SAH TARATI- HE CROSSES.
Who
crosses the ocean of Samsara???
The answer
is given in the previous 4 Sutras which we will refresh here:
He crosses
the ocean of Samsara or Maya, Who:-
Ø
Gives up attachment to sense
objects;
Ø
Serves the great devotees;
Ø
renounces all sense of
possession in himself;
Ø
keeps himself in a solitary
place;
Ø
plucks the bondage with the
world by its roots;
Ø
beyond the clutches of the
(three) Gunas;
Ø
renounces all his
anxieties in acquiring & maintaining;
Ø
relinquishes the fruits of
his actions;
Ø
renounces all egocentric
actions;
Ø
is free from play of
opposites (Nir-dvando Bhavati);
Ø
renounces even the vedas;
Ø
gains a pure unbroken flow of
devotion;
AND
Does he
stop there?? No. What does he do?
SA LOKAAMSTAARAYATI.
Author
recalls a line repeated by one of his best ever friend / his brother who flew
from Muscat to US, who used to add a
line to the Kathopanishad line (quoted by Vivekananda very often) and say,
“Arise,
Awake, Stop not till the goal is reached and …. Having reached, help / take
others with you to reach there”.
One who
has crossed this maya and has become one with God / SELF, when such a person
happens to look at this world of beings, he is able to know that all these
beings are verily the same SELF / GOD but they are innocently / ignorantly
unaware of this grand truth and are caught up in the clutches of Maya.
The state
of such men has been given by Sankara in vivekachudamani when he writes,
“Those
who have only an apparent dispassion and are trying to cross the ocean of
worldly existence are caught by their throats by the shark of desire which violently
dragging them along, drowns them in the middle of the ocean.”
(verse 79)
Speaking of such shark, Chinmaya, in his own unmatched style and expression, writes, such beings who
are drowned into the worldly existence, live a life as though they are in the
belly of shark (the shark of samsara) which has already swallowed them. Poor
beings, unaware that they are already dead and swallowed by the shark, still,
in their ignorance, they walk about, talk, eat and live their life, suited and
booted, within the belly of the shark.
Now, when the God realized being,
(SAH TARATI) sees these beings, He is clearly able to see their pathetic life
within the belly of the shark of samsara though they do not miss any chance to
announce to the world through their actions, if not through word, “Here I am, suited and booted, working in a
great company, having great family, having 3 residential properties back home,
driving a 4 wheeler here, have sufficient bank balance and FDs”.
The realized master can only
smile with compassion on seeing them in this false identity, innocent of their
life within the belly of shark.
Thus, the expression "SA LOKAAMSTAARAYATI" or "Helps others to cross", is not a deliberate, planned series
of actions by the realized seer to help others to cross, but it is a natural
act of LOVE, seeing them caught up in this samsara whereas being aware fully that
they are ever born free, they are verily God themselves.
All that he does in helping them to cross the ocean of Samsara is
to extend his hands and tell them in LOVE,
“O great souls, O embodiments of divinity, look, you need not struggle in this ocean of
samsara, not knowing how to swim and reach the shore, I have struggled myself ,
learnt swimming and have crossed this ocean, it is just the Love within, not
any special quality exhibited by me, but that LOVE, which is the essential
nature of all, you and me, which makes me offer my hands, come, hold my hands
and rest assured, I will do my best to take you to the shore (the gate way of
liberation) and then you can / you need to walk yourself to reach your home, the goal, Moksha”
Love
Note - Out of millions and trillions of beings
singing merrily inside the belly of shark, only 1 or 2 or 3 really believe that
they are not in a place where they have to be, believe that here is a person
who can help us reach our home somehow by getting out of this shark’s belly and
ultimately, offer themselves to the realized seer to help them out!! This is
Samsara, Maya, which is most powerful, apparently even more powerful than the
creator, the God Himself.
