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 ...
Story 199 - The ocean & the Tateri
Have faith in 'Atma', i.e. your Inner Strength. Tateri, a small bird, developed faith or conviction within herself. She gathered courage, opposed the ocean and was ultimately victorious. There is a story that the ocean swept away the eggs of „Tateri‟. She argued that the ocean would sweep away the eggs of other birds also. It was, therefore, worthwhile to teach the ocean a lesson. With this determination the birds started taking water in their beaks and throwing it out of the ocean. They did not allow themselves to be dejected. In the meantime a 'Rishi' reached there and, seeing their absurdity, remarked, "You cannot empty the ocean in this way. Stop this nonsense". The tateries replied, "Respected Sir! We wonder, how you, a Rishi, can teach atheism? You see only our bodies and fail to realise our inner strength, our firm determination".
The same reply was given by Dattatreya to Kagbhusundi, "My friend! After all you are a crow, because your sight does not penetrate the skin of the body to see the Atman. Feel and realise that you are not this body and that you cannot be correctly estimated even by the holy Vedas. Real-Self is the
One which is eternal and Everlasting.
On hearing the above reply of the tateries, the Rishi realised his mistake and asked the ocean in anger, "Why hast thou swept away the eggs of these birds?" The ocean thereupon returned the eggs and said, "It was only a joke, Sir".
In the above story the belief in the immortal Self is Faith, Religion or Islam. The rest is a story or creed. Rama aims only at the inspiration of Faith and has nothing to do with the rest.