On Saint Lalleshwari: Don’t let the donkey loose

The following is an excerpt from a samvaad (dialogue) session with Acharya Prashant.

“Sir, have you forgotten the promise you made in your mother’s womb, to die before you die? When will you remember what you intended?

Don’t let your donkey wander loose! It will stray into your neighbor’s saffron garden. Think of the damage it might do, and the punishment!

Who then will carry you naked to your own death?”

~ Saint Lalleshwari

Questioner: Acharya Ji, what does Lalleshwari mean when she says, “Don’t let your donkey wander loose! It will stray into your neighbor’s saffron garden.” What is the neighbor’s saffron garden for me?

Acharya Prashant (AP) : Let’s understand this.

The donkey is the ‘Mind’.

The neighbor’s saffron garden is the ‘World’.

The mind has a tendency to always wander into the world. The mind always finds the world very very attractive — ‘Lovely saffron garden!’