Canto 11

The slokams in Canto 11 provide us with an intricate understanding of the way events play out in our lives.

The slokams  provide a clear insight into the balancing forces with which our lives are built. The balancing forces ensure that we are aware of our place in the overall scheme of the universe.

As the species that has been placed at the top of the pyramid,  it is every easy for us to indulge in excesses and in the process, destroy the very forces that sustain this very delicate balancing act.

The universe is spoken of as having been constructed by Viswakarma.  The forces used were not related to using physical forces such as matter, light, heat, or physical forces. The physical forces are manifestations of the senses,  and will disappear when the senses shut down. The primary forces comprising the Gunas and their imbalances, and which transcend the senses,  have been placed beyond the realm of the physical world,  so that we do not attempt to manipulate them and in the process of manipulation, destroy them.

However the real forces that are beyond the physical realm are not unreachable.  They are reachable only through transformation of the self.  The physical forces are the forces of the mind.  The Gunas are the forces that probably drive consciousness.  The mind appears and disappears with birth and death.  Consciousness transcends the physical fabric and exists beyond time, space, or form.

For us to transcend the material world and move into the realm of permanence is the very purpose of life. The events of life are sequenced to direct us towards self realization, which in turn transports us into higher worlds. The journey has to be undertaken,  and completed, using the Paramathma’s guidance as provided in the Mahabharatha and Bhagavatham.

May we be blessed to be committed to quieten the mind and always live in the realm of consciousness.