Grain Of Wheat
I was smarting from some lessons that the Mahanta had been administering to me through the bumps and rough times of daily life. I'd had enough for the day and decided to go out for a walk to change my frame of mind. I started fantasizing. I could start walking and not stop until I reached another country. Then I could be a bum and hitch-hike around the world and be totally irresponsible. That started to sound very appealing to me, but then I realized Wah Z was walking with me.
I half expected him to say, "Go ahead, I'll help you pack. But what good would it do you?" But he didn't say anything. He just kept walking quietly with me. Finally. after getting the frustration out of my system, I began to talk to him, "I guess it's for my own good. I would imagine that I've probably done some pretty stupid things to warrant some of the hard times I've put myself through, but…oh never mind," I said, giving up on that train of thought.
Wah Z finished my thoughts for me, "I suppose you're wondering why the Mahanta is so harsh with you sometimes, is that it?" he said gently.
"Well, I wouldn't have put it that way," I said. But he had hit the nail right on the head. That's exactly what I had been thinking. Inwardly, I felt that since the Mahanta, the Living ECK Master is the direct representative of SUGMAD, I would have thought he would have been a little more loving or compassionate, maybe not quite so firm or something.
Wah Z spoke to me in a soft voice, "The SUGMAD is, and thusly, the Mahanta, the Living ECK Master is SUGMAD incarnate, the Ocean of Love and Mercy. He is the ECK in human form. The reason for the Living ECK Master's existence is to bring those Souls who are ready to the heart of SUGMAD — if they are strong enough. Would you have the ECK pet you and baby you in order to get back to SUGMAD? Would you have SUGMAD come into your apartment and sit with you for some tea? SUGMAD is. It is our duty to prepare ourselves to return to IT as ITS servants. Love is the only way to the heart of God. But this is not to confuse love with the human shortcomings, habits, and mental conceptions of emotional sentimentality. My love for you is greater than you and all the universe can imagine.
"Could you in your wildest imaginings ever doubt that I serve you only for the highest purpose in life — to touch and drink of the waters of the holy SUGMAD — that you, yourself, might stand as the strong, mature Soul, with the others that have mastered themselves to become the spiritual travelers? The human desires may be crushed to dust, but the Mahanta is concerned only with Soul and Its ability to rise with the ECK. Is there any more that a Soul could desire? If there were, I would surely give it to you, loved one."
I walked slower, with my head hung down, looking at the ground. I felt like a worthless heel complaining that the Mahanta was being a little tough with me. I knew all along it was in my best interest, but the little self wanted to complain.
"I'm sorry. I guess I was feeling sorry for myself and being a baby," I said morosely.
Wah Z, gently began, "There's no need for sorrow. The way for each of us is made hard by our own lower natures. The ECK Masters come as warriors, not as passive agents. The fight is a constant one — a fight against the lower nature of man. A fight for truth and freedom, and yes, a fight for love to exist in purity."
As we walked, we passed a newsstand. On the headlines of all the papers were giant letters telling of a bombing in the Middle East — religion fighting against religion. Wah Z commented, "Take this war in the Middle East, for example. Each side is fighting because they believe theirs is the only true religion and the other must be false and, therefore, stamped out. No greater passion has been expressed in wars, than through the angers of religion. But this is a confusion in the mind of man. What man truly desires is to have truth within his own consciousness. But being lazy and easily mislead, he tries to make his outer world change instead of his inner world. The fight he carries to the outer world is the fight he truly wishes to wage in his own inner life. Yet he lacks the courage and truth to fight that inner war. It is easier and more convincing to the outer senses to kill another with an opposing viewpoint, than to change the inner self. The Middle East has not always been in the state of turmoil it is currently in. Do you remember the story of the Christ child being born in a manger, and the visit of the three wise men from the East?
"Yes! The Magi!" I said.
Wah Z continued, "yes, the Magi were formed from the teachings of Zoroaster, an ECK Master of about six hundred B.C. He lived in Persia, what is known today as Iran. He could tell you more of the struggle of Soul, for he knew well the trials and taught the Light and Sound of ECK to his students. Would you care to meet him?"
"Who? Zoroaster?" I said eagerly.
Wah Z said, "OK, follow me," and we went off to a side street. After a couple of blocks we came to a large apartment complex with a big, black iron gate; a long, rounded driveway; and tall, well-manicured hedges. The evergreens were well trimmed, and near the building were flower beds with carefully planted flowers of many colors — all very well kept.
"He lives here?" I said out loud. I was thinking that it was a strange place for an ECK Master to live, especially one from twenty-five hundred years ago.
