All the villagers gathered round to sit at the venerable one’s feet when a young boy, unable to hide his enthusiasm, burst out with the question he had long been harbouring in his heart…

 

“Oh, Bhikkhu, tell us of the birth of the universe.”

 

The old lama closed his eyes, sat in deep contemplation and the room sat with him, content to wait for the answer to arise. They waited a long time, the elders and the adults and the children, the air barely moving, before the old lama began to speak.

 

“In the beginning," he said "there was nothing…

 

In truth there was no beginning, but for the sake of our poor fragile minds, let us imagine that there was… a time before time… and when that was, there was nothing.

 

Now nothing is not what it seems. At least not to us who claim to know so much. Nothingness might be said to be the rich precondition out of which everything arises.

 

Let us imagine then, this nothingness, as an infinite well of potential, and let us call this potential Brahma.

 

It is out of this nothingness that our present universe sprang forth, and this particular universe sprung forth due to a singular desire.

 

What was that desire, children?

 

The desire was to dance.

​

 

Now, in order to dance we need some room. So Brahma created a giant golden womb out of which he gave birth to himself. By this we simply mean that he gave birth to Time. Into this womb he also breathed space – we call this time and space the Akasha.

 

Now in order to dance, we need more than space, we need a little music. 

 

And so Brahma filled the akasha with dust, impeccably fine dust, impossible to see or taste or feel or touch, though if one becomes very still, one can sense its fragrance, like a sweet perfume lingering on the wind. The name of this dust is prakriti and its nature is three-fold. Satvva, the quality of lightness, Rajas, the quality of movement and Tamas, the quality of rest.

 

Now dust is not enough for a dance, there must be sound, there must be music. In order to make music, we must make the dust vibrate. And so Brahma used his purusha, his divine breath to create a little wind – Vayu. With that wind he blew the prakriti into all corners of the universe. So the universe became full of subtle energy — any kind of dance you can think of, it can now do.

 

Now if we are going to dance, there might as well be a stage. And for that one needs form and shape, so Brahma blew a little water – Varuna, into existence, and the dust began to bind and fasten and take all sorts of shape. But a stage is not enough, for there to be a dance there must be dancers, there must be birds and animals and plants… and so Brahma breathed a little fire – Agni, into existence, that we might have a little warmth, a little animation and movement and so on.

 

With Agni came all of the stars whose light fills more universes than all of the grains of sand in this one.   

 

And so, here we all are, the sun and the moon and the stars, dancing, the elements, and the seasons and the ages all moving in one great harmonious song.

 

It’s a very intricate dance, this dance, a fantastic number. Entire galaxies coming into and out of existence and all the dancers getting very animated, the noble elements following the three-fold law, all seemingly of their own accord, and yet, behind them all is Brahma, breathing his divine will, his purusha, into every single aspect, playing the tune of creation.

 

Now, the question might be asked, why does Brahma dance?

 

For the same reason you do,

 

Because it brings him great joy.”

 

 

“But what of all the suffering we feel, Acharya?” Asked an old woman, who had borne much hardship.

 

“Ahh… now dukkha… the most convincing part of the illusion. You cannot tell a mother who has lost a son that her suffering is not real. Her calamity is very real indeed, although even the greatest pain has its limit…

 

It has a limit, and it has a purpose.

 

The purpose is to come out of your limitedness. 

 

You see, through ignorance we believe that we live in a limited universe, limited by time, limited by resources, limited by this body – which is small and weak and of the nature to die. When in truth, you are the very universe expounding at once. Verily, I say to you, explain one thing in this entire creation without first having to explain every other.

 

Now it goes further than this, for if you go deeply into the nature of your own pain, you’ll begin to see, very clearly, that the cause of your suffering is the same as the cure. You see, you have chosen to forget your true nature only so that you may discover it again. Your nature is Brahma, nothing more, nothing less.”

 

The old man smiled.

 

“Perhaps what I am saying is acceptable to you today. Perhaps not. It does not matter. What matters for you, only, is that you experience this unity, this oneness that the great sages talk about, for yourself. Brahma cannot be explained by an old man like me, he cannot be put into words or symbols. He cannot be contained in a box, no matter how intricate or vast or beautiful the box. The box of Brahma contains the entirety of creation and yet is not contained by it.

 

Oh no, Brahma is something that must be realised. And in order to realise Brahma, it is very easy, you must simply want it. You must really want it… to meet Brahma above all else. It is a matter for the heart. Once the desire is there, the path unfolds quite naturally. Help is already on the way. But for most of us, believe it or not, we are quite enjoying playing this game of non-believing – of craving and aversion – of trying to taste all the fruits of creation one by one – of Time.

 

But when the suffering of samsara becomes so great that the desire for it to stop outshines all other desires, then you will start to seek Brahma. Is this not already so? In your weakest moments for whom do you seek? That very same creator whom you would so easily deny in your greatest.

 

Oh I say to you, that once the seed of pure desire... the desire to know Brahma, has been planted in the fertile soil of your heart. Once you begin to seek Brahma, on your good days as well as your bad, you will quickly begin to come out of all misery and your bondage…

 

And when you do, my children, then you will really see what it means to dance.”