Accept the Supremacy of the Supreme!

By H H Maa Purnananda

Sharp and steep fall from a cliff is obviously frightening and fatal. After climbing up all the way up, so troublesome, so tedious and so very scary; the fall from such heights ought to be frightening and fatal. Such climbs doubtlessly remind us of the Almighty Lord and make us constantly chant His name. But unfortunately, the spine-chilling fear within and the bone-chilling shivering outside, stop us from experiencing the sublime Nature around and the deep devotion towards the Divine within.

One can imagine that in spite of death-threat, one is unable to actually experience the Divine Call from within, then how is one expected to even remember the Divine in heydays? So why does it so happen?

The Seers repeatedly remind us that desire (Vasna) is the root-cause of non-apprehension of our True Self; in other words, ignorance (Agnyaan). So should one exhaust the desires by satiating them or should one give up the desires? Satiating the desire is like adding fuel to the fire; the more you fulfil the desire, more intensely you want more of it! If you try to give up the desire, the mind keeps hankering for it! If one thinks that one grows out of the desires, then again one is highly mistaken! Actually, only the object of one’s desire keeps changing, but the desire still remains! There is nothing great if a grown up youngster no more cries for a toy; now, he would only desire for different games and gadgets, desire would still remain! He then would desire for different kind of entertainment and mental engagement of his choice, desire would still remain! Then he would desire for various kinds of achievements; friends, family, business, money, house, farmhouse, status, power, fame, the list is endless! Even after achieving all of this, taking him to the greatest heights of worldly achievements, he might not be satisfied yet, and would desire for its sustenance and more of it as well! The desire for more and more would then, from the great heights of achievements, push him into the dark well of unethical and immoral acts, far away from his True Self for sure!

What a fall it would be! Remember? Sharp and steep fall from a cliff is obviously frightening and fatal. After climbing up all the way up, so troublesome, so tedious and so very scary; the fall from such heights ought to be frightening and fatal. He then would find it too difficult to come out of this dark well of desires that he himself would have dug for himself! Neither would he be able to enjoy his achievements any more, nor would he be able to sincerely call the Divine form deep within!

The story of “desire” is bleak and threatening, scary and fatal. But man is yet not ready to give up his desires! The passionate nature (Raajasik Guna) causes the never-ending string of desires in the mind. The only way to change the passionate nature is to counter it with devotion. But for cultivating devotion, one has to first accept the Supremacy of the Supreme! When “I” am the greatest, the achiever, the all in all, then where is the place for the Supreme that I may accept His Supremacy? In the intoxication of success, I would conveniently dilute and ultimately delete the idea of the Supreme from my life! This surely would push me into the dark hellish well of ignorance and arrogance!

One must save oneself from such a fall!

So, having accepted the Supremacy of the Supreme, the Seers sing the divine Glory of the Supreme. The mind that nurtures deep devotion towards the Supreme can no more engage in satiating worldly desires. It would be so intensely drenched in devotion that it can no more absorb any worldly desire. Having no interest in satiating any worldly desire, such a mind would constantly revel in the Sublime Divinity within, peacefully, satisfactorily and happily indeed!