Srimad Bhagavatam – day 551
Narayana
The Devatas prayed, “Earth, water, fire, wind, space, mind, intellect and egoism are the 8 branches for this tree called samsara. The nine holes in this body are the hollows of this tree. The ten life-forces i.e. the five life-forces of Prāṇa, apana, vyāna udāna and samāna along with the five subsidiary life-forces (upa-prāṇas) of Nāga, kurma, devadutta, krikala and dhananjaya, constitute its leaves. Individual soul and Supreme soul are the two birds that nest on this tree.
O Lord, this tree called samsāra originates in You and merges back into You alone. You alone sustain it. Totally enveloped by illusion, the ignorant perceive duality in You. Such ignorant persons can never realize the Absolute Truth. Only wise scholars, who are untouched by this veil called illusion are able to perceive you as the non-dual entity.
O Lord, You, exist as the Self which is an embodiment of consciousness. For the well-being of the animate and inanimate beings of the universe, You repeatedly incarnate. Your incarnations, which are predominantly composed of the traits of goodness (sattva), cause auspiciousness to the pious, noble beings. To the impious people they bring inauspiciousness.
O lotus-eyed Srihari! Very few people in this creation are able to fix their mind with absolute concentration upon You, who are Pure Consciousness. Using Your holy feet as a boat such persons easily cross this gigantic ocean of repeated re-births as if it were a cow’s hoof print. By surrendering to Your holy feet, Mahatmas accomplish the ultimate goal.
O Srihari! This ocean called repeated re-births (samsara) is unimaginably scary. To cross it is almost an impossible task”.
Although crossing samsāra appears to be an easy cakewalk, in reality it is not so. As long as the person listens to Puranic stories and philosophical lectures, the urge to cross this ocean of ignorance is strong. However the moment he gets up from the seat and stands, illusion puts a veil over him and he again reverts back to his original ways and thought processes. The truth is that we enjoy dwelling in ignorance and take great delight in the ignorant activities.
“Taking the help of the boat called Your lotus feet, Mahatmas have successfully crossed this ocean. Thereafter filled with compassion towards other living entities, they left behind this boat. In other words, for the well-being of the ignorant, these Self-realized Mahatmas preach about devotion towards Your lotus feet”.
Please hold on to the Lord’s feet. Using His feet as a boat, try to cross this ocean of illusion. Try not to fall again into the trap of death. It is impossible to cross this ocean based on self-efforts. The only boat that can take us ashore is the boat called the Lord’s feet. Surrender to those feet. Consecrate those feet in Your mind and heart. Ensure that Your ears listen to the divine names of those holy feet. See those holy feet using your eyes. Chant His divine names of those holy feet- ‘Hari, Krishna, Jagannatha’. Chant at least the 24 names of the Lord. At every moment and in every situation, chant only His name. Train your mind towards this.
If this is practised, we no longer need to dread this samsara. This ocean is filled with enormous whales and sharks, not to mention the innumerable jelly-fish that can cause enough troubles. These jelly-fish spoil our mind. They harm our body. They drag us down. Within this dangerous ocean there are innumerable mountains and innumerable valleys which have the capacity to drag us down to unthinkable limits. They ensure that we do not get the required respect anywhere. They fill us with fear. We are left grieving. Our surroundings are enveloped with darkness, as such we are unable to see anything clearly. This samsara is as fearsome as the tsunami. When and where it will hit us, no one knows. How far it will take us, we can’t predict. Neither can we swim nor can we drown in it. There is no end to this journey.
Only the Lord’s lotus feet have the ability to rescue us who are thus suffering. Ardent devotees have addressed His feet as golden feet. With these holy feet, He steps on his vehicle Garuda. These holy feet liberated Ahalya, who had been cursed to turn into a rock. Only these lotus feet can take us ashore.
Mahatmas, who have obtained the Lord, have left behind His feet for us. These great souls meditate on the Lord night and day. We need to offer obeisance to them again and again. They offered everything that they had including their knowledge to the Lord. They have totally surrendered unto Him.
A cow’s hoofprint holds only trivial quantity of water. We can cross this ocean of samsara as easily as crossing such hoofprint. When observed carefully in this samsara, there is absolutely no happiness. It is predominantly filled with sorrow. Happiness is only a fleeting experience. It disappears in a fraction of a second. Only sorrows remain. Mahatmas have dedicated their lives to teach us about the boat called the Lord’s lotus feet using which we can cross this ocean of ignorance.
“O Lord, You shower abundant blessings upon such Mahatmas”.
The Devatas had arrived in the prison cell as the Lord had arrived there. They were glorifying Him. In reality, He was the one being glorified; He was the one who was glorifying and He was the one who was listening to those glories. He is non-dual. You are Srihari. I am Srihari. He is Srihari. She is Srihari. This is Srihari. Everything is Srihari.
Narayana