Wah Z just looked at me and said nothing. We went through the big iron gate and up the driveway. There was a gardener puttering with the flower bed. Wah Z went up to him offering a hand and a warm smile. The gardener, sweating profusely from digging, wore a pair of blue overalls. He was a fairly big fellow, but lean and muscular. He was Middle Eastern, with jet black curly hair cut close and a short curly beard. His eyes were like coal, black and deep. He grinned at Wah Z and then at me, revealing a set of sparkling white teeth. He had a large nose, bushy black eyebrows, and a strong, pointed chin. Pulling off his gardener's gloves, he shook hands with Wah Z and then with me. He was a strong, vigorous fellow, bursting with life and energy.
Wah Z said to me, "I'd like you to meet Sri Zoroaster, or as the Greeks knew him, Zarathustra."
The most striking characteristic about this Master was his humanness and, forgive the pun, his down-to-earthness.
"Please have a seat," he said, motioning to the brick ledge of the flower bed. Wah Z and I sat down, while he knelt beside his spade inside the flower bed.
"I was a gardener in my days spent in Persia, so I appear to you now as the same!" he said. "In many ways, life is the same. The technology of your civilization is much more advanced than in my times, but the consciousness of man is about the same — for the most part, primitive.
"Man will always have a fight on his hands. The biggest one, and the one he wishes to avoid the most, is with himself. Conquer and master yourself, and you walk in the earth and heavens a free man — a spiritual traveler. But conquer the outer world, and that which you take by force will bind you to it. Then who is the master?"
He took his handspade and poked the black crumbly earth with it, pausing for a moment, then beginning again. "Man's troubles begin and end with his mind passions. The five passions — lust, greed, anger, vanity, and attachment — are normal functions of the mind out of balance. You know that from the teachings of ECK. The most insidious thing about these passions is that they tie one to the world of outer appearances, making man think that fulfillment of life comes in the gaining of the material things of the world. While there is nothing wrong with life in the outer world, it is a grave mistake to believe that one can fulfill his inner life with the things of the outer. It must come from the inner first and then be reflected to the outer. When one places his faith in the outer appearances, he enters a giant game which he can never win. To fulfill any of the five mind [passions, one must manipulate and be manipulated. This is the game of power.
His face became serious, more so then before. He left the handspade in the earth and brushed his hand free of the loose dirt, and continued. "You see, the five passions create desires. And to satisfy these desires, one must manipulate life around him to get what he wants. The deeper one travels on the path of Light and Sound, the more subtle the desires and manipulations potentially become. Oftentimes, the final, futile attempt at manipulation comes in trying to manipulate God, in one's desire to serve and become God. One cannot become God anymore than a part of the body can become the whole body. Yet, this is one of the greatest vanities man comes to. The only way to serve God and partake of ITS ecstasies is to surrender completely one's will, one's desires, all, to the ECK and the Mahanta. For one must learn the ways of Spirit from one who knows.
"The life of desires and manipulations is a treacherous one. While Soul is in the lower worlds, all are Its potential enemies. Even the mind, especially the mind, for it is here that all the causes for desire are born. An immature Soul may think It isn't indulging in manipulations, but by Its merely having desires, It will be manipulated by other more devious beings. It makes no difference whether one is doing the manipulating or whether one is being unknowingly manipulated — both are crimes against Soul. The latter of course, being the worst of crimes, since it is done knowingly by others. Look about in your daily life. Everywhere you walk, you are being bombarded by advertising, angry thoughts, jealous people, power plays — all of these are just subtle and devious methods of hypnosis and manipulation. It is controlling the minds of others to fulfill someone's desires. But the underlying reason those seeking power do so is because they are afraid. They are afraid of an uncertain future, but mostly afraid to love.
"Those ignorant of the laws of love resort to following the lower laws of karma, or as you know it, tit-for-tat. They won't love first, nor will they love anymore than is given them first. It becomes a tedious game for them. This is not love. This is bartering. It is turning something divine, that is, pure love, into a common commodity, a gross material thing. The moment this happens, the once pure love becomes a tainted power. The only way to love is to give without any conditions. To give love knowing that you may never get it back. And rightly so, for the giving of love is its own reward. The richest of men know that they rest in an endless abundance of this love and that there is never a need to worry about running out.
"So you ask, What is manipulation? I'll tell you. When Soul serves the ECK by being ITS humble channel to allow ITS cleansing melody to flow into the lower worlds, Soul becomes the true Co-worker with God. The moment Soul allows ego to believe that it (ego) is doing something of a great nature, the moment it takes any kind of credit for what the ECK does, it becomes vanity. When the ego tries to direct the ECK, no matter what the reasons, it becomes manipulation and an indulgence in the black arts. But there is no need for concern. The ECK will have ITS way eventually. For no man can manipulate the ECK without terrible consequences.
