A Brahmin, renowned as a vessel of all knowledge and blessed with the memory of his past births, was one day seized for forced labor. Accepting this with equanimity and desiring to exhaust his remaining karma, he took up the king’s palanquin to carry it. As he walked, his gait was slow and measured, like that of an old man, and he would look ahead only for brief moments. The other bearers, wise and energetic, moved swiftly, yet the Brahmin’s pace caused the palanquin to move unevenly. Observing this, the king grew displeased and called out, “What is this? Bearers, carry the palanquin evenly!” But the irregular motion persisted, and again the king demanded, “Why are you not carrying it properly?” Hearing these repeated admonitions, the other bearers replied, “This one is going slowly.” The king then addressed the Brahmin directly, “Are you already tired from carrying my palanquin such a short distance? Or are you unable to bear the effort, though you appear strong?” The Brahmin replied calmly, “O king, I am not strong, nor am I truly the one carrying your palanquin. I am not tired, nor do I feel any strain.” The king, puzzled, insisted, “You appear strong, and the palanquin is clearly upon you at this moment. For embodied beings, fatigue naturally arises from bearing a load.” The Brahmin answered, “O king, what you see—whether strength or weakness—should be spoken of as a quality of cattle, not of the self.” He continued, “Even if you say the palanquin belongs to you and is placed upon you, this is a mistaken view. Listen, and I will explain. When the feet are placed on the ground, the shanks and feet contact the earth; the thighs rest above the shanks, and above them is the abdomen, which supports them. The chest, arms, and shoulders are above the abdomen, and the palanquin rests upon the shoulders. Thus, its burden is borne there. “This body, which you perceive as carrying the palanquin, if spoken of as ‘you’ or ‘I’ in this context, is not truly so. You, I, and all others are carried by the elements themselves; and this collection of beings, swept along by the current of qualities, also passes away. These qualities—sattva and the rest—are subject to karma, and the karma accumulated through ignorance attaches to all living beings. “The self, however, is pure, imperishable, peaceful, without qualities, and beyond nature. For this true self, among all beings, there is neither growth nor decay. When there is neither increase nor decrease for the self, O king, by what reasoning do you say, ‘He is stout or lean’? “As the palanquin rests upon the shoulders, supported by the feet, shanks, thighs, abdomen, and so on, so too is the burden carried by you. But this palanquin is not borne by you alone, nor by me alone, but by other beings as well. It may be made from wood, trees, houses, or even the earth itself. When the distinction of the bearer arises from natural causes, O king, then that exertion must be endured; how, then, can it be attributed to me? “This palanquin is made of matter, and so is this collection of beings. All this—belonging to you or to me—is supported only by a sense of possession.” Having thus spoken, the wise Brahmin continued to carry the palanquin. The king, struck by his words, quickly descended to the ground and grasped the Brahmin’s feet in reverence. He pleaded, “O, O! Release the palanquin and show me your favor, O twice-born! Tell me, who are you here, standing in this mysterious form? Who are you, for what reason, and why have you come? Let all this be told, for I am eager to hear from you.” The Brahmin replied, “Hear this, O king: it is not possible to say who I am. In all cases, movement is undertaken for the sake of enjoyment. Pleasure and pain are experienced through the body and the senses; arising from righteousness and unrighteousness, the living being obtains a body and so on, in order to enjoy them. For every being, righteousness and unrighteousness are the cause of everything; so why do you ask about the cause?” He continued, “There is no doubt that righteousness and unrighteousness are the cause of all actions; and for the sake of enjoyment, the body is obtained and then relinquished. As for your question, ‘Who am I?’—this concerning the self cannot be expressed or heard; yet, the desire to know this arises in me. “O Brahman! If one exists, then ‘I am he’—how can this not be spoken? In regard to the self, the word ‘I am’ is not faulty, O twice-born one. But to say ‘I am the word’ is faulty with respect to the self, and likewise so; knowledge of the self in the non-self, or the word itself, is a mark of delusion. “The tongue says ‘I am,’ O King, as do the teeth, lips, and palate; but none of these are truly ‘I,’ for all are merely causes for the production of speech. By what cause does speech itself say ‘I am’? Even so, speech is not the self; thus, it is not proper to say so. “Since the body is a collection of distinct parts—head, hands, and so on—how can I apply the designation ‘I’ to any of these? If there is some other being apart from me, O best of kings, then it is proper to say ‘I am this one, and that is another.’ But when the one self is established in all bodies, then the statements ‘Who are you?’ and ‘Who am I?’ are meaningless. “You are the king, this is the palanquin, these are the bearers, and this is the road ahead; this world is yours, O king, but none of this is truly real. The palanquin is made from wood that comes from a tree, O king; should it then be called a tree or wood? No one says, ‘The great king is riding a tree,’ nor do they say, ‘You are in the wood,’ when you are seated in the palanquin. “The palanquin is a combination of wood, constructed and assembled; O best of kings, examine this—then, O blessed one, the palanquin is with you.” Thus, with gentle wisdom, the Brahmin revealed the nature of self, the illusion of possession, and the deeper reality that underlies all appearances.