104. संसारार्णवनाविकः Saṁsārārṇava-nāvikaḥ

One who was the boatman in the ocean of transmigratory existence

Saṁsāra or transmigratory existence is the continuous cycle of births and deaths. Bhagavatpāda says, “In this saṁsāra that is very difficult to cross, there is birth again, death again, and again lying in the mother’s womb. O Murāri! Save me through Your kindness!”²⁶³ Saṁsāra is often likened to an arṇava, ocean, because of this very characteristic of it being difficult to cross.²⁶⁴ Normally, an expert nāvika, boatman, is responsible to safely take the travellers on his boat to the other shore of the river, protecting them from the perils of turbulent waters, etc. Fittingly, Lord Kṛṣṇa is described as a boatman for the Pāṇḍavas to cross the fearsome, treacherous and formidable river that is the Kurukṣetra war.²⁶⁵ Bhagavatpāda assures all, “There dwell calm, great noble ones who move about effecting, like the spring season, what is beneficial to people. Having themselves crossed the dreadful ocean of transmigratory existence, they, without any motive, cause other persons too to cross over.”²⁶⁶

His Holiness, who was a master of several spiritual disciplines as has been seen through various nāmas, a peerless jīvanmukta and an ocean of compassion, was the expert boatman, who could safely see people through when it came to crossing the formidable and seemingly impossible-to-cross ocean of saṁsāra. He did not stop with merely proffering advice to His disciples, but hand-held them at every stage in their spiritual journey.

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His Holiness generally gave mantra-upadeśa only in person, though there were some exceptions. A devotee had a dream of His Holiness initiating him into a mantra. Unfortunately, on waking up, he forgot what he had been initiated into. He wrote a letter to His Holiness about this. His Holiness directed His Private Secretary to reply that the mantra was ‘klīm kṛṣṇa klīm’; He also specified in what manner and how many times the disciple should perform the mantra-japa.

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His Holiness did not confine Himself to just initiating a disciple into a mantra. He willingly gave clarifications about it when asked. For instance, a knowledgeable lady approached Him in Chennai in January 1982, and requested Him to explain the dhyāna-śloka of a particular mantra. His Holiness closed His eyes and gave such a lucid description that it seemed to her that He was seeing a form in front of Him and describing it. She remarked that His Holiness’s description was so wonderful that she could readily conceive the form. His Holiness admitted, “I did not mechanically translate the dhyāna-śloka, for that would not have been of much use to you. I visualised the form spoken of in the verse. I focused my attention on a portion of the divine form, described what I was apprehending and thereafter moved on to another portion. That is why I spoke slowly.”

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Sri Anathandapuram Vaidyanathan was a conscientious worker and a staunch devotee of His Holiness. He was ever ready to serve His Holiness and efficiently discharged the tasks assigned to him. His Holiness would see him scurrying around at different times of day and night to get work done in time.

His Holiness suggested to him that he receive mantropadeśa from Him. Vaidyanathan told Him that he simply did not have the time to perform anuṣṭhāna, and saying that He would not be able to follow rules of ‘maḍi’ (observances of purity) etc., politely refused to take mantropadeśa. This, in fact, happened several times.

One day, the time was around 7:30 p.m. and His Holiness had just completed His evening bath. He summoned Vaidyanathan. His Holiness told him, “Look here, tomorrow morning, at around 7 o’clock, complete your bath and come wearing a silk dhoti,” and dismissed him. As His Holiness had only issued an order and not asked any question or given any suggestion, Vaidyanathan was in no position to reply and went away quietly.

The next morning, he reported to His Holiness at 7 p.m. as instructed. His Holiness asked him to sit down, and giving him a book said, “Read.” His Holiness continued, “Every morning, read this book after your bath. That is enough for you.” The book contained a collection of mantras.

Sri Vaidyanathan obeyed His Holiness’s command, and observed that he never had any hindrances in adhering to this practice. Thus, His Holiness graced him not only with an instruction that he could easily follow but also with the circumstances that enabled him to follow it without hindrances.