"The Masters talk of the no-power. Soul is made of the pure ECK, and the ECK uses Soul to channel ITSELF into the worlds. We, of ourselves, have the tremendous power flowing through us, but we ourselves have no power. To claim IT or try to grasp hold of IT would be like trying to grasp electricity as it flows through the wires. A good shock would be the only result. We are nothing. The ECK is all.
"As one observes more of the ECK passing through, he is given insight into more ways that he can surrender himself to the ECK. But the dangers become greater too, for one can develop great vanity, thinking that he is a great channel because he has great amounts of ECK pouring through him. Can we say that, as Soul, we are greater than another? Soul is! The only difference lies in the lower worlds, where realization of what we are is the only differential factor. In the higher worlds, there is no your Soul or my Soul — there is only Soul. There is no measuring Soul against another to see which is the greater channel. You stand alone in the beingness of the Soul consciousness; and from that point on, with the Mahanta's aid, you continue working on unfolding yourself to Spirit."
He looked down at the soil again, pausing. Then, as if to signify that he was finished talking, he stood, brushing the dirt off the knee he had been resting on. Wah Z and I stood up and thanked him. We were just about to turn and leave, when at the last moment, he stopped us. "Excuse me, but do you have any plants in your house?" he asked me.
"Uh, yes, I have a potted palm plant and a couple of African violets." I said, slightly wincing inwardly at the thought of my potted palm, which wasn't doing too well at the moment.
He just smiled and nodded, "Good," and turned back to tend his gardening.
As Wah Z and I walked down the driveway to the sidewalk, I asked, "What was that about? I mean with the plants?"
Wah Z was smiling to himself. " It has to do with a lesson he taught the king of Persia," Wah Z said. It's an old Zoroastrian tale.
"King Vishtaspa had been discontented with himself. He had all a man could want — riches, fame, power — yet there still was something lacking in his life. He'd heard of Zoroaster being a great wise man and sent him gifts and an invitation to come to his palace so that he might learn from him. Instead, Zoroaster sent the gifts back along with a leaf via the king's messenger.
"The messenger told the king, 'He didn't come but sent you the one that could teach you the most.'
"The king said, 'Good, send him in.'
"But the messenger gave the leaf to the king and said, 'This is it.'
"The king opened the leaf. and inside was a single grain of wheat.
"He placed the grain of wheat carefully into a precious gold box and every day would look at it, expecting Zoroaster to miraculously change the grain. But each day as he looked at it, it remained a grain of wheat. Finally, the king got fed up and sent for another wise man he had heard of, Tshengregacha from India, who he'd heard was coming to Persia. When Tshengregacha came to the king's court, the king asked him if he'd heard anything about a wise man named Zoroaster. Tshengregacha said that this was the reason he had come to Persia — to learn from him.
"Then the king said, 'I sent for Zoroaster, and all he sent me was this grain of wheat, saying that this was the greatest teacher.' The king handed the Hindu sage the grain.
"Tshengregacha took the grain and looked at it for a long time, while the rest of the court waited in a hushed silence. Then he said, 'It is as I have thought. The man called Zoroaster is truly all they have said he is. Why have you sent for me, when you have the greatest of the wise living in your own country?'
"Baffled, the king said, 'I don't get it. Explain to me about the grain of wheat,t please.'
"Tshengregacha said, ' The grain of wheat represents Soul in Its dormant stage. Placed in the little gold box of material opulence, It will remain dormant forever. But place It in the earth where It can learn Its lessons, and It will grow. From the light of the sun, or the Light of ECK, and water, or the Sound Current of ECK, It will unfold into the mature plant, reaching into the heavens against all odds. It will flourish, bearing creations and the fruits of Spirit. We do nothing but let Soul exist in the ECK. The ECK will do the rest, for it is Soul's inherent nature to rise to Its heavenly home, just as the grain of wheat is destined to grow , becoming the great plant.' "
Wah Z became silent, as did I. We walked home in silence, but only the speaking kind of silence, for as we walked, I became aware of all the plant life, the grass, the little sprouting tufts of green that poked their way through the cracks in the cement. I looked up to the trees. There was one in particular, I couldn't tell you what kind it was, maybe some kind of maple, but it was pretty tall. I imagined that it had started from a seedling at one time; but opening itself to the Light and Sound of the ECK, it had become the mature tree, reaching for the heavens. And looking up to the sky, where its uppermost branches were reaching and beyond, I could see that someday, the seedling that was within me would grow, reaching upwards — reaching for the heavens.
From the book, In the Company of ECK Masters © 1987 Phil Morimitsu
