Murphy's Fourth Law

[zoofence]

Here's an interesting thought to consider.

A month or so ago, our aging 1990 Chevrolet wagon began to show symptoms of a serious problem. Some days, it would start and run fine. Other days, it might start and run, or it might not. Our first thought, confirmed by a mechanic, was that we needed a new starter. So, we did that. But the problem recurred. One day, while Anna was driving, the car simply went dead. The engine stopped cold; nothing worked. (Happily, she happened to be driving slowly, near home.) The mechanic now thought that it was likely an electrical problem, probably a faulty ground connection, which, he said, could take a few minutes to find or many, many day$.

So, for several weeks, the car sat in front of our house. We crawled under and around it, looking for a "faulty ground connection" without success. Finally, in desperation, we gave up, and decided the best thing was to have it towed to a junkyard.

Then, one day, Anna raised the car's hood, pointed to a wire, and said to me, "I'll bet it's that one".

I disconnected the leads, wire-brushed and sanded the connections, put it back together, and guess what? The car runs fine!

When we related this story to our neighbor up the road, he quoted what he called "Murphy's Fourth Law":

Whenever an expert is confounded by a seemingly insoluble problem, the solution is immediately obvious to the first unqualified person who happens along.

Applying that to the spiritual process, it seems to me that, bless their hearts, so many theologians, priests, pastors, rabbis, and the like, and even a lot of so-called "New Thought" people, so often complicate issues that to a simple seeker seem so obvious.

[Andavane]

This story reminds me of Sri Ramakrishna's Quest to have darshan of Lord Krishna: All his own efforts failed, and Krishna remained aloof. The Quest for the darshan (direct sight) turned into an obsession; because of Ramakrishna's exalted status, famous pundits were summoned, who recommended complicated high-flown mantras in Sanskrit along with all sorts of complex pujas which he could practise, and results were effectively guaranteed; however none of the prescriptions had any effect whatsoever.

And so it was that his Quest appeared to be lost, and quite forlorn.

One day, in his wanderings, he came across a road sweeper, and asked what he could do to gain the darshan of Lord Krishna. The low-caste person stopped, considered for a moment or two, then said:

"Well, if it was me... I'd make prayers and oblations to Lady Radha first."

Ramakrishna felt a throb in the heart, as the humble worker's words resonated with truth. He made earnest prayers to Radha, the consort of Lord Krishna, and within three days he had the full darshan of the Lord.

Murphy's Fourth Law certainly has a timeless quality about it.

anbudan

John

[Neo]

Ramakrishna, I love him. Your good stotry about him reminds me of the story on the zoo fence about ramana.

Or consider this story concerning Sri Ramana Maharshi. Climbing a hill one morning, he was met by a seeker who prostrated himself before the Teacher, then stood up, and said, "All right, I have had darsan." The Teacher replied, "Whose darsan? Why don't you say that you gave darsan to me?"