The Stream (A Story)

From a satsang with Pundit Umesh Persad, Spiritual Leader, Gyaan Deepak Kirtan Mandali

Once, in a far-off mountain, a little stream sprang forth from a hidden source. It flowed down the mountainside through different kinds of terrain, through rocks, grass and trees. It flowed on, sometimes leaping down and bubbling on, sometimes meandering very slowly. It was never stopped by any obstacle in its path. It kept moving down the mountainside.

One day, the stream reached the edge of a vast desert. “Just one more obstacle to overcome,” the stream said to itself. The stream thought, “Nothing has ever stopped me from flowing and I shall surely overcome this obstacle.” And so, the stream flung itself forward. Everytime it tried, some of its water evaporated. It couldn’t cross. The desert was too wide, too vast, too dry and too hot. But the stream had perseverance. The stream said to itself, “If it is my destiny to cross the desert then I would surely find a way. If the wind can cross this desert then so can I.”

The desert itself seemed to be encouraging the stream, “Come on. You can cross. If the winds can cross me, so can you.” A conversation started between the stream and the desert. “I know I must cross this desert,” the stream said, “but everytime I try, the sand swallows me up. No matter how hard I try, I don’t get anywhere. I get dried up.” The desert replied, “You will not be able to cross me using the old methods that have worked for you further up the mountain. It is no use hurling yourself at me like that. You will not be able to cross. You will simply disappear, turn into a bit of mud and then fizzle away. You must trust the wind to carry you across this desert. You need to let yourself be carried over.” The stream, not believing what the desert was saying, exclaimed, “What?! How could the wind carry me across the desert?” Then the desert reassured the stream, “You must let yourself be absorbed into the wind and it will carry you.”

The stream did not like that idea one bit. It was a stream with a name and an identity of its own. It did not wish to evaporate and become water in the wind. Then the desert said, “This is what the wind does. Trust me and trust the wind. Let yourself be absorbed by this wind. It will carry you across the desert and let you fall as rain on the other side where you will be a stream again.” But the stream began arguing as it was not convinced by the desert’s words. The stream said, “But then, I won’t be the same stream that I am now. I wouldn’t be this particular stream.” The desert understood what the stream was saying, but as he was a very wise desert, he also understood the mystery. The desert responded, “Well, you certainly won’t be the same stream you are now if you hurl yourself into the sand and turn into mud. Let the wind carry you across the desert and the real heart of you, your essence, what you truly are, will be born again on the other side to flow to a new course, maybe to become a river beyond your imagination.”

Something deep inside of the stream was saying, “You could trust the wind.” The stream had a deep memory of a wind that could be trusted so it took a deep breath and surrendered to the wind that was blowing strongly across the desert. The wind lifted up the vapour of the little stream and carried it right across the desert far beyond the horizon, high above the hot sand, and then it let it fall softly at the top of a new mountain far away on the other side of the desert. Then, the stream began to understand who it really was and what it meant to be a stream.

There are two ways to understand the story: first of all, we are all like the stream, bustling around. We overcome some obstacles and gain a few achievements in life, but at some point we are faced with a serious dilemma that we cannot handle on our own. What choice do we have then? If we try to solve the challenge on our own, we might turn into mud. The other option is to give oneself over to a higher power and trust in the Supreme Being to cross that hurdle safely.

The second interpretation is that this form or body is impermanent. The illusion is of the limited ‘I’ as a person. If we know what happens at the end of life, then we can live in the present moment. The sages tell us not to occupy ourselves with this world and become too busy with worldly things. Do your duty but enjoy it as if it were a game. However, before we reach the end of life, we should realise that we are not a stream; we are a vapour, a presence that is everywhere. That realisation is one of the ultimate goals of life.