Everything Can Become 3 Device
BY GANGA
My garden is an ongoing source of
devices for me. Thinking of it always
brings m e into the m o m e n t , and i t never
stops challenging my perception and
awareness. It teaches me via the dharma
of plant life. If I don’t get i t , the plants
will n o t complain, but they will slowly
t u r n into limp, colorless masses before
disappearing all together. If I get it, they
grow, bloom, and spread their fragrance.
The garden. so often highlights my limita‑
tions and nudges me to go beyond them.
It lets me take part in the rhythms of life, demonstrates
how to live with the seasons. It teaches me about right
action, right m o m e n t , about harmony and compatibility
and their opposites. In short: Gardening is the end of
having it my way; it’s all about surrender.
And since there is no one to ask ‐ the plants corn‑
municate in their o w n silent language ‐ after consult‑
ing books and Google, I have to dive into my o w n
resources; another precious device.
It’s easy to accept the garden as a Master, but more
difficult with people. You don’t lose face surrendering
to a garden; you are n o t praised or exposed as a failure.
There is no fear of being rejected or hankering to be
accepted and loved. Of course, it's fun if the garden is
happy and full of flowers, colors, and crunchy lettuces,
but there is nobody to say good or bad; it’s all self‑
evident.
In all this the benefits of devices become apparent: get‑
ting o u t of the grip of limited understanding; pointing
o u t destructive, outdated, or megalomaniac beliefs; pro‑
pelling me into more freedom; kindling t r u s t in myself;
poking holes in unrealistic self‐image bubbles; opening
into a wider frame of mind; expanding the horizon;
and sharpening awareness.
Another memory comes up from the old days work‑
ing in the kitchen with Deeksha. One day she had one
of her screaming fits, tickling the freely dangling balls
under the robe of a skinny-legged swami, proclaiming
loudly, "Not much there.” The poor guy froze in horror
and humiliation.
Then it was my t u r n : "Don’t be so German,” among
other stuff, while I executed the Gurdjieffian task of
deep cleaning a shelf for the second time that day. I
heard what she said, and nothing moved inside ‐ no
red ears, clenched teeth, thoughts of revenge, no reac‑
tion - just the simple thought: "This is her stuff; it
has nothing to do with me.” I had clear boundaries
for the first time in my life. There was no feeling of
being intruded upon, no feeling of being trespassed
o n , which was one of my biggest fears.
Instead. I experienced directly: "This is
where I am; this is where I end. This
is where she is; this is where another
starts." I tell you, life is different with
boundaries. This was huge for me. Her
outrageousness triggered this healthy
response in me, and I am forever grate‑
ful to her for being the midwife into
this new life. Afterward I happily
accepted other challenges like: "Bake
a sponge cake without using eggs.” ( I n
the early days eggs were o u t ; only later did they become
part of o u r diet.)
And, of course, there are the devices deliberately cho‑
sen by the Masters, kind of hand-tailored for each disci‑
ple. For example, there are sets of koans that have been
used for centuries to liberate the student from particular
frames of mind; like "Is the m o o n clever or stupid?" "Is
the Buddha inside or outside your heart?”
Other koans, like “Who am I? What is love, t r u s t , free‑
dom?” used in the Awareness Intensives (Who Is I n ?
and Satori), don’t have answers but are pointers and
encouragement to experience, embody, and live the
koan every m o m e n t . They are devices t o come o u t o f
the thinking mind into no-mind and being.
The most famous story of devices is probably the beauti‑
ful story of Mojud, who kept receiving messages from
Khidr, the m a n dressed in green, like “Sell your shop
and go to...” Mojud never questioned or reasoned. He
trusted and ended up enlightened.
Actually, everything can become a device if I am open
to receiving and learning. B u t nothing will happen if
I don’t recognize the situation as a device. I need to
p u t one and t w o together before it clicks, before I can
get what I am actually learning. I need to be .in a posi‑
tion to extract the goodies from the situation and savor
them. Well, everything works better with conscious‑
ness, doesn’t it?
Another device comes to m i n d from the early Pune
days. Going to the workers’ tea break while working in
the bakery I left my ring on the bread-kneading table,
trustng that nobody from my sannyas family would
steal it. Well, when I came back it was gone, and I was
devastated. It was the only piece I had from my ex ‐ no
need to mention attachment. A few days were filled
with crying my heart o u t , m o r e over the lost innocence
and, I admit, blue-eyed t r u s t toward my fellow travelers
than the lost ring. One day Amida came and brought
me her precious emerald ring as a consolation ‐ more
tears. This time I cried out of feeling loved.