In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says that to a yogi mud, a stone and gold are all one and the same. Explaining this in a discourse, Valayapet Ramachariar said that a yogi does not see any of God’s creations as superior or inferior to another.
A yogi views all material possessions the same way too. He who has this attitude is one who has understood the nature of the atma.
Kooratazhvan was a classic example of what a yogi should be like. Once, a visitor came to Kooratazhvan’s residence. Kooratazhvan told him to fetch a fistful of mud from near the Varadaraja temple in Kanchipuram.
He said food would be served to the visitor after he returned. Kooratazhvan resided in Kooram, some distance from Kanchipuram.
When the visitor came back with a fistful of mud, Kooratazhvan asked him to show it to him. Upon seeing the mud, Kooratazhvan exclaimed that what the man had in his hand was a salagrama! The salagrama is sacred and is worshipped as the Lord Himself.
But how could this mud be a salagrama? Kooratazhvan was such a yogi that to him mud and salagrama were all the same. To his eyes, the mud appeared like a salagrama.
Later, when Kooratazhvan gave up all his wealth and was travelling to Srirangam, his wife expressed the fear that travel might not be safe.
Kooratazhvan asked her why she should be afraid when they had nothing valuable, having given away everything. She said she had with her the golden plate on which Kooratazhvan used to eat.
Kooratazhvan took the plate from her and threw it away. To him, gold was as insignificant as mud.
