When the water dries up, the lake loses not only its form and existence but also its meaning and utility. So is with our
emotions and desires. Once the dawn of life sets in, the passion and lust lose their grip on our body, thereby one is
liberated from the pangs of all worldly problems.
The only unfailing remedy for the sorrows of life in this Samsaara is knowledge of the Self.
One is afflicted by sorrows so long as there is delusion in the mind. The only true path available for a sadhaka to remove
delusion is wisdom.
Sloka #11
(Dec 14, 2014)
mā kuru dhana jana yauvana garva harati nimeṣātkāla sarvam |
māyāmayamidamakhila buddhvā brahmapada tva praviśa viditvā || 11 ||
Word Meaning:
mā - do not, kuru - take, dhana - in possession, jana - in the people, yauvana - in youth, garvaṁ - pride, harati - loots away
(takes away), nimeṣāt - in a moment, kālah- the Time, sarvam - all these, māyāmayam- full of illusory nature, idam - this,
akhilaṁ - all, budhvā - after knowing, brahmapadaṁ - the state of Brahman, tvaṁ - you, praviśa - enter into, viditvā - after
realising.
Meaning:
Take no pride in your possession, in the people (at your command), in the youthfulness (that you have). Time loots away all
these in a moment. Leaving aside all these, after knowing their illusory nature, realize the state of Brahman.
One gets entangled in Samsaara due to the attachment to the tools of Maya, such as wealth, friends, youth, etc. These
are all false vanities and hollow conceits, which will vanish in no time.
All the arrogance born out of these false attachments will change in a moment into shame, because of their instability.
One invites problems when one maintains relationship with the world of objects, feelings and thoughts through one's
body, mind and intellect.
Many human beings are slaves to this aspect of Maya, as the materialistic world is completely dependent on this.
As we learnt from the earlier slokas, the relationship with kith and kin is proportionate to the wealth one possesses.
Once it is vanished, all the relationships will vanish in no time. The youth of today will be an elderly person of tomorrow.
One cannot escape from the jaws of the wheel of time. With the passage of time, the body decays and perishes.
Bhagavan Adi Sankaracharya, therefore, warns that one should not dissipate one's energies in these false vanities.
Instead, realizing the illusory nature of these world of objects, one should concentrate and realize the state and true
nature of Brahman. Only that will give relief from the vicious cycle of birth-death-birth.
Sloka #12
(Dec 21, 2014)
dinayāminyau sāya prāta śiśiravasantau punarāyāta |
kāla krīḍati gacchatyāyu tadapi na muñcatyāśāvāyu || 12 ||
Word Meaning:
dinayāminyau - day and night, sāyaṁ - dusk, prātaḥ - dawn, śiśiravasantau - winter and spring, punah - again, arāyāta -
come (and depart), kālaḥ - time, krīḍat - sports, gacchati - ebbs away (goes away), āyuḥ- life (breath), tadapi - and yet, na -
not, muñcati- leaves, āśāvāyuḥ- the gust of desire.
Meaning:
Day and night, dawn and dusk, winter and spring come and depart again and again. Time thus frolics and plays and life ebbs
away. Yet, one does not give up the gusts of desires.
In the silent march of the wheel of time, days and nights and with it the age slips unnoticed and unrealized.