Verse 13
का ते कान्ता धनगतचिन्ता वातुल किं तव नास्ति नियन्ता
।
त्रिजगति सज्जनसङ्गतिरेका भवति भवार्णवतरणे नौका ॥ १३॥
kāte kāntā dhana gatacintā
vātula kiṁ tava nāsti niyantā,
trijagati sajjanasaṁ gatiraikā
bhavati bhavārṇavataraṇe naukā.
(O
distracted one, Who is your wife? Why this engrossment in thoughts of wealth? Is there none to guide you?
There is only one thing
in the three worlds that can save you from the ocean of transmigration.
Get into the boat of holy company to cross this ocean of becoming.)
Man’s Universal need for Support
Sri Sankaracharya now addresses the deep-seated need felt in the human psyche for some form of support. Usually man looks for this support in the outer world, in wife or is wealth. But are our worries over them really going to help us?
Man is wrapped with a cloak of Maya as it were, which, through its
inscrutable power, distorts his vision of reality.
Most of his thoughts shuttle between women and wealth. This verse
is addressed to such a sensuous man whose worries take away most of his time
and leave him a slave of his desires.
He who allows himself to be overpowered by thoughts of lust and
passion becomes a prey to mental weakness and moral depravity.
Such a man has to be aware that there is a higher Power that is
taking care of everything in creation. We should just surrender all our
concerns to Him. The Divine Source of all creation would make the best support
that will meet all our need. So, we can afford to let go of wife and wealth,
and look to the Lord Himself for all support. Since He is so vastly more
empowered than one’s family or one’s property, His support would not fail us.
Besides He knows our need more than we do. He will provide for us even without
our asking.
A spiritual aspirant should relentlessly curtail such
unproductive, self-draining and injurious thoughts with Shraddha. He should
hold on to God with a firm will.
He should have his will-power strengthened with dispassion,
self-control and purity.
An example
Look at the birth of a child. How is it prepared for birth? Who
took care of it before birth? Thank God, it wasn’t the
mother. Imagine the extra worry on mummy’s head if she had to direct all
the instructions to supply the necessary food items to the fetus in her womb.
She must be the most relieved person to know that all that is being taken care
of by a higher Power.
We just have to do our duty and relax. The One above will see to
the rest. In that spirit we will relieve ourselves of bearing unnecessary
burdens on our head. We do not have to start panicking for any reason. Who is
there to stop us from taking His Name even while we do our actions? We should
never feel that we are alone in handling our burdens.
We should bury our worries before the worry buries us.
Good Company Ensures a Safe Journey
The second line of this verse provides a practical alternative to
“wife and wealth” as a support for one’s life. It is the company of good
people, saintly people, and fellowship with spiritually elevated persons.
Why is this, such a powerful alternative?
The former tends to be a selfish association and one’s boat is always
in a state of permanent anchorage to the rock of worldly life. However, good,
saintly company can be very uplifting.
Constant association with good people flushes out all bad
thoughts, fills his heart with noble and elevating thoughts and makes us pure
and holy, humble and gentle.
Such company is completely free of all attachment and so the
“boat” of our life can move across to the other shore of Liberation without
being held back by any anchor or worldly mooring.
The boat analogy, on being explored a bit further, reveals how
insightful the choice of such a simile is to good company.
i) Evil company will make us sink further into dangers, whereas
good company lifts us safely over the waters of life. This is compared to the
ocean which is deep and dangerous with many hidden rocks and sharks, with
mighty waves and hidden currents.
ii) Upon the surface where the waves lash, the boat absorbs
all the jolting shocks, bears the impact that a traveler inside hardly feels
the fierce tossing and remains comfortable throughout his journey
Similarly, when crossing whirlpools of life, evil company will
allow us to spin in any direction according to the current. Good company, on
the other hand, sticks to the Godward direction in spite of any whirlpool. The
single-pointedness we develop due to good company steers us safely to freedom.
iii) Heavy winds or storms can easily tip our boat if it is not
controlled well by good company.
A man blessed with holy company safely passes through the ocean of
births and deaths and reaches his destination on the other shore, without the
ocean / waves of worldliness wetting him in the journey
Love.
