the speaking tree - Ways To Cross The River Of Maya
Kishor Kulkarni
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A catalyst is a substance that speeds up a chemical reaction. In order for chemicals to react, the species involved in any reaction must undergo a rearrangement of chemical bonds. The slowest step in the bond rearrangement produces what is termed a transition state a chemical species that is neither a reactant nor a product, but is an intermediate between the two. Energy is required to form the transition state. This energy is called the Energy of Activation, or Ea.Reactants with energy lower than Ea cannot pass through the transition state to react and become products.A catalyst works by providing a different route, with lower Ea, for the reaction. In any given time interval, the presence of a catalyst allows a greater proportion of the reactant species to acquire sufficient energy to pass through the transition state and become products.
So a chemical reaction can theoret ically proceed without a catalyst, but only too slowly. However, with a catalyst, it proceeds much faster. Likewise, a seeker's spiritual progress may happen very slowly without a sadhguru.
A seeker can always read up the ample spiritual literature available and try to proceed on the spiritual path. But it may take many lives. On the other hand, the same words when coming from a sadhguru, could have a different effect like a catalyst in a chemical reaction.Without a sadhguru, the spiritual reading merely sits together with our intellect, like the chemical reactants being put together without the catalyst.For the spiritual transformation to happen, a sadhguru as a catalyst helps greatly .
In the Bhagwad Gita, Chap ter 7, verse 14, Krishna says that it is extremely difficult, almost impossible, to cross the river of maya (delusion), except through surrender to Him. In his commentary on the Gita, Shri Bhavarth Deepika, Sant Shri Jnaneshwar, beautifully amplifies this assertion using many metaphors.
The river of maya gets filled by the rains in the form of three gunas that cause the flood of delusion. There are many dangers like whirlpools of hatred, big fish of arrogance, and waves of de sires in this river. Any means that one resorts to for over coming these dangers actually become counterproductive.
Someone plunges into the river trusting his intellectual strength, but vanishes without a trace.
Another one may try to ride a float in the form of the vedas, but he gets devoured by fish in the form of arrogance. Someone else may try to cross the riv er trusting his youthful energy , but he gets chewed by a crocodile in the form of sense pleasures. Some try the float of yajnas, but they get stuck in the rocks of heavenly pleasures. The boat of vairagya or asceticism does not help, nor can the stick of viveka or discriminatory intellect measure the depth of this river.
If a sage can understand an evil mind, or if a fish can swallow the hook, or if a ghost will be afraid of a timid person, only then living beings will be able to cross the river of maya on their own strength! So what is the way to cross this river of maya? Shri Jnaneshwar says further that only those who surrender to the Lord with an attitude of total nonduality can easily cross this river. Only those who have their sadhguru as the boatman in the boat of Self-realisation, who have discarded their ego and all the vikalpa or doubts, who have given up attachment to their wife and children, can cross this river of maya.
So a chemical reaction can theoret ically proceed without a catalyst, but only too slowly. However, with a catalyst, it proceeds much faster. Likewise, a seeker's spiritual progress may happen very slowly without a sadhguru.
A seeker can always read up the ample spiritual literature available and try to proceed on the spiritual path. But it may take many lives. On the other hand, the same words when coming from a sadhguru, could have a different effect like a catalyst in a chemical reaction.Without a sadhguru, the spiritual reading merely sits together with our intellect, like the chemical reactants being put together without the catalyst.For the spiritual transformation to happen, a sadhguru as a catalyst helps greatly .
In the Bhagwad Gita, Chap ter 7, verse 14, Krishna says that it is extremely difficult, almost impossible, to cross the river of maya (delusion), except through surrender to Him. In his commentary on the Gita, Shri Bhavarth Deepika, Sant Shri Jnaneshwar, beautifully amplifies this assertion using many metaphors.
The river of maya gets filled by the rains in the form of three gunas that cause the flood of delusion. There are many dangers like whirlpools of hatred, big fish of arrogance, and waves of de sires in this river. Any means that one resorts to for over coming these dangers actually become counterproductive.
Someone plunges into the river trusting his intellectual strength, but vanishes without a trace.
Another one may try to ride a float in the form of the vedas, but he gets devoured by fish in the form of arrogance. Someone else may try to cross the riv er trusting his youthful energy , but he gets chewed by a crocodile in the form of sense pleasures. Some try the float of yajnas, but they get stuck in the rocks of heavenly pleasures. The boat of vairagya or asceticism does not help, nor can the stick of viveka or discriminatory intellect measure the depth of this river.
If a sage can understand an evil mind, or if a fish can swallow the hook, or if a ghost will be afraid of a timid person, only then living beings will be able to cross the river of maya on their own strength! So what is the way to cross this river of maya? Shri Jnaneshwar says further that only those who surrender to the Lord with an attitude of total nonduality can easily cross this river. Only those who have their sadhguru as the boatman in the boat of Self-realisation, who have discarded their ego and all the vikalpa or doubts, who have given up attachment to their wife and children, can cross this river of maya.
