The Mythological Churning of the Ocean ( समुद्रमन्थन)
In our relentless search for reality or truth, if we are lucky, we could meet up with a real, genuine master or guru who has fathomed the unknown depths of reality.
The initial encounters with such a sage could indeed prove to be a devastating experience for many. The meetings could send shockwaves that could throw us off balance resulting in psychological crisis or catharsis !
Our internal struggles suddenly get amplified, a crisis of faith ensues, the battle between the acquired faith and self-doubt takes the centre-stage. We are thrown off our comfort zone. We become restless and begin to doubt the essence of our own reality, question the basis of our faith, conviction, beliefs.
The psychological turbulence exposes our shallowness and emptiness. The sage holds the 'torch and mirror' and lets us see the very mechanics of faith, how our faith is a mere cultural product, driven by outside influences, the borrowed wisdom of books and speeches, of shallow encounters with inadequate gurus who lack true knowledge or wisdom, totally incapable of igniting clarity or certainty within us.
Market gurus can be compared to the juvenile snake that simply is incapable and unable to gulp down or spit out a frog stuck in its throat.
There is a strong parallel to this psychological crisis or predicament or situation in the ancient Indian mythology called Ksheera Sagara Mathanam. ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samudra_manthan) or the 'churning of the celestial milky ocean' (call it - the ocean of consciousness).
Samudra Manthan ( समुद्रमन्थन) symbolises the eternal conflict between the devas or gods ( the virtues ) and the asuras or demons ( vices). More importantly, it symbolises the battle between counterforces say good vs evil, faith vs doubt and so on. This struggle is akin to our own inner conflict, psychological crisis upon meeting a true master.
Interestingly the mythological struggle between gods and demons throws up many by-products - many celestial gifts and treasures. Relevant to our discourse is one such by-product - the 'Halahala' (हलाहल) or the 'deadly poison'.
The gods and demons in the myth resort to the struggle or 'the churning of the milky ocean' to find Amritam (अमृतं ) or the elixir, the magical potion that makes one invincible and immortal.
But the struggle throws up many more things.
The churning firstly throws up the the deadly poison or Haalahala (हलाहल). Upon meeting a true guru or sage, under the spell of his overwhelmingly benign influence, firstly, we encounter the 'poison' which takes the form of our psychological crisis.
'Halahala' could be thought of as the psychological poison that induces loss of confidence, loss of self esteem, heightening our shame, bitterness, guilt, self-doubt or hopelessness. It delivers a death blow to our reasoning , our logic, intellect, acquired wisdom, our egotistic tendencies, certainties, beliefs, convictions picked up over a life time!
A true guru induces this crisis deliberately. He challenges, questions everything, leaving us bare and naked , with no props, nothing to hold on to! A catharsis inevitably follows.
The deadly poison in the story is consumed by Shiva or Mahadeva, also called the Loka Guru or the World Teacher. The allegory is very powerful, only a Real McCoy has the power to handle the deadly poison of our psychological crisis and rescue and save us.
As the myth emphasises, the churning will not end at the emergence of the poison. As the churning continues, more and more celestial gifts and treasures emerge. That is to say, a genuine struggle or inquiry ( UG called it 'home work') is supremely rewarding.
Finally there emerges the Amrit or the magic potion that puts an end to all vulnerabilities, making one invincible and immortal.
Only a true guru will ensure that the churning continues till the elixir emerges, in the process flushing out all weaknesses, falsehood , restoring back the inherent harmony and peace, thus curing, healing and soothing our system.
Sri Ramakrishna, one of the greatest sages used to explicate this total commitment and responsibility of a true guru for his disciples, saying - once admitted to his hospital ( his care ), the patient has no choice of his own, that he (the guru) will not discharge the patient, till completely cured of all sickness.
UG too, worked on his friends like the sage described by Lao Tzu:
Tao Te Ching – Verse 3
If you overesteem great men,
people become powerless.
If you overvalue possessions,
people begin to steal.
The Master leads
by emptying people’s minds
and filling their cores,
by weakening their ambition
and toughening their resolve.
He helps people lose everything
they know, everything they desire,
and creates confusion
in those who think that they know.
Practice not-doing,
and everything will fall into place.
(translation by Stephen Mitchell, 1995)
Like Shiva, the world teacher, UG too consumed the poison of our inner struggles. In his own words, which is a rare admission, 'meeting with him was unburdening!
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