Sant Aapeshwar began his discourse, "Election after election and forever we have been hoping to figure out who is the all-good Brahma and who is the deceitful Maya. And we have failed miserably each time. And the surprise of surprises is this - we fail even after we switch our belief about who is who. Many call this switching of belief anti-incumbency factor. An even bigger surprise is that after each anti-incumbency movement we emerge divided as ever and our miseries stronger than ever." He paused and took a deep breath.
"O noble saint, is there a way out for us?", asked a haggard looking voter (HLV). "There definitely is. But then you have to walk the path of knowledge.", replied the Sant. He continued, "Unless you realize that your misery arises from the false knowledge, Avidya, there is no hope for you. What is this Avidya? It is the belief that you have a choice and that the choice is between a good and an evil. It is the belief that there is a duality at work and that both good and evil are vying for your vote. It is the belief that you can make the right choice and this right choice will make your miseries go away."
"Noble saint, you confuse me. Yes there is a duality. If it were not there why would there be a need to vote? It would not matter who won the contest.", blurted out the HLV.
"Dear one, have you not noticed that there are some who have realized the futility of voting and don't have any urge to vote. And has who-emerges-the-winner really made any difference? Don't you see the obvious? There is no choice. The power-holders and aspirants, the winner and the loser, are all the same. There is no duality and there is little advantage in choosing one over the other." Thus spake the Sant.
"Revered Sant, are you telling us to resign ourselves to these circumstances? And are you telling us to refrain from casting our vote?", inquired the HLV.
The Sant smiled and spoke thus, "On the contrary, once the non-dualism in the present system has been comprehended, your task begins! Once you realize that the system is evil and Maya alone, your search for the good, for the absolute Brahma starts. But until you do that the system will persistently create a delusion of duality and egg you on for casting your vote. For it is your vote and your vote alone that keeps this system alive."
"Learned one! if duality is a mere delusion from whence will this good Brahma arise?", asked the HLV.
"O seeker, open your eyes and look at me. Don't you still see the arising that will soon cast away the Maya and the miseries wrought by it?", said the Sant.
"Forgive me o lord! but how do I know that it is not the non-dual system desperately churning our more images to keep the delusion going for as long as possible. How do I know if this is truly another option and not just a proliferation of the non-dual system?", questioned the bewildered HLV.
"You doomed ignorant fellow!", hissed the Sant, his eyes glowing with both pity and anger, "If you fail to recognize this alternative that has so graciously presented itself to you, you will be doomed forever. Take this leap of faith or else learn to live with your miseries which will only grow exponentially."
The Sant calmed down and said in a loving voice, "To help you in your quest here are the questionnaires generated by me. Pose these to the apparently many but essentially monolithic non-dual system and watch them dissolve away."
With this final utterance, the Sant closed his eyes and started to think of answers to the questionnaire sent to him by his one time follower who had grown disenchanted for reasons that the Sant saw as pure delusions but the questioner saw as edifying.
Let us hope that the truth shines out and prevails.
Satyamev Jayate!
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