One day the Madman saw a human skull lying on the banks of the Ganga. As soon as he
approached it, the skull revealed its rows of white teeth and began to laugh. The madman
asked, ‘O, skull, why do you laugh?’ Then the skull smiled a little and said, ‘O living
man, why do you laugh?’
Madman : We laugh when we are glad. Why do you laugh?
The Skull : I laugh at your love of this dwelling.
Madman : What love! So long as there is the body we need a place to live.
The Skull : How long will your body last?
Madman : I do not know.
The Skull : Then why do you need a cottage? Sit on the banks of the
Ganga and utter the name of Rama. Do not create any other impression in
your mind. As you have taken up the path of renunciation, do not put the stamp of
attachment on anything. Know it for certain, my friend, that you will have to suffer great
agony through everything you stamp as ‘mine’. Nothing is real, my friend. Everything is
unreal! Listen to this. What did I not have in life? I had incomparable wealth, a handsome
and healthy body, a devoted wife and an obedient son. I had all the elements of happiness
in the world. There was a day when hundreds of people did whatever I ordered them to do.
How many thought themselves honoured, to carry out my orders! There was a time when the
citizens trembled at my power. Gangs of robbers fled at the utterance of my name. My
kingdom, resources and wealth, kept me completely distracted. I enjoyed the best things
and slept on a milky-white bed. I did not know of anything in the world, other than
gratification of the senses. It never occurred to me that my body would perish. I thought
that I would enjoy this pleasure till eternity. Is that ever possible? The body was
attacked by diseases, my wife and son left, and my body also was destroyed. My house and
wealth remained where they were. I am lying on the banks of Ganga since a long
time. Jackals and dogs ate my flesh, and passed it the next day as excreta. I have been
lying here for a long time, separated from my body. How much sunshine and rain, how many
floods, storms, tempests and thunders have washed over me! I remain here still and think
about the past and laugh. And I tell those who come near me, ‘O, you will also become like
me, so start calling out to God.’ None can hear what I say or see me. Some do see me and
say, ‘Ah, there is a human skull.’ I say, ‘O mad man, once this skull belonged to a living
man like you. I had not always been dead.’ Who pays heed to me? All are engrossed in their
own world. Although they cannot hear me, on seeing me, they pause; think of the emptiness
of the world for a moment, and move on. Like waves crashing over waves, their worldly
thoughts come in and drown their solitary fleeting experience of disenchantment with the
world. Nevertheless, I keep shouting, ‘Everything is false, everything is false!’ But who
listens to me?
Madman : Well, friend, you are lying here. Has it a purpose?
The Skull : Surely it has a purpose! Not even a blade of grass can exist
without any purpose.
Madman : By lying here, what are you doing for the world?
The Skull : God has kept me engaged in a very big task. I am lying here
to impart detachment to the people.
Madman : You just said that nobody can hear you.
The Skull : Though many cannot, a few friends like you do come and talk
with me.
Madman : Well, friend, do you mean to say that meditation on God is not
possible without detachment from the world? Everything can be done only by practice.
The Skull : No, that is not possible. Practice and detachment are both
necessary. God has said in the Gita, ‘It can be accomplished by practice and detachment.’
Again, it is said in the Sankhya school of philosophy, ‘From practice and
detachment.’ Without detachment none can maintain practice, and sadhana cannot be
permanent. Just by thinking ‘I have been reduced to this condition for the sake of the
loin cloth’ the practitioner becomes attached to enjoyment.
Madman : Then what is the way? How can one be a seeker of truth?
The Skull : The real seeker is the one who is engaged in his quest, by
keeping death before him. Without thinking of death, man cannot progress in his quest.
Think for a moment; what creates impediment in your quest? It is the gross body and
everything that relates to it. If you do not relate to the body and remember that it is
perishable, then who can stand in the way of your quest? The gross only creates confusion.
Do you know, my friend, that this body cannot be forgotten? As one chants the
Name, an exalted mood arises and he forgets the body. After a little while when
the mood dissipates and the thought of the body returns, the desire for beauty and
pleasure rises in his mind. At this time, it is necessary to give him teachings of
detachment. Only then will he get into the habit of chanting the name of Rama.
Then he will lose himself in the sweet touch of God.
Madman : Well, friend, we feel the touch but why can we not remain
immersed in the touch forever? Can you tell me the reason?
The Skull : He who makes the effort can remain immersed.
Madman : What kind of effort?
The Skull : If you search for the reasons one gets touched by God, you
find that repetition of the Name is the main. The more one does the
japa, the longer he can remain immersed in the grace. Meditation is the reason
for receiving the touch. Increase the japa and you will remain in touch for
longer periods. If you do not give up meditation on God, you will remain immersed in His
grace.
Madman : It is seen sometimes that although we meditate, we do not
receive the touch.
The Skull : For times like these, calling aloud has been recommended by
the sadhus. When you feel a distance from God, only calling him aloud brings him
near. He comes near in response to repeated calling. Japa is the only way of
salvation in this age. Immerse yourself while repeating the Name. By repetition
of ‘Rama Rama’ you will find Him, in the form you seek. The edifice of the
knowledge of Brahman is raised on the platform of japa. If you attempt
to raise this edifice without making the foundation progressively stronger, you will find
that the knowledge you get is shallow and unstable. Let day after day, night after night,
be spent in chanting the Name. Let your mind be steady. If you can make your mind
steady in meditation, you can win over life. Then you will see that God will come and
reveal himself to you. The Name is greater than God Himself. Chant His
Name, you will find Him in whatever form you want, with or without attributes.
