Churning of the ocean of milk to extract amrutham is the description of the qualities that lie buried within the inner labrynths of our mind and consciousness,  and its extraction.  This is very similar to the Paramathma’s retrieval of the vedas from the depths of the ocean of ignorance in which it is lost.

In many ways,  the process of our lives is centered around the creation of that which is already known. 

When life churns our mind and consciousness through the play of the opposites, the product that is sought to be extracted is not known to us, because we have never experienced it.  The product is amrutham, which has the attributes of eternity, tranquility and invincibility.  As we live our lives,  we believe that we will be able to extract or even create these qualities,  by living by the guidance provided by  the Paramathma, in the scriptures and ithihasas and puranas.

Along the path to the extraction of Amrutham,  many other qualities, products and attributes emerge from the churning.  Among them is the dreaded poison Halahala,  which can completely destroy life.  The slokams of Canto 26 describe these various effects and products of the churning in detail.

Most importantly,  the churning is said to occur in our minds and consciousness through the combined effort of the asuras, devas and the gigantic Vasuki,  (the snake coiled around Shiva Perumal’s neck),  the mountain Mandakini, and the Paramathma,  who takes on the avatar of kurma or the giant tortoise.

In other words,  the combined effort of all of the life forms and objects of this world, along with the ultimate enabling force, which is the Paramathma,  make the generation of the amtrutham, possible.

Neither the asuras nor the devas know what they are churning for.  They,  like us, have the belief and the trust and the faith that there is a huge reward on the successful completion of the churning.   The effort involved in churning is not easy.  It requires the coordination of all the numerous forces,  sacrifice,  acceptance that the effort may not succeed, and selflessness,  since we may not live to partake the amrutam. 

From a worldly perspective,  our function is akin to that of a component part.  We learn an acquire skills that are required in the discharge and performance of certain functions.

(The following extracts from Wikipedia,  is a repeat from the previous Canto)

The Ocean of Milk is the fifth from the center of the seven oceans. It surrounds the continent known as Krauncha.^[1] According to scriptures , the devas and asuras worked together for a millennium to churn the ocean and release Amrita the nectar of immortal life.^[2] It is spoken of in the Samudra manthana chapter of the Puranas, a body of ancient Hindu legends. It is called as Thirupaarkadal in Tamil and is the place where Vishnu reclines over Shesha Naga along with his consort Lakshmi.^[3]

So Gajendra, assuming the form of a gigantic elephant,  is playing in the same ocean that was stirred by the asuras and devas together to produce the amrutham. 

It is pointed out in the slokam that the devotees of the Paramathma would always have a majestic form and be the strongest in their clan.  Gajendra is said to be the strongest in might of all creatures.

The slokam points out that the devotees of the Paramathma, in all forms, shapes and sizes,  will always attain the most superior status. 

Gajendra is said to be playing in the ocean of milk with his lady friends. 

The ocean of milk could mean many physical manifestation, including an ocean.  It can mean our galaxy,  or the universe. 

the Ocean of Milk is the fifth from the center of the seven oceans. It surrounds the continent known as Krauncha.^[1] According to Hindu scriptures , the devas and asuras worked together for a millennium to churn the ocean and release Amrita the nectar of immortal life.^[2] It is spoken of in the Samudra manthana chapter of the Puranas, a body of ancient Hindu legends. It is called as Thirupaarkadal in Tamil and is the place where Vishnu reclines over Shesha Naga along with his consort Lakshmi.^[3]

The Bhagavathm also contains a narrative about the churning of the Cosmic Ocean in order to obtain Amrita – the nectar of immortal life. At the suggestion of Vishnu the (devas) and (asuras) churn the primeval ocean in order to obtain Amrita which will guarantee them immortality. To churn the ocean they used the Serpent, Vasuki, for their churning-string. For a churning pole they used Mount Mandara placed on the back of a Great Tortoise – the Kurma Avatar of Vishnu. As the gods and demons churned the sea, the terrible poison Halahala issued from its depths and began to envelop the universe with its choking fumes. Gasping for breath, the devas and asuras sought the help of Shiva, who valiantly took the poison into his throat and swallowed it. Shocked by his heroic act, the Goddess Parvati grasped him by the throat, trapping the poison there and preventing it from spreading; but, such was the strength of the poison, that it turned his neck blue, thereby earning him the name of Neelakanta (blue-throated one).^[

It can also figuratively mean the ultimate ocean of the inner self,  which is the mind_consciousness complex. 

According to the Bhagavata, the products of the churning of Kshirasagara are the substances Halahala (the terrible poison neutralised by Shiva) and Amrita (the divine nectar); the divinities Dhanvantari (the physician of the Gods), Lakshmi (Goddess of Riches), Jyestha (Goddess of Poverty) and Chandra (the Moon); the animals Airavata, the white elephant and the horse Uchchaisrava and, last but not least, the magical wish-granting tree Kalpavriksha.

The Churning of the Cosmic Ocean (the Milky Way) is told in several ancient texts, notably in the Valmiki'sRamayana Canto 45 ^[5] and in the Mahabharata.^[6]

We must always keep in mind that the physical world is a transient medium of perception that will pass away when we go through a mortal death. Consequently,  the correct,  and true description of “Ocean of Milk”,  (and every other being, whether man, animal, insect, bird,  or  object of the physical universe, such as earth,  fire, water, sky etc.),  is the metaphysical,  which represents the reality.  Again, the word “Real” represents permanence,  and the unchanging.   Permanence resides only in our consciousness or Atma.  All other aspects of our inner self are perishable. 

From the description of the churning,  it is apparent that the ultimate product of the churning is the amrutham or nectar that comes out of it.  This amrutham is the nectar that represents permanence or eternity. 

So the ultimate meaning of the “Ocean of Milk”  and its churning represents the “churning”,  activation, agitation  of the mind/consciousness complex within us,  from which the eternity of pure consciousness is generated.

Every millisecond of our existence in this life is devoted churning of this ocean of milk.  The churning is the cooperative effort of the devas and the asuras within us.  This cooperation to attain the common objective of both our parts is the yoga or the union of the opposites.  This management of the union of the opposites for a common purpose is the conflict that we experience within us all the time.  Ultimately,  the amrutham is only distributed to the deva within us.  The asura within us is not granted its share of the amrutham for its joint effort.  The asura within us,  if granted the amrutham of immortality,  will create havoc that will destroy not only us, but also those around us. 

This abrogation of the internal “contract” with the asuras,  by the devas, is beautifully enacted by the Paramathma appearing as the enticing Mohini, to keep the asuras distracted while the devas consume the amrutham of eternity.

May we, in the process of evolution through the churning of the ocean of life,  discard the asuric quality within us.