Slokam 6

The Paramathma with His effort pulls the mortar through the gap between the two trees. The trees, being old and decayed,  are unable to withstand the push of the mortar, tied to the Paramathma and crash to the ground. No matter how old and decayed the trees are a child cannot cause them to fall.  So our first reaction is to dismiss the entire sequence of events as a story. However this is the way life actually works.  Even the smallest events in our everyday life are only the result of the Paramathma’s actions. His daily interventions is the moving force behind our everyday life. No one in Golkulam realizes or knows the sequence of events behind the falling of the trees.  Is it not true that every event and the sequence of events into which it belongs are all orchestrated by the Parmathma?

The slokam is a beautiful depiction of the invisible hand of the Paramathma that makes the everyday events that we take for granted, to happen. The physical realm that we are able to witness, represents only the surface of the innumerable events that go on in the depth of the ocean. To maintain a calm and tranquil surface takes an infinite number of balancing acts to be performed by the Paramathma. He needs our contribution in maintaining the balance within ourselves.  If we are not able to control our inner self,  it has a consequence in disturbing the balance of the universe.  That consequence rebounds on us to make us correct ourselves.

To correct the consequence of our collective imbalances, the Paramathma has to put in very great effort to maintain the tranquility in the ocean of milk.  Otherwise huge storms will brew and cause massive destruction. This slokam is a beautiful depiction of the act of release of the two brothers from bondage.

[sn1] Note that the magnitude of the effort required on the part of the Paramathma is equal to that of a child pulling the mortar through the gap between two trees, to bring them crashing down.  The Paramathma, as a child is not endowed with the strength to pull down the two trees.  So He has to extend Himself above and far beyond His physical strength to liberate the two brothers.  This also depicts the extent of His love and affection and commitment towards His Bhaktas. 

On our part, it would be very important to remember that every time we digress from the spiritual path and set ourselves on the path of worldly wealth, we will be putting the Paramathma through great personal strain to get us back on the path of dharma.  The effort that we put in to stay on the path of dharma, saves the Paramathma loads of personal effort and trouble to get us out of trouble.  He has to realign a whole lot of sequence of events and mitigate all the consequences of the problems that we create by deviating from the path of dharma.

If we can keep this in mind whenever we are tempted to go astray by worldly pulls, that will act as a strong deterrent to the temptations that we experience and help us stay on the right path. Just think of the trouble and effort that the Paramathma has to go through to get us back on the correct path. 

He never conveys His agony or effort to us.  He wants us to realize the magnitude of His involvement and His commitment to us, without any prompting by Him.  That is probably why the scriptures and the slokams only narrate the event (such as Sri Krishna lifting the Govardhana Hill to protect the Dwarakavasis from incessant rain) and not the actual effort that goes into it.  Even in our lives, we only see the end result of the effort of the Paramathma and not the actual alignment of sacrifice, selflessness and concentration of energy that makes it happen.

The effort is harnessed from the punyam that is accumulated by dharmic individuals which is placed at the feet of the Paramathma.  The Paramathma channels all of the accumulated punyam to expend to save us from crisis. If there was no surplus of dharma over adharma, the world will relapse into dis-array and destruction.

In order to prevent this from happening, the Paramathma is constantly at work to align and realign and strengthen the forces of dharma.  For this He will require to harness our collective effort so that we become self sustaining as a dharmic society which will never perish.

If we are steadfast in our devotion to Him, we will not stray away from the path of Dharma.  We are endowed with the capability to perceive the entire universe in one fraction of a second with the combination of the endowments that have been bestowed in us by the Paramathma.  The “ancient” rishis never had the benefit of rockets, satellites or telescopes to explore the universe with.  They never had any training or education in Astrophysics.  They simply went into dhyanam or meditation and  saw the entire universe in all its vastness and diversity.  The map of the universe that they came up with eons ago by sheer thought process, is still being confirmed as accurate, as science discovers new horizons through physical space exploration that is based on the senses.  The ancient rishis transcended the senses and delved deep into their inner selves.  The visions of illumination that they experience are nothing but revelations of the Paramathma. 

