Narada Bhakti Sutra - Post 57

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.  

Narada Bhakti Sutra - Post 56

Sutra 49. Yo vedaanapi sannyasyati, kevala- mavichchinnaanuragam labhate.

He who abandons even the Vedas, even the rites and ceremonies prescribed by the Vedas and obtains undivided and undiluted and uninterrupted flow of love towards God.

Yah: who

Vedaan:  the sacred books, the Vedas

api: even

Sannyasyati: renounces

Kevalam: Undivided unalloyed

Avichchinaanuragam: uninterrupted flow of love

labhate: attains.

By ‘Veda’ it is meant here the ritualistic portion of the Vedas. The man of realisation does not stand in need of the rituals prescribed by the Vedas but they may be performed in earlier stages as a means for God-realisation.

Kevalam: Love for God is not diluted with desires of any other kind such as pleasures of earth and heaven. The love that arises at this stage is never satisfied till God is realised. 

Renunciation of Vedas really means renunciation of desires.

Continuous flow of love without any break even for a second is Avichchinna-anurag. Vedas can afford no interest for a man who has got this kind of incessant flow of prem. 

That is the reason why the Gita says: “All true Vedas are as useful to an enlightened Brahmin, as is a tank in a place covered all over with water.” Ch. II. 46.

Dear Readers, 

This sutra needs to be properly understood so that sadhakas, half way through in their sadhana, take advantage of such sutras / declarations in advanced vedantha treatise and say, "See, in the treatise itself it is written that vedas are not required for a devotee and hence I have renounced vedas / rituals / prayers etc.

The sutra reads thus :

"He who abandons even the Vedas, even the rites and ceremonies prescribed by the Vedas and obtains undivided and undiluted and uninterrupted flow of love towards God.'

While for a devotee who is immersed in Parama Prema for God, this sutra is experienced as such, for others, let this sutra be rearranged in this way

'He who is filled with undivided and undiluted and uninterrupted flow of love towards God, transcends the vedas, the rites and the ceremonies prescribed by the vedas'

When the devotee advances in his devotion he gets merged in the Lord. Such a devotee does not deliberately renounce the Vedas. 

The Vedas themselves withdraw their control over him as he has realised the goal of his life. 

This gets aligned to the previous post's commentary which explains "Renouncing the renouncer" or "Surrender of the surrenderer".

As long as one is in a state to deliberately abandon vedas / anything, he has not reached the state of uninterrupted flow of Love.

Only when a devotee is so immersed in love for God that he cannot afford a break / a disruption in his Love for God to allow his mind to work, he transcends all code of conduct run spiritual sadhana, he transcends all spiritual injunctions, transcends all the ritualistic requirement of the vedas.

There is no mind left any more to think of performing the sandhya vandanam, to sing bhajans, to perform daily aarti, to recite daily vishnu sahasranama, which he would have been doing daily once upon a time.

So, there is no mind to say - "Do these rituals" and similarly, there is no mind to say, "Don't do these".

So, it is not that he will stop all these totally (with mind). In a gathering where the sahasranamam is being recited, he may even effortlessly chant the same, he may sing bhajans in a gathering effortlessly, he may undertake pilgrimage with family / others without a thought to accept / reject a request to join in pilgrimage.

It is just that he has transcended the NEED for following / undertaking the spiritual injunctions, the preliminary ritualistic requirement mentioned in the Karma Kanda of the vedas.

The vedas are now for such a devotee, like a guide who helps in taking a tourist upto the destination and on reaching the destination, the guide being confident that the tourist is capable of taking care of himself in the destination, shakes hands, accepts the gratitude of the tourist and bids goodbye and leaves the tourist!!!!

So, devotees, let us not misunderstand the sutra given by Devarishi . You / We do not abandon vedas, it is that when we reach the penultimate state in our Devotion for God and are almost at the doorstep of Merger with God or have merged with the God, then it is the vedas and all spiritual discipline which salute such a devotee and leaves the devotee, knowing fully well that the devotee has outgrown and transcended the need for embracing such rituals.

Love.