IT is not easy to get rid of illusion. It lingers even after the attainment of knowledge. A man dreamt of a tiger. Then he woke up and his dream vanished. But his heart continued to palpitate.
Some thieves came to a field. A straw figure resembling a man had been put there to frighten intruders. The thieves were scared by the figure and could not persuade themselves to enter the field. One of them, however, approached and found that it was only a figure made of straw. He came back to his companions and said, “There is nothing to be afraid of.” But still they refused to go. They said that their hearts were beating fast. Then the daring thief laid the figure on the ground and said, “It is nothing, it is nothing.” This is the process of ‘Neti, neti.’ (37)