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Written by Sri Swami Chandrashekarendra
Saraswati |
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In his Prasnottara-Ratnamalika, our Acarya asks: "Samsare kim saram?”
(What is the meaning of worldly existence?) He responds to the question
himself:" You asked the question thus. Keep asking again and again. That
is the meaning of samsara”. ("Bahusah abhi vicintyamanam idam eva.")
"What is the purpose of my birth? Why was I born? “You must ask
yourself this question again and again. You must also have some concern
about whether you will reach the goal of your birth. "Why do you keep
sinning?" is a problem that always worries us. "Why do you get angry?
And why do we desire this and that? Can't we remain always happy
without sinning, without anger and desire?" We do not seem to know the
answers to these questions.
The fruit is formed from the flowers, first in the tender unripe form
and
finally in the mellow form. The flowers smell fragrant to the nose and
the
ripe fruit tastes sweet to the palate. The mellow or ripe fruit is full
of
sweetness. How did the fruit taste before it became ripe and sweet? The
flower was bitter, the tender fruit was astringent, the unripe fruit was
sour and the fruit that is mellow now is sweet. Peace means sweetness.
When the heart is all sweetness all attachments disappear. There is
attachment only so long as there is sourness. When you pluck an unripe
fruit from a tree there is sap in the stem as well as in the fruit. It
means
that the tree is not willing to part from the fruit and vice versa.
But when the sweetness is full, all the ties will be snapped and the
fruit
will drop to earth by itself. The tree releases the fruit or the fruit
frees
itself from the tree. The separation is without any tears and happy
[there
is no sap]. Similarly, step-step by step, a man must become wholly sweet
like a mellow fruit and free himself happily from the tree of samsara,
the
cycle of births and deaths. Desire, anger, and so on, are necessary
stages
in out development like bitterness, astrigency, sourness and sweetness
in
the growth of a fruit.
When we are subiect to urges like desire and anger we will not be to
free
ourselves fully from them but we must keep asking ourselves why we
become subject to these urges and passions. We must constantly wonder
whether they serve any purpose. If we do not remain vigilant about them
we will become victims of their deception.
There must be astringency when it is time for astringency and sourness
when it is time for sourness. But neither astringency nor sourness must
remain a permanent state. Just as a tender fruit becomes mellow, we too
must become mellow and sweet. If we do so there is no need to seek
liberation on our own. If we are as we should be in the different stages
of
our life, liberation shall come in the natural process. On the other
hand, if
we make and effort at an inappropriate time [if we force ourselves] it
will
be like making the fruit prematurely ripe. Such a fruit will not taste
sweet.
We should not, however, remain always in the same state as the one in
which we find ourselves today, indifferent to everything. At the same
time, when our bag of sins still to be emptied, we cannot thirst for the
supreme knowledge. Instead, let us keep doing our duty hoping that we
will realise the supreme knowledge, if not now, after many a birth. Let
us
adhere to the dharma prescribed by the Vedas. If we do so, we will
proceed gradually to the supreme jnana. Now we are aware only of
outward matters and outward disguises. So let us start with the outward
rites of our religion and the outward symbols and signs. By degrees then
let us go to the inner reality through the different stages from that of
the
tender fruit to the fruit that is mellow and sweet. |
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