The Salt Doll
A salt doll journeyed for thousands of miles over land, until it finally came to the sea.
It was fascinated by this strange moving mass, quite unlike anything it had ever seen before.
“Who are you?” said the salt doll to the sea.
The sea smilingly replied, “Come in and see.”
So the doll waded in.
The farther it walked into the sea the more it dissolved, until there was only very little of it left.
Before that last bit dissolved, the doll exclaimed in wonder, “Now I know what I am!”
Original parable by Ramakrishna Paramhansa, about a salt doll who wanted to measure the depth of the ocean. Edited above by Anthony De Mello.
SEED QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: What does self-realization mean to you? Can you share an experience where you got a glimpse of who you truly are? How do you reconcile gaining an awareness of the ocean-like vastness about your true nature with the loss of the opportunity for the salt-doll experience?