Scene I
(A scholar is walking along the street. He sees a Brahmin holding a copy of the Bhagavad-Gita and weeping.)SCHOLAR: O Brahmin, your eyes are swimming in a sea of tears. My heart is all sympathy for you. I clearly see that you have been unable to understand the teachings of the Gita. But I shall gladly help you. Tell me, where do you find it difficult? Which particular shloka don’t you understand? I shall explain it to you.
BRAHMIN: There is a special reason why I am weeping.
SCHOLAR: Yes, I am sure you have a special reason. Why don’t you be frank with me? Tell me straight away which particular shloka you find difficult to understand.
BRAHMIN: You will not understand me. You will not believe me.
SCHOLAR: I will understand you. I will believe you. Tell me why you are weeping. I have not much time, for I am now on my way to my school, where my students are waiting for me. Please don’t waste my time. Please tell me.
(Brahmin sings.)
I am a fool, they say.
Am I, am I a fool?
I go to my inner School;
God’s Eye my eternal Day.
To help my Lord in His Play,
To found His Smile on earth,
My divinely human birth.
Yet I am a fool, they say.
BRAHMIN: I am weeping, I am weeping because…
SCHOLAR: Please don’t waste my time. Don’t weep, don’t weep. Just let me know what you can’t understand and I shall immediately help you.
BRAHMIN: I am weeping because I see the Lord Krishna right in front of me. No matter which page I turn to, I see Arjuna’s charioteer, Krishna. These are my psychic tears. I see my Lord in all the pages. I see Sri Krishna in His chariot. That is why I am shedding tears. It is not that I do not understand the teachings of the Gita.
(The scholar bows to the Brahmin.)
SCHOLAR: I have studied the Gita hundreds of times. I have taught thousands of people the Gita, but none of them have said that they have seen Lord Krishna. They haven’t seen even a spark of Sri Krishna’s light. I have personally talked and talked about the Gita. I have taught and taught the Gita, but I have never seen Sri Krishna on the pages, or before my eyes in a mental vision. I have never felt his presence deep in my heart. (Pauses.) O Brahmin, forgive my arrogance, forgive my impertinence. Today I am not going to school to teach. Today is the end of my teaching career. Today begins my life of aspiration, my life of the inner cry. From now on I shall only pray to Krishna instead of explaining Him. Instead of speaking about Him I shall meditate on Him, and like you, I am sure, one day I will be able to see Krishna, my beloved Lord. My life of outer teaching now ends, and my life of inner searching begins.
