12-12-12 is an auspicious day. In literature 12th night is more discussed than first night. In trade 12 is a sales unit called dozen. In mathematics 12 is a composite number as well as a sublime number. This number is great to many religions, mainly Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In calendar system, we have twelve months in a year. In astrology, according to the West, Zodiac has 12 signs, and back on our computer key board there are 12 function keys. It continues….. Today I thought of sharing with you a story on our 12th (?) sense.
Long time ago, there were two swamis who lived in two neighboring caves. They spent most of their time in deep meditation, except the time they ate or were visited by devotees. One cave was dark as usual, but in the other one there was sometimes a peculiar golden light illuminating the cave. The visitors believed that the one living in the illuminated cave possessed supernatural powers and was more advanced. One day another great sage was passing through the village. The villagers approached this sage and told him the story of the illuminated cave. They had a thousand questions to ask him. The sage spoke, "Pay attention to your inner self and not to outer phenomena. The outside world always changes, but inner self is constant. When in the presence of a teacher, listen to what he says and be aware of the influence of his words on you. Watch yourself, and see whether under his influence you become calmer and more peaceful, and your thoughts, at least for a while, slow down your mad race." Their curiosity was not fully quenched.
The sage sat down, and started to explain: "Sometimes, when one works intensively on the spiritual path, and concentrates and meditates a lot, various phenomena may occur around him such as lights, sounds or visions. This is not supernatural. The mind has a creative power, and when concentrated, can produce various phenomena even unintentionally. It does not mean that one is more advanced than the other. Not all minds produce these things. Some do, and some don't. Some of the people who produce these lights may be aware of the light, and some may not. It depends on their psychic sensitivity. So it is also with the people who watch them. Not all see this light. In any case, it has nothing to do with whether one swami is more advanced or less advanced than the other one."
Joseph Mattappally
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