tales and parables of sri ramakrishna

《tales and parables of sri ramakrishna》由会员上传分享，免费在线阅读，更多相关内容在教育资源-天天文库。

1、TalesandParablesofSriRamakrishna77Onceamanwenttoacertainplacetoseeatheatricalperformance,carryingamatunderhisarm.Hearingthatitwouldbesometimebeforetheperformancebegan;hespreadthematonthefloorandfellasleep.Whenhewokeupallwasover.Thenhereturnedhomewiththematunde

2、rhisarm!---SriRamakrishnaPREFACETOTHEFIRSTEDITIONTheabstruseideasofreligionandphilosophyhaveanunerringappealwhenclothedinhomelyimagery.Greattruthsareeasilycomprehendedwhenexpressedthroughasimplefigureorsimilitude.Thehomelinessoftheoutercrustendowsthecoreofthet

3、eachingwithaneffortlessfamiliarity,ensuringitsusefulnessinthedaytodaylifeofreligiouspractice.Parablesthereforeoccupyamostimportantplaceintheteachingsofthesaintsandseers.JesusandMuhammad,Buddha,andtheVedicSageshaveagainandagainadoptedtheallegoricalmethodofprese

4、ntationasaneffectivewayofreligiousinstruction.Inthisrespecttheyhavewidelydifferedfromprofessionalphilosophersandtheologians.TheBibletellsusthatwhenJesusdeliveredoneofhisparables,‘thepeoplewereastonishedathisdoctrine,forhetaughtasonehavingauthorityandnotasthesc

5、ribes’.Thedirectnessofappealinherentinparablesiswellborneoutbythisobservation.AnotherpointaboutthewayinwhichthegreatTeacherstaughtdeservesmentionhere.WhenJesustaughtthegathered,crowdhisfirstparable,hewasquestionedbyhisdisciplesastotheproprietyofspeakingtothemu

6、ltitudeinparables.Hisreplywasthatbysodoinghehadthrownaveilovertheinnerimport,makingitdifficultofcomprehensionbyallexceptthosewhoreallycaredtounderstand.Thisshouldnotbetakenasanindicationofanarrowconservatisminhisoutlook;onthecontrary,itpointsoutonlytheexcellen

7、ceofthemethodologyadoptedbytrueandgreatTeachersofmen.Easywinningmakestheprizealwayscheap.TheMahabharatahandsdowntousanancienttraditionwhichadvisesteacherstopartwiththegreattruthsofreligiononlytoearnestenquirers.ThemotiveofJesuswasnotdifferentfromthis.SriRamakr

8、ishna,thespiritualteacherparexcellencethathewas,however,doesnotmakeanyefforttomakehisparablesobscure;themoralstheyconveylieonthesurface.Manyofhisparablesaredrawnfromordinarydomesti