As indicated in this slokam, it does not matter if a living being such as a tree is without senses.  It still is endowed with consciousness that is not dependent on senses.  How does a tree “know” the environment in which it takes root?  How does it know that it is surrounded  by other trees? How do the roots know if the soil is hard or soft?  How does the tree know if it is day or night?  It is apparent that the tree has other means of knowing its situation and environment other than through the senses!!!!!

What is the source of knowledge of the trees? Compare the knowledge of the trees to the knowledge of the Rishis. The Rishis do not have the capability to peer into the universe with naked eyes.  Extend this a bit more.  We do not have a vision of the future.  We know our physical body will perish/ We know this by observation and inference.  The rishis know the Atman as the inner being that has no beginning and no end.  The Rishis accept this Atman as an eternal being for the simple reason that they have inferred that for a being without birth, there is no death. They have concluded by the process of rationalization, which is the Paramathma’s key endowment in all of us.  Rationalization is an essential attribute of the intelligent mind.  It is the process by which we think we separate truth from fiction.  Rationalization assumes that relationship between events is singular.  It does not see multiple paths to the same destination. It assumes truth is singular. It also assumes that fiction is many. Intelligence takes its root from the world of senses and observations.  There will be no conventional intelligence and rationalization if there are no senses.

So a tree has no rationalization or conventional intelligence.  It is a creature of the environment.  It does however have an atman, that carries its knowledge from prior lives to make it more strong and more evolved to withstand the torments of its environment. That knowledge whicb becomes embedded in the Atman is derived from the physical experience that the tree is subjected to. The Atman therefore learns directly from the experience of the tree.  The atman permeates every tiny pore on the tree, outside and inside.  It absorbs all experiences both at the level of the minutia as well as the at the level of the tree as a whole.  If the Atman is the experiencer and also the interpreter and adapter as well as the vehicle or carrier of the lessons learnt from one lifetime to another,  then is it the same situation in the human being as well? If so why do we have intelligence based on senses? Intelligence based on senses,  is designed to elevate the objective of existence, out of the physical realm. 

The Atma,  can either graduate to a higher form of existence, or it may actually be pushed to a lower level.  A “lower level” is that existence where there is no choice.  The lifetime is a series of fixed sequence of events and experiences which cannot be altered (Karma).  Yet the result of these experiences is the evolution of the Atma.  A form of life other than the human being always evolves to the next level.  Only the human being has the luxury of a choice of pathways to take in life. This choice generally gives two options – either take the path of immediate pleasure and benefits of the physical realm or forego immediate rewards for attaining eternity and release from the cycle of births and deaths.

The exercise of this choice determines the events that line up in the future.  Karma, which is unalterable for lower creatures and cannot really be controlled because of the limitations of the form of life that the Atma takes on, becomes negotiable if and only if the path of dharma, and renunciation of the physical realm is followed.  If the path of temptation is taken, one loses control of the self and just like a tree swaying in the wind,  the winds of karma will torment one’s existence on this planet.

The two brothers, being well endowed in body, and in wealth, chose the life of worldly pleasures and carried the indulgence to the extreme, The Paramathma did not take the immense trouble of creating consciousness and evolving us to this level, only to see us fritter away this treasure by living a life of almost barbaric and primitive indulgences, which in turn would only make us regress in life.

The question may arise as to why we should be given a choice? Why not just put us on the correct path with no choice, other than to pursue moksham?  The answer is probably that if there is no choice, there is no moksham. The effort to attain moksham by sacrificing the pleasures of life is the effort that is rewarded.  If there is no choice,  then there is no effort. If there is no effort, nothing worthwhile is attained.

Effort means conflict.  Conflict means dilemma, misery and suffering. The experience of conflict and suffering resides in the mind. The mind attempts to resolve the dilemma by various means, including rationalization,  through emotions, through distractions, and finally, if all else fails, it relapses into illusion and delusion. Once it thus relapses then the worldly karmic forces take control and extricating one’s self from the bondings is extremely difficult. 

