Hari OM
Application - that is what 'Workings-days' are about!
Following up on the safety of boats on wild seas;
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kwmhimit cetae ma Sm ga> katrTvm!,
Sarisjd&iz deve tavkI _ai´reka
Narki_aid in;{[a tariy:yTyvZym!.13.
Bhava-jaladhim-agaadham dustaram nistareyam
Katham-ahamiti cheto maa sma gaaH kaataratvam,
sarasijadRshi deve taavakii bhaktirekaa
Naraka-bhidi nishannaa taarayishyatyavashyam ||13||
O mind! Do not get dejected as to how to cross the ocean of worldly existence which is difficult to cross! Your firm devotion in the lotus-eyed god, the killer of the demon Naraka, alone will surely take you across!
There is no real knowing of what is Maya, the grand illusion of which we imagine ourselves to be a part. We only know it by its effect upon us, and that is given the analogy of being upon an ocean. There are crests and troughs in the flow of life which are akin to the waves upon the water. There will be calm times and stormy ones. If we believe ourselves to be separate from that flow, we can feel exceedingly tossed about. It leads us into dejection, dark moods, unhealthy places.
Here, the king-guru echoes the words of the Bhagavad Gita which exhorts that you, "do not look down upon yourself at any time, do not give up." (6.5) It follows with the verse,
बन्धुरात्मात्मनस्तस्य येनात्मैवात्मना जित: |
अनात्मनस्तु शत्रुत्वे वर्ते तात्मैव शत्रुवत् ||
bandhur aatmaatmanas tasya yenaatmaivaatmanaa jitaH,
anaatmanas tu shatrutve vartetaatmaiva shatru-vat.
For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy.
Here, the translation of aatmaa is taken as the mind as per the OM in the BMI chart - Universal Consciousness. Another way to put this is, "raise yourself by The Self". We are more familiar with, 'Lord helps those who help themselves'. The former could be argued to be purely advaitic, the latter, dvaitic. Semantics aside, it is important to understand that, ultimately, we must sail the ocean regardless, and if we are going to do it successfully, we need to make the efforts to ensure as safe passage as possible. It is no good crying poor me and expecting to surrender any responsibility for oneself. This doesn't mean that there isn't help. If we have shown the willing, then help is there and all we have to do is ask. In the case of spiritual uplift, turning our eyes to the Higher and remembering that our true destination is to sit on that side of samsaara, we will surely sail safely.
