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Deepavali
-3
Churning of the Ocean
Once Saraswati goddess of knowledge was pleased with the dance of
Urvashi and gave her a garland that represents wisdom. Urvashi thought that
wisdom or gnana is worth sharing with others. It should be shared with
others especially to some one who is great and selfless and only then can he
pass it on to others. She then gave to the great sage Durvaasa who is known
for his anger, but he has used his anger to initiate good actions.
Durvasa thought that the great gift of wisdom from Saraswati should be given
to some one who is only busy in seeking pleasures of the senses. What
is the use of external pleasures if he is ignorant of the bliss he has
within himself. So he gave it to Indra, which is from the root word Indriya
meaning senses.
Indra who represents the one who is always dwelling in the world of sensual
pleasures (Swarga) considered the the garland of wisdom as worthless.
He said he was used to wearing costly and precious jewels, gold and gems.
It is a prestige issue. What will the other Gods think of us if we wear this
garland of flowers? So he dropped the garland and stamped under his feet.
The enraged sage (Durvasa is the
manifestation of Shiva the Awareness) cursed Indra that having ignored
intellect, may he and his companions lose the power of health, beauty,
wealth, courage, knowledge and so become mortal and die.
Durvasa did not take back
his curse though Indra pleased for forgiveness and so Indra sought the
help of Brahma and saraswati.
Indra was
advised by Brahma and saraswati to churn the ocean ksheer sagar. Saraswati
told Indra that to enjoy a heavenly life, one should have back up of
Wisdom. Without it Indra may still be in heaven but all the happiness will
only be for a short time. Having made a mistake, to get back happiness
permanently in heaven, churn the ocean called Ksheer Sagar. To do this,
Saraswati asked Indra to take the help of Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva to
provide the snake Vasuki and the Man-dhara mountain to churn the ocean.
Equally important is to get the help of the demons , the Asuras in
this churning process to get Amrita and become Immortal.
What does this symbolize?
The ocean of milk is the ocean of the mind, which has the never ending waves
of thoughts and emotions. Mandhara, the mountain represents concentration.
The word Mandhara contains two words "man" (mind) and "dhara" (a single
line) which means holding the mind in one pointed focus.
The snake Vasuki also called Ananta
represents the eternal time, we take
to undergo this process of evolution.
Source of the picture is from
www.sanatansociety.com/
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