Shri Nathji gave the example of a man who saw a ruby sparkling in a pond. The man was attracted to the ruby and sought to possess it. But all his efforts to seize the ruby failed. No sooner would he come to within inches of securing it, when it would vanish! It was a strange dilemma. A mahatma, who happened to be passing by, saw this strange scene. He understood.
“Look upwards, not downwards,” he said to the man. The man turned his eyes upwards. Up, above the pond, was a tree. Within the tree was a nest, and the ruby rested in the nest. A bird had brought the ruby to its nest several days before.
What you have been chasing after is the reflection of the ruby in the pond! said the mahatma, the real ruby lies above you!
The man received enlightenment. He left the pond and got what he wanted from the tree above.
In Shri Nathji’s words:
Uss gul kaa aks hai ye saare chaman ki raunak
Jiss gul kaa gulistaan men koyi nishaan nahin hai.
The glory of the garden is a reflection of the Rose
Of which there is no sign within the garden.