Madman : Well, my friend, does He show mercy even if one calls Him
inconsistently? Suppose, I want to call him wholeheartedly, but the mind drifts. Is it not
falsehood?
The Skull : No, it is not falsehood. Disguising as a sadhu and
pretending to be a seeker, with the intention to deceive people, is falsehood. The attempt
to conquer the mind cannot be falsehood. Practice is there to overcome the lack of focus
on the target. There is sure to be fickleness of the mind during practice. Remaining still
is called the state of siddhi or control. You ask about His mercy? Surely, He
shows mercy. Suppose my name is Govinda and you are calling out my name, even without any
real interest, will I not answer or come to you? After coming to you if I find you are not
interested, I shall say, ‘O friend, I have come.’ Likewise, if you call Him even with
disinterest, He comes smiling and says, ‘Hello, I have come.’ You know this.
Madman : I know it very well.
The Skull : O brother, Ratnakar uttered ‘Mara, Mara’ and Ajamil
called his son, Narayana, still they were delivered, then why won’t you find Him by
calling him, in whichever way? Brahmapurana says, ‘The name of
Hari surely has an effect if it passes through the lips just as fire burns even
though touched by mistake.’
In the scriptures, He has given hope even to the greatest sinner. You see, friend? Just as
the magically charged seeds of mustard, draw out a snake from its hiding, chanting of
Name
draws the mind, wherever it may be. However attached or great a sinner a man may be, he
has no reason for fear. If he seeks Lord’s shelter, if he calls Him piteously, ‘God, I am
a great sinner, I am very helpless. Be merciful to me as you are merciful’, He will
embrace the man. O brother, He is called ‘Deliverer of the fallen and the depraved’, even
a great sinner is not deprived of His mercy.
Madman : Friend, what you say is very pleasing. Your encouraging message
gives hope even to a despondent heart. Your company gives me great joy. I want to speak to
you day and night.
The Skull : A great man says that talking is also a practice. If you
speak to God, your turbulent thoughts can be driven away. You get to speak and at the same
time progress on the path and find a way of salvation.
Madman : My Friend, I will live with you and talk with you.
The Skull : Alright. My friend, man cannot be happy till he gets into the
habit of calling Him everywhere.
Madman : My friend, do all believe in God? Do all people call out to God?
The Skull : Yes, but there is difference in the name. It is seen that the
Vedantin calls God, Brahma; the Yogis call Him Paramatma; the devotees
Bhagawan. The Shaivas call Him Shiva; the Shakta, Shakti; the
Ganapatya, Ganesha; the sun-worshippers, Surya; and the Vaishnavas,
Vishnu. Sankhya philosophy refers to Him as the
‘Adhi Vidvan Siddha Kapila’. According to Patanjali, He is the
‘Purusha untouched by suffering’. For the Shruti community ‘One who gives counsel
and shows favours’. According to Mahapashupata, He is, ‘the creator of the world’.
According to the Puranas, He is Pitamaha. The believer in yajnas calls
Him ‘the yajnapurusha’. According to Digambars, He is ‘Niravarana -
having no body, unknown and unseen’. According to the believer in Mimamsa, He is the
Mantras regarded as the object of worship. According to the Naiyayika, the ‘one
having virtue’. According to Charvaka, He is the Raja as acknowledged by popular
belief. This was about the Aryans. Now listen to the views of the non-Aryans. He
is the God of the English, Allah of the Muslims, Brahma of the Parsees,
Jupiter of the Greeks, Askuluskulu of the African people, Nayami or Nayamti of Bekuana and
the Basutoes, Suki of the inhabitants of New Hebrides Islands, Manitu of the inhabitants
of Tori Island and of the Red Indians of North America. Atua of Polynesians, Kat of the
Bask Island, Dengi of the Solomon Island, Tavujarik of the Gilbert Island, Aihemi of the
Vatayees, Tane of the Huahins, Tao of the Bolbolas, Tu of the Maruyas, Oro of the Tahayas,
Rangi of New Zealand and so on. Now you have heard how people call the same thing by so
many names. ‘There is only one without a second.’
The universe floats on only the One and into the One will it sink.
Or never did the Universe float.
He is changeless consciousness.
Madman : My Friend! Do not be silent, please speak on.
The Skull : Dive into me O mad man, I alone exist.
The skull remains silent. It says nothing.
Madman : Is this Your doing? Speak. Since you have already made me crazy,
please make me totally insane. Say, how I shall spend the days.
The Skull : When you go,
Think of yourself
As a wave in the ocean of Reality,
As you sit,
Remember ‘I am a pearl in the garland of knowledge,’
Seeing objects
Think that you see the Soul
When sleeping, think,
‘I am immersed in the sea of joy.’
Think and be always content.
In this way
May your days
Be spent.
My Name, keep on thy tongue
Be as you are.
Madman : Sweet, very sweet! Rama, Rama, Sitaram.
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