Yajnyawalkya was surrounded by disciples and the inhabitants of the hermitage. He had sent for them, and they were wondering why! He looked around at the congregation. His eyes scanned every eager face and his ears caught every slight tremor in their hearts. He allowed a brief pause for silence and took a deep breath. He declared in a voice that was clear and steady, "My beloved disciples, I want to declare that I wish to renounce my hold on the hermitage and propose to leave. I propose to leave you in the care of Artabhaga, Maitreyi and Katyayani."
There was a commotion followed by silence. Someone had to get up and speak. Everybody looked in the direction of Artabhaga. He was sitting at the far end, his eyes fixed on the ground beneath his feet. They realised that both Artabhaga and Yajnyawalkya were on the other side of the fence, segregated from them by an unspoken covenant which was beyond their comprehension.
Somehow, as they sensed that Artabhaga was impervious to their appeal, one of them got up to address Yajnyawalkya. He moved forward from the congregation and reached Yajnyawalkya.
He spoke, "With salutation to our revered Master, I beseech, may we know if something has gone amiss. We are doing our best to prove worthy of our beloved Master; yet if we have fallen short of our Master's expectations, may we have a chance to rectify our mistake, and rise up to our Master's satisfaction?"
Yajnyawalkya spoke, "My dear ones, you must not feel at fault. You must not feel sad either. In no way does my decision reflect on your conduct. But it is vitally important, nay, essential for me to move on from here to the next phase of my life."
The congregation was speechless for some time. Then one of them asked, "But does have to come so soon and so unexpectedly?"
Yajnyawalkya smiled and said, "Everything moves on; it has to. Nothing happens without a warning. It is just that we don't listen, or even when we do, we resist it, because we resist change. "
His disciples looked at each other in dismay, clearly dissatisfied with the evasive answer. A raw feeling of injustice seethed in their mind. and slowly turned into an undefined anger. Yet another disciple stood up to take command over the situation. He had to swallow the turbulence in his mind before he could speak. He said, "I beg to speak on behalf of all of us. May our Master forgive me if I cross my limit. We have been waiting to hear you. You cannot leave us before you enlighten us. It is our privilege. And unfortunately it is being held back from us for no fault of ours."
Yajnyawalkya said, "No, my dear ones. Today I am here for all of you. All that I could call mine belongs to you now. Ask, and you will get it."
To be contd.
There was a commotion followed by silence. Someone had to get up and speak. Everybody looked in the direction of Artabhaga. He was sitting at the far end, his eyes fixed on the ground beneath his feet. They realised that both Artabhaga and Yajnyawalkya were on the other side of the fence, segregated from them by an unspoken covenant which was beyond their comprehension.
Somehow, as they sensed that Artabhaga was impervious to their appeal, one of them got up to address Yajnyawalkya. He moved forward from the congregation and reached Yajnyawalkya.
He spoke, "With salutation to our revered Master, I beseech, may we know if something has gone amiss. We are doing our best to prove worthy of our beloved Master; yet if we have fallen short of our Master's expectations, may we have a chance to rectify our mistake, and rise up to our Master's satisfaction?"
Yajnyawalkya spoke, "My dear ones, you must not feel at fault. You must not feel sad either. In no way does my decision reflect on your conduct. But it is vitally important, nay, essential for me to move on from here to the next phase of my life."
The congregation was speechless for some time. Then one of them asked, "But does have to come so soon and so unexpectedly?"
Yajnyawalkya smiled and said, "Everything moves on; it has to. Nothing happens without a warning. It is just that we don't listen, or even when we do, we resist it, because we resist change. "
His disciples looked at each other in dismay, clearly dissatisfied with the evasive answer. A raw feeling of injustice seethed in their mind. and slowly turned into an undefined anger. Yet another disciple stood up to take command over the situation. He had to swallow the turbulence in his mind before he could speak. He said, "I beg to speak on behalf of all of us. May our Master forgive me if I cross my limit. We have been waiting to hear you. You cannot leave us before you enlighten us. It is our privilege. And unfortunately it is being held back from us for no fault of ours."
Yajnyawalkya said, "No, my dear ones. Today I am here for all of you. All that I could call mine belongs to you now. Ask, and you will get it."
To be contd.
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