Skip to main content

WEATHERING THE STORMY WEATHER


It is stormy, windy and rainy in Goa for the last few days. Seeing the wind and the heavy downpour, I started wondering, "What an experience it would be to be in such a storm and wind in a boat in the middle of the turbulent ocean". A crazy thought, I guess. 

But then I got this insight that, "Well, we are already in the middle of an ocean with violent winds around." The scriptures explain that, this material world is a huge ocean of birth and death, with turbulent winds and storm of problems and miseries all around us and we, tiny entities being caught in this terrible and powerful ocean are struggling helplessly to stay afloat and stable in the midst of all this drama. This material world is not so easy to overcome however powerful and expert one may be just as, even an expert swimmer is unable to swim across an ocean. 

Therefore Lord Krishna tells us in Bhagvat-gita 7.14

"daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī
mama māyā duratyayā"

"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome." 

So, what is the hope for us to overcome this insurmountable ocean of birth and death?

Lord Krishna Himself answers this question is the second part of this very verse of the Bhagvat-gita. He says - 

"mām eva ye prapadyante
māyām etāṁ taranti te"

"But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it." 

The key is simple, "Surrender unto Him". His lotus feet are compared to a boat that can safely pligh us across this dangerous shark infested ocean of miseries as Srimad-bhagvatam 10.14.58 explains -

"samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavaṁ
mahat-padaṁ puṇya-yaśo murāreḥ
bhavāmbudhir vatsa-padaṁ paraṁ padaṁ
padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ na teṣām"

"For those who have accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of the cosmic manifestation and is famous as Murāri, the enemy of the Mura demon, the ocean of the material world is like the water contained in a calf’s hoof-print. Their goal is paraṁ padam, Vaikuṇṭha, the place where there are no material miseries, beyond this material world where there is danger at every step."

Narottam Das Thakur, a great Vaishnav Saint of medieval times prays in a similar mood in his famous song, "Gauranga Karuna Karo" showing us how we should pray to the Lord so that we can weather the stormy weather of this world -

"podechi bhava tuphāne nāhiko nistār
sri carana tarani dāne, dāse karo pār"

"I am plunged amidst the violent hurricane-
stricken waves in the ocean of this material world, from which there is no escape. Kindly give me the gift of Your divine lotus feet, which are compared to a boat in which Your servant may cross over the ocean of birth and death."

- Achyut Gopal Das

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CHANTING BEYOND REASONS

"Chanting attentively is not a matter of circumstance but a matter of choice." Everyday there is a different reason to not to be chant attentively. Someday, it's because someone hurt us and we keep thinking about it, someday our health is not good. Someday, it's simply because we are not in mood. Someday, it's because a plan of ours didn't work out....And the list goes on and on. Very rarely do we chant attentively. All these reasons are valid and true. But the question is "When will there be a day when the mind will stop offering reasons to not chant attentively?" Material world is a place of continuous drama and happenings and the mind knows how to perfectly en cash on it. Even if all our problems went away, the mind will not allow us to chant attentively.....a new set of problems will come or even if there are no further problems, the mind will make one. After all, it's expert at it - creating problems where none exists. CHANTING BEYOND ...
Post a Comment
Read more

TWO DECADES OF HARE KRISHNA

"Sometimes the longest journey we make is the sixteen inches from our heads to our hearts." -  Elena Avila Coming December 2019 marks 20 years of my consistent and daily chanting of 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra, one of the prerequisite for a committed practitioner of Krishna consciousness. I started, chanting 16 rounds in December of 1999 and now, 20 years have passed by so quickly. One thing that helps me, be focused in spiritual life is watching the passing of the imperceptible time. How weeks turn into months, how months turn into years and how years turn into decades is a great wonder of life. This article is in no way to glorify my two decades of chanting Hare Krishna but it is just meant to share my little thoughts and my little experiences in my spiritual life at this junction in life. I feel so grateful to Krishna and His wonderful devotees who have been extremely kind to me by showering their grace...
Post a Comment
Read more

CLOSE YOUR EYES AND OPEN

Don't build your house in shifting sand, build it on a solid rock foundation." - Paraphrased from the teachings of Jesus Christ. As I close my eyes to chant japa and open my eyes a little while later, I notice that something has changed. Either someone who was chanting along has got up and left or someone new joins the chanting. As I close my eyes to chant in the Kirtan on the beach and open my eyes a little while later, I notice that the scene has changed. As I go outside Goa for a few days for any trip and come back, I notice that things have changed, some more development has happened. As I meet a child I know after a few years, I notice that he or she has gone through a lot of changes. Change after all is constant factor in this world. Just by observing life and being aware of the happenings around, one can learn about the truths of life. Srimad-bhagvatam mentions the story of a King called Muchukunda who once was summoned by the demigods to lea...
Post a Comment
Read more