3 aspiring yoga students and a guru

Three aspiring yoga students are sat round a table. A guru walks into the room. The guru says:

“Welcome dear brothers and sisters. Today, one of you will have an opportunity to stay in our ashram, where you will be trained under the supervision of our senior gurus.”

She proceeds to lift a note out of her pocket and says:

“Now I will ask each one of you a question. The one who answers the question to my greatest satisfaction will be invited to stay at the ashram”.

She looks at the first aspiring student and says, “Tell me what you know about spirituality?”

The first aspiring student, with a big smile on their face says, “Well, I've read the Bhagavad Gita — cover to cover. I know all of the great stories of Arjuna and Krishna. I’ve also studied the Upanishads and know what it takes to be a devoted yogi”.

The same question is asked to the second aspiring student, who leans forward and says, “I’ve attended 3 Eckart Tolle seminars. I’ve read 2 of Sadhguru’s books. I know so much about the Kundalini Shakti energy and want to awaken mine under the guidance of your wise teachers”.

The guru looks towards the 3rd aspiring student, who is sitting quietly and says, “Now what do you know about spirituality?”

The 3rd aspiring student remains silent for a moment. This puzzles the others. After 20 seconds, the 3rd aspiring student says, “Well to be honest, I know very little. I have tried to read religious and spiritual texts but I don’t take it in too well. I try to make up for this by having a kind heart and helping others in any way possible. My family mean the world to me, especially my mum who has scarified so much for me and my siblings during our upbringing. I try to make it up to her in any way possible”.

The guru gives thanks to each of the aspiring students for their answers. She then leans over to the 3rd aspiring student and places her palm over their palm and says:

“We would be honored to have you stay at our ashram. Your heart is as pure as the trees that surround our walls. You accept that knowledge alone is not the way. You have what it takes to become self actualised”.