The Three Whispers of Wisdom

• Ravi Ila Bhatt

Kabir was a revered old teacher living in a quiet, semi-urban town in Madhya Pradesh. As he sat on his porch one evening, watching the sunset, a young college student named Rohit approached him. "Chacha," Rohit asked, "you are so wise. Who was the great guru who taught you everything?"
Kabir smiled, pouring some tea. "Beta, I have had thousands of teachers. If I named them all, it would take years. But as I look back, three unexpected masters completely changed my life."
The Unshakable Thief
"Years ago, when I was young and wandering through the outskirts of a distant town, I missed the last state transport bus. It was past midnight, the streets were pitch black, and everything was locked.
Finally, I spotted a man under a streetlamp, quietly tinkering with the lock of a closed shop. I approached him, asking for a place to shelter. He looked at me and said, 'Look, I am a thief. I have no grand house, but you can stay in my small shack if you don't mind.' I stayed with him for three weeks.
Every single night, he would head out, saying, 'I am going to work. You rest and pray.' When he returned empty-handed at dawn, I would ask if he caught anything. He would smile and say, 'Not tonight, my friend. But tomorrow, Deva ni marji (God willing), it will happen.'
Later in life, when I sat in deep meditation for years and felt completely hopeless—wanting to give up on my spiritual journey—the face of that thief would flash before my eyes. If a thief could have such endless hope for a mere robbery, how could I lose hope in finding truth? His optimism became my master."
The Fearless Dog
"My second master was a stray dog by a canal. It was a scorching summer afternoon, and the dog was panting heavily, desperate for water.
When it crept down to the water’s edge, it saw its own reflection in the ripples. Terrified of the 'other dog,' it barked fiercely and ran back. But the thirst was unbearable. It returned, barked, and fled again and again. Finally, shutting its eyes to the terror, the dog simply leaped right into the canal! The moment it plunged in, the illusion of the other dog vanished, and it drank happily.
I realized that fear is just a reflection in our minds. To find peace, we must jump right into what scares us."
The Clever Child
"My third master was a little boy I met during Diwali. He was carrying a beautifully lit earthen diya.
Wanting to test him, I asked proudly, 'Beta, did you light this yourself?' He smiled and said yes. Then I asked a clever question: 'Tell me, before you lit it, where was the light hiding? Can you show me the source from which it came?'
The boy laughed, blew out the flame, and asked, 'You just saw the light disappear, right? Can you tell me exactly where it went?' Before I could speak, he said, 'It went right back to where it came from.'
At that moment, my ego as a 'knowledgeable scholar' shattered. I realized how little I truly knew, and I dropped my pride right there."
Kabir patted Rohit’s shoulder. "I never had one official guru, Rohit. But by keeping my mind open, I made the whole universe my classroom."
Moral
In this world there are millions of sources and you can Learn from Every Possible Source. With a Master you start learning to learn.