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[Excerpts from an essay penned by His Holiness on a pre-eminent means available to all to cross the ocean of saṁsāra, are rendered below.]

Bhakti is an eminent and momentous means to ultimate blessedness.

It is an undeniable fact that though we persistently strive for happiness, we never so much as get a glimpse of its culmination but acquire, instead, a succession of woes. Our Śāstras, the lore on the lives of the sages of yore and the experiences of several mahātmans of modern times confirm that nonpareil bliss does exist. Hence, it must be admitted that there is some defect in our attempts to attain such joy. All of us want the fruit of perfect happiness but adopt means that are unrelated to that end and, hence, face disappointment. This is like planting a banyan seed and later lamenting that it yields no mangoes.

When people are unable to ascertain on their own, through the logical tests of positive and negative concomitance, as to what exactly constitutes the means to a specific end, they necessarily have to turn to the statement of a trustworthy person, for getting them the answer they seek. The most reliable of all is Paramaśiva, and the Vedas are words that emanated effortlessly, like breath, from Him.

The Vedas unequivocally emphasize that it is only when a person realizes the Supreme Brahman that he transcends sorrow and attains unsurpassable bliss. They teach that śravaṇa, hearing about the Ātman through the words of the Guru and the scripture, manana, reflecting on It through reasoning, and nididhyāsana, firmly meditating upon It, are the means to know Brahman. So, it behoves a person to realize the Ātman that is none other than Brahman by resorting to śravaṇa, manana and nididhyāsana and thereby attain emancipation from transmigration. Purity of the mind is a prerequisite for proper śravaṇa, manana and nididhyāsana.

Bhakti is ‘anurāga’, the deferential faith that we have in those who are worthy of our worship. The activities that engender devout belief in the venerable are also called bhakti. Hence, the means to devotion such as hearing about the glorious sport of the Lord and keeping Him in mind are themselves termed bhakti. Clearly, love of God is bhakti, for ‘rāga, the affection for God,’ ‘anu, that arises following acts like hearing about the greatness of God’ is anurāga.

Bhakti is said to be of three types: sāttvika, rājasika and tāmasika. Worship of God for the sake of harming another is a form of tāmasika-bhakti; being thoroughly unsuitable for attaining ultimate blessedness, it is fit to be eschewed. Worship of God for desired rewards in this world and the next is rājasika-bhakti; since it confers what is pleasurable but not what is most beneficial, it is unacceptable to those who keenly aspire for freedom from rebirth. The third kind of devotion is sāttvika-bhakti. This is an exalted means to attain the highest state. He who has sāttvika-bhakti regards the actions meant for his stage of life to be duties ordained by God and performs them for satisfying God, without hankering for the fruits of what he does.

Every human is qualified to practice such bhakti-yoga. All should strive to attain the highest state through it. In spite of seeing the world to be fraught with a variety of miseries, many are unable to discard sense-objects and, instead, remain smitten with them. Nevertheless, they too wish for everlasting, unsurpassable bliss. Śravaṇa, manana and nididhyāsana being out of their reach since their minds are impure, it is to bhakti that they should turn.

When sāttvika-bhakti resides uninterruptedly in the mind, the mind becomes pure. Bhakti blossoms into saguṇa-upāsanā, meditation on the Supreme as possessed of qualities; all the impurities of the mind are completely washed away by the force of such contemplation. To those who have been rendered pure-minded by their devotion to God, the Lord imparts the knowledge that confers freedom from the bondage of transmigration. The knowledge that results in liberation cannot arise without the grace of God. Meditation upon Brahman as possessed of qualities leads to the realization of the Absolute that is devoid of all qualities.

Many scriptural statements emphasize that all should acquire bhakti, which brings about purity of the mind, mental steadiness, competence for firm meditation on the Ātman, the realization of the Ātman and the ultimate fulfilment of life as a human. I pray to God that the bhakti in the hearts of people should grow and fully fructify.

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