Parables of Rama
by Swami Rama Tirtha | 102,836 words
Stories in English used by Swami Rama to illustrate the highest teaching of Vedanta. The most difficult and intricate problems of philosophy and abstract truths, which may very well tax the brains of the most intellectual, are thus made not only simple and easy to understand but also brought home to us in a concrete form in such an interesting and ...
In the Crusades during which so much blood was shed, war and struggle were brought on by the Christians in Judea. In one of the skirmishes, the Christians were beaten and repulsed. One of the fanatics in the Christian armies, who wanted to win fame for himself, gave out that he had a vision in which an angel had revealed himself and had told him about a certain lance which had once touched the body of Christ,, and which was buried under his feet, and by finding the lance the Christians would be led to victory. The people took up the story and passed it on until it appeared to the entire army, and all the people without giving any thought as to the truthfulness or falsity of the story, began to dig and dig, but could not find the lance; they dug from early morn till late at night, but still no lance was found. They became very much discouraged and were about to give up the search when all of a sudden the same fellow began to cry out at the top of his voice that he had found the spot. All went with him to the place where he said the lance was to be found, and they found the lance. It was old and rotten, it was eaten up by ants and worms, and he said, "Here is a lance, corroded by the earth, a lance which must have touched the body of Christ;" and he held it up where everybody might see it. The Christians jumped around it with joy, their happiness knew no bounds. Being inspired with the finding of the lance covered with earth, being filled with energy and strength, all attacked the enemies again and came out victorious. Afterwards when the Christians came back to Europe, all believed that it was the virtue of the lance which had brought them victory, but after a while this same man who had told the first story fell sick, and was at the point of death. He confessed to the priest who came to bless him, and told him that the lance story was a fraud. He said the lance in reality belonged to his great grandfather, who was also in the army. The lance had been wrapped in rags and kept in the house since his great-grandfather's death. It had been used not only by his great grandfather but had been handed down to him from his ancestors. Now when the Christians were going to Jerusalem, he said he took this lance with him, wrapped up as it was, but on the field he found it worthless, and when fleeing, the idea came that he might as will be popular, he might as well win a name for himself. So he gave out the story about the lance, and when the people were digging on the opposite side from him, he took the lance and threw it into the ditch, and when they came there and began to dig, they found it.
No virtue belonged to the lance, but the virtue lay in the enthusiasm and perfect Faith of the people. The victory was due not to the lance but to the power within the people; the people, they said, manufactured spiritual force within them, and that Living Faith of the people brought victory, and not the lance. Similarly, Vedanta says, "O Christians, O Mohammedans, O Vaishnavas, O ye different sects of the whole world, if you think you are being saved through the name of Christ or Buddha or Krishna or any other saint, remember, the real virtue does not lie in the Christ, or the Buddha, or the Krishna, or anybody; the real virtue lies in your own Self."
MORAL: It is Living Faith which saves and not creed.