vitthal went to Nam Dev’s house and like a guileless soul enquired how it was that Nam Dev has forgotten him and never visited him. Nam Dev replied, ‘No more of your fooling me. I know now. Where is the place where you are not! To be with you, should I go to the temple? Do I exist apart from you?’ Then Vitthal said, ‘So you now understand the truth. That is why you had to be sent for this final lesson’.”