There was a student in India who wanted to become enlightened.
He left his family in search of an appropriate guru to guide him further
on his journey. Stopping at one guru’s place of business, he inquired
as to this guru’s method of becoming enlightened. The guru said, “Be-
coming enlightened is really quite simple. All you need to do is to go
home each night and sit in front of a mirror for 30 minutes asking
yourself the same question over and over. That question is: Who am
I? Who am I? Who am I?”
The prospective student replied, “Hey, it can’t be that simple.”
“Oh yes, it is just that simple,” replied the guru, “but there are
several other gurus on this street.”
“Thank you very much,” said the student, “I think I will inquire
down the way.”
[Today we call this action seeking a second opinion.]
So the student approached the next guru with the same question.
“How do I become enlightened?”
The second guru replied, “Oh, it is quite difficult and takes much
time. Actually, one must join with like-minded others in an ashram
and do Sava. Sava means ‘selfless service,’ so you work without pay.”
The student was excited; this guru’s philosophy was more con-
sistent with his own preconceived view of enlightenment. He always
had heard it was difficult. The guru told the student that the only job
open at the ashram was cleaning out the cow stalls. If the student
were really serious about becoming enlightened, the guru would allow
him to shovel all the dung and be responsible for keeping the cow
stalls clean. The student accepted the job, feeling confident that he
must be on the right path.
After five long years of shoveling cow dung and keeping the stalls
clean, the student was becoming discouraged and impatient about en-
lightenment. He approached the guru and said, “Honored teacher, I
have faithfully served you for five years cleaning up the dirtiest part of
your ashram. I have never missed a day and have never complained
once. Do you think it might be time for me to become enlightened?”
The guru answered, “Why yes, I believe you are now ready. Here
is what you do. You go home each night and look at yourself in the
mirror for 30 minutes, asking yourself the same question over and
over again. That question is: Who am I? Who am I? Who am I?”
The very surprised student said, “Pardon me, honored one, but
that is what the other guru down the street told me five years ago.”
“Well, he was right,” responded the guru.
“Then why have I shoveled cow dung for five years?” asked the
student.
“Because you are stupid, that’s why,” replied the guru
I think of that story quite often while working with traders