Renunciation has to come from within.  It comes after long long years and lifetime of experience.  It is only when something comes from within, does it indicate that effort has been put in. The effort that is put in requires intelligence as one element.  When a trap is set for an animal, with the bait as its favorite food,  chances are it will fall for it and be trapped.  However,  when it observes its fellow animal being trapped, its intelligence comes into play and it decide to forego the temptation of the food. The realization of the consequence of an action is the formation first step for intelligence. Can the animal avoid the trap consistently without the benefit of observing a fellow animal being entrapped? That is where memory comes into play.  Everytime the animal sees the same paraphernalia that was set to entrap its fellow creature, that sight will trigger a memory signal that cause rememberance of the danger into which it can fall.  Temptation of the bait acts as a strong magnet and the memory of the trap acts as a deterrent.  There is conflict introduced and a choice has to be made.  It is a tough one. Many of us walk into a trap knowing that there will be no escape. Such is the power of temptation.

Now let us assume that the one being tempted by food is a human being.  Even if the man is extremely hungry, he will not step into a trap for food.  He has reached a level of advancement that he can forego food for extended periods, if necessary, to avoid danger (of either poison or physical risk).  The need to satisfy hunger is not as powerful in Him as the need for self preservation and self  protection.  He has transcended the pull of hunger and thirst. 

Now imagine that a child is entrapped and is requesting release. Now the conflicted man may decide to risk his life to rescue the child from danger.  Compassion may overcome self preservation. The situations and positions that life tests us are indeed amazing. What would one do under these circumstnaces? Although there is no obligation, few would run away and turn their back on the child. Dharma requires selflessness and the commitment to it induces detachment to the objects of this world. 

The transformation has to be voluntary. If it is forced, there is no transformation. The very purpose of this conscious existence is lost if there is no choice or voluntary concurrence.  This is the challenge that the Paramathma has taken on Himself and it is a big one.  We are to come to a conclusion on our own as to what is the correct option to pursue.  The correct option is loaded with the highest values, but is placed on the top of an incredibly tall mountain.  On the other side, the “wrong option” is loaded with temptation and easy access.

There is an intricate relationship between choice, consciousness, realization, and eternity. Surrender at the feet of the Paramathma has to come as a result of conscious and complete realization of the truth. The acceptance of the truth of the self is the step to then next level.  It cannot happen without dispelling doubt. Intelligence, weighs the pros and cons and comes to a conclusion.  That conclusion has to be surrender. 

How do freedom and surrender go together? Can freedom be attained through surrender? Is it not contradictory? Do we want freedom with ignorance? Do we want to surrender only to obtain endowments? Once the endowment is obtained, will we start jumping around like Hiranyakshipu?

To remain in a state of eternal tranquility do we have to be in a state of eternal surrender? Is that state really freedom? Is it really evolution to a higher state?

What does surrender mean?  Why did Sri Narada need the brothers to acknowledge his presence by show of  respect? The women with the brothers immediately did so, although they were also intoxicated. The two brothers are nothing to Sri Narada, yet he wants to inculcate values into them so they are not lost in the world of indulgence.

What is the relationship between learning and surrender?  Is it possible to learn without submission? Is surrender a prequalification for Shravanam? Without surrender can we learn? What is surrender? What are we surrendering? From a learning perspective, it means being clear within ourselves that we do not know.

The situation is exactly the same with consciousness.  The major attribute of our consciousness is its ability to reach out of itself. Consciousness knows everything except itself.

How can something be known when the self is unknown?  Can we know about something without learning about it? How can we learn about something unless we are able to see, listen, smell/taste or touch/feel it?

The first stepping stone to knowledge is that we are learning about the supreme, so that we may reach Him through the path of knowing.   The path to knowing is a blend of learning, acceptance and complete absence of any doubt.