Exchange your Marker

Bookmarkers have been exhausted for bookmarking the files. The ink was also missing in the marker. Hence I went to the stationery shop to buy it. There was a little crowd there. 4-5 more people arrived before me to pick up the stationery. I stood there and waited for my turn. A gentleman had come there. He was complaining to the shopkeeper that the marker, which he purchased from his shop, was not working properly. The shopkeeper was repeatedly saying that the marker did not belong to his shop. Both the gentleman and the shopkeeper were adamant.

The gentleman was saying, after all what will I get by lying? I took this marker from your shop. Since it was malfunctioning, please change it.

On the other hand, the shopkeeper was also adamant that the marker did not belong to his shop. The dispute was going on and on. 

The quarrel was hurting their respective pride. They have taken it to their ego. The gentleman irritated and said, "Brother, by not giving this marker, neither will you become rich nor am I poor." I am a Brahmin, I will not lie. And secondly, it will not do you any good if the Brahmin is enraged.

The shopkeeper became a bit soft hearing this. He said: Brother, what is the need to have so much anger on it? So many people take the marker from my shop. I can not remember everyone? Do one this, you give your marker to me and take a new marker in exchange. 

The gentleman said, if this is the case, I also do not insist. Never mind, you take the money and give it a new marker. The matter was resolved, but I could not stop it.

I asked the gentleman, you are a Brahmin, obviously, you must have read Ramayana and Mahabharata.

The gentleman said, yes yes, absolutely.

I asked: There are innumerable stories of reincarnations written in the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Then you also must be considering phenomenon of rebirth as reality?

He said, yes of course.

I said: Then you must also believe that in every birth you will not be a Brahmin. Sometimes women, sometimes men, animals, sometimes Brahmins, sometimes Kshatriyas, sometimes Vaishyas, sometimes even Dalits?

He said: Please do not tell me puzzles. Tell me clearly what you want to say. It is true that in past lives, I may have been a woman, sometimes a man, sometimes an animal, sometimes a Brahmin, sometimes a Kshatriya, sometimes a Vaishya, sometimes a Dalit, but what about this?

I said: When you are accepting yourself that you must have been a woman, sometimes a man, sometimes an animal, sometimes a Brahmin, sometimes a Kshatriya, sometimes a Vaishya, sometimes a Dalit in your past lives, then why you are nurturing the thought of pride in being a Brahmin?

You are a soul , which is immortal, everlasting. This is the everlasting soul that pervades everyone, which is beyond caste, country, region, gender, etc. Why are you tying it to one caste? Why are you proud of being Brahmins? Your different castes, countries, sex etc. are just different stoppage on the path of this immortal soul. Then why so proud of these mere stoppages?

The gentleman became a little silent, then said with a little pause: Yes, the factum of rebirth is true and caste, gender etc are an illusion. Since we forget rebirth, that is why we consider ourselves proud of belonging to a particular caste. The remembrance of a particular caste is the result of the obliviousness of the everlasting soul. In fact, we should learn to uncondition our conditioning, be it of our caste, gender or nationality.

I nodded and smiled in agreement. He also smiled and walked way.

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