There was once a student named Nala who wished, more than anything, to
understand. He went from teacher to teacher, but the wisdom never
seemed to stay with him. At last he came to a forest hermit who knew
Krishna's teaching, and asked why understanding always slipped through
his fingers.
The hermit handed him three small clay lamps and a flask of oil.
"Light these," he said, "and we will see."
Nala lit the first lamp. "This flame," said the hermit, "is trust.
When you listen to a teaching, do you listen with an open heart — or
do you cross your arms and wait to argue? A doubting heart blows its
own lamp out before the lesson is even finished."
Nala thought of all the times he had half-listened, already sure he
knew better. He lit the second lamp more carefully.
"This flame," said the hermit, "is attention. Where does your mind go
while you study? Does it stay on the truth before you, or does it
wander to your supper and your worries and the noise outside? A
scattered mind is a lamp set in a draught."
Nala remembered a hundred lessons he had let drift past him while his
thoughts ran elsewhere. He cupped his hand around the third lamp.
"And this flame," said the hermit, "is a steady hold on the senses.
Your eyes chase every pretty thing, your ears chase every sound, and
they drag your mind along behind them like a calf on a rope. Quiet
them, and the flame stands tall and still."
The three little lamps burned together now, steady and bright, and
their light filled the hut.
"When all three burn at once," the hermit said, "knowledge comes to
you and stays. And the one who truly comes to know — listen well,
Nala — does not have to wait long after that. Very soon a great peace
settles over him, the highest peace there is, the kind nothing in the
world can shake."
Nala looked at the three steady flames, and for the first time none of
them flickered. He understood that he had been trying to grasp wisdom
with his hands, when all along he needed only to keep his three small
lamps burning.
Outside, the forest was very quiet, as though it too were listening.
