Chintamani Gem

Sri Ramana Maharshi

D.: Why then is the regulation of breath necessary? 

M.: Control of breath or its regulation is only for controlling the mind so that the mind may not wander away. 

D.: Is it for control of mind only? 

M.: It is not enough that light is seen; it is also necessary to have the mind engaged in a single activity, e.g., the elephant trunk and the chain. 

D.: How long will it take for one to gain Chintamani (the celestial gem granting all the wishes of its owner)? 

M.: The example of Chintamani is found in Yoga Vasishta. Chintamani signifies the Real nature of the Self. 

The story is as follows:A man was making tapasya for gaining Chintamani. A gem mysteriously fell into his hands. He thought that it could not be Chintamani because his efforts had been too short and too little to gain the gem. He discarded it and continued the tapas. Later a sadhu placed before him a brilliant pebble with facets cut. The man was taken in by its appearance but found that it could not fulfil his desires as he originally supposed. Similarly, the Self, being inherent, should not be sought for elsewhere. 

Again, an elephant used to be often teased by its keeper. He once had an accident and fell down. The elephant could have killed him on the spot but did not do so. Later, however, the keeper dug a big pit in the forest and killed the elephant. 

Chudala illustrated Sikhidhvaja’s error by this story. He had vairagya even while ruling his kingdom and could have realised the Self if only he had pushed his vairagya to the point of killing the ego. He did not do it, but came to the forest, had a timetable of tapas and yet did not improve even after 18 years of tapas. He had made himself a victim of his own creation. Chudala advised him to give up the ego and realise the Self which he did and was liberated. It is clear from Chudala’s story that vairagya accompanied by ego is of no value, whereas all possessions in the absence of ego do